German Nurses in Russia

[woodyab]

I hope I am in the right forum...I have a couple of questions about nurses. Were they part of the army per se; or DRK properly and loaned out? How many were stationed at Gumrak, Gorodische in the Stalingrad area? I believe they were evacuated before the Russians arrived. Also, does anyone know about Gorodische and the other Hauptverbandplatz in the Stalingrad area?
Thanking you all in anticipation
My first posting
Tony

[Heimatschuss]

Hello Tony,

sorry for responding so late but at least I can confirm now that there were some nurses in the Stalingrad pocket.

...I have a couple of questions about nurses. Were they part of the army per se; or DRK properly and loaned out? :

Both ways were possible. Those nurses belonging to the German Red Cross (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz) were only loaned out to the Wehrmacht. Free-lance nurses (Freie Schwestern) and auxiliary nurses (Schwesternhelferinnen) OTOH were directly hired by the Wehrmacht. In spring 1944 a third possibilty was created when 1300 members of the female Reich Labour Service (RADwJ) were transferred to Wehrmacht hospitals to serve as nurses. (Seidler, 1998, pp.153)

How many were stationed at Gumrak, Gorodische in the Stalingrad area? I believe they were evacuated before the Russians arrived.

Depends of course on what you mean by ‘Stalingrad area’. The rule of thumb in the Wehrmacht was that nurses were only to be employed in hospitals in the army rear area (i.e. Kriegslazarett). This means roughly a distance to the frontline of about 50 - 70 km. Gorodishe was just 15 - 20 kilometers away from the fighting and thus too close to the frontline to employ nurses there, I think. If a medical installation was there it should have been a field hospital (Feldlazarett).

When the Stalingrad pocket developed some nurses came to Stalingrad with medical units retreating from the hinterland and were trapped there. So far I know of two of them that were airlifted out of the pocket:

- Anna Kellner (Wolff, 1997)
No further detail on her role in Stalingrad given in the source cited.

- Ernestine Thren (Wolff, 2001)
Thren worked in a field hospital (Feldlazarett) that was stationed in 'Mukownin' from Sept. till Nov. 1942. ('Mukownin' is probably identical to the hamlet Mukovnin, south of the Kremskaya Don bend). After the start of the Soviet offensive the unit retreated into the forming Stalingrad pocket and Thren was flown out on Nov. 25th, 1942 accompanying a transport of wounded men.

Another nurse active at Stalingrad seems to have been Edith Gehlert (http://www.mdr.de/presse/fernsehen/1081515.html)

Also, does anyone know about Gorodische and the other Hauptverbandplatz in the Stalingrad area?

Sorry, no information on my part.

Now that I have your attention...what type of hospital would have employed nurses in Russia?

I'll try to find out.

References:

Franz W. Seidler
Frauen zu den Waffen?
2nd ed.; Bernard & Graefe Verlag; Bonn; 1998

H.-P. Wolff (Ed.)
Biographisches Lexikon zur Pflegegeschichte. Who Was Who In Nursing History, Vol. 1
Ullstein Mosby Verlag; Berlin, Wiesbaden; 1997

H.-P. Wolff (Ed.)
Biographisches Lexikon zur Pflegegeschichte. Who Was Who In Nursing History, Vol. 2
Urban & Fischer Verlag, Munich, 2001

Best regards
Torsten

[woodyab]

Torsten, thank you for your belated but helpful and informative answer. I checked that info on Edith but it did not clarify whether she was actually in Stalingrad; or did my translation miss something?
Thank you once again. I will try and find more info on Anna and Ernestine, although my German is not as good as it was. Thanks
Tony

[woodyab]

Torsten, Are you there? I have found some info on Ernestine Thren. She received the Florence Nightingale medal in 1964, she was an RN in Heidelberg, at the time. Nothing on Anna but this on Edith Gehlert from Senioren Union Niedersachsen. What does that mean? This is the piece in German:
"Bundesprasident Johannes Rau hat am 11. November 2003 eine Delegation der Senio­ren Union der CDU Deutschlands zusammen mit russischen Gasten empfangen. Rau hatte die Delegation, zu der auch der Landesvorsitzende der Senioren Union Niedersachsen, Rolf Reine­mann, zahlte, eingeladen, nachdem die russi­sche Krankenschwester Maria Lapina und die deutsche Krankenschwester Edith Gehlert, die wahrend der Schlacht um Stalingrad 1942/43 auch Verwundete der gegnerischen Seite ge­pflegt batten, Bowie der Vorsitzende des Wol­gograder Veteranenverbandes, Oberst Nikolai Fedotow, von der Senioren Union bei einer Veranstaltung im Franzosischen Dom zu Berlin mit der Goldenen Mcdaille for Verdienste um Versohnung und Verstandigung unter den Vol-kern ausgezeichnet worden wares. In einem herzlichen Gesprach bedankte sich der Bundes­prasident bei der Senioren Union fur ihre Initia­tive und wardigte in Behr personfichen Worten die Lebensleistung der Geehrten. Die CDU­Bundesvorsitzende Angela Merkel wardigte im Franzosischen Dom das besondere Engagement der Senioren Union bei der Verstandigung gera­de mit den Volkern Osteuropas. Zitat: „Sie legen ein gates Zeugnis fur die nachfolgenden Generations ab"
Die Verdienstmedaille erhielt der Vorsitzende des Wolgograder Veteranenverbandes Nikolai Fedotow, der sich um die Pflege deutscher Kriegsgraber kanimert. Senioren Unions­Vorsitzender Prof Dr. Wulff ebenso wie der Ehrenvorsitzende Dr. Bernhard Worms bedank­ten sich bei Rau far die besondere Geste des Empfangs und hoben das Engagement des Bun­desprasidenten far den Ausgleich der Generati­onen und for Internationale Verstandigung her­vor".
I get the gist of it but the translation I used leaves a lot to be desired. Something about Wolgograd (Stalingrad). Can you clarify it for me If it is not too much trouble. I also found a book which mentions the above. " Frontschwestern und Friedensengel " not sure on the author.
Anyway thanks for your time. Hope this is not too intrusive.
Tony

[Heimatschuss]

Hello Tony,

Torsten, thank you for your belated but helpful and informative answer. I checked that info on Edith but it did not clarify whether she was actually in Stalingrad; or did my translation miss something?
Thank you once again. I will try and find more info on Anna and Ernestine, although my German is not as good as it was. Thanks
Tony

tried to trace Edith Gehlert and found out she's written a 4-page essay on her war experience:

DRK-Schwester Edith Gehlert
So war es! Eine Rotkreuzschwester erinnert sich.

in:

Birgit Panke-Kochinke; Monika Schnaidhammer-Placke
Frontschwestern und Friedensengel: Kriegskrankenpflege im Ersten und Zweiten Weltkrieg.
Mabuse Verlag; Frankfurt am Main; 2002; pp.209 - 213

That seems to be the only chance to get more info on her. On the internet there's nothing more than what we already know.

Best regards
Torsten