Research software has been part of scientific work for many years. But their development has been hidden for a long time and has often not been adequately appreciated. Research software has only recently become the focus of broader interest and its importance for the quality of research is succinctly formulated by the slogan "Better software - better research". For all those who develop software in the research environment and for research use, the term research software engineer RSE has become common for some time. The community of RSEs has developed as a grassroots movement, which also has a national chapter in Germany with the de-RSE e.V. The association and its activities will be presented in the talk.