nurses at the front

[j.klinsmann]

Hi Everyone

many thanks for looking at my post, I really need some help for my wife

Did Nurses at the front, wear coveralls or kielhosen other than standard white apron or front schwester type grey uniform

did they wear a type of combat clothing ?/

what im trying to do is get some pics fro my wife as we belong to a re enactment society



Very Kind regards to all who look and hopefully post

[Heimatschuss]

Hello Jurgen,

sorry to disappoint you but in general nurses didn't serve at the front as something like 'combat medics'.

The only exception I've encountered so far where nurses were part of a frontline unit according to the official organization scheme was a Volkssturm unit from Stettin called HJ-Bataillon Murswiek or HJ-Alarmbataillon Murswiek. While its' companies were staffed largely by Hitler Youth boys with an occasional seasoned soldier amongst them each company also had a medic team of four BDM-Führerinnen. Their job was not only tending the wounded but also advising the boys on doing their laundry and mending socks (Nemitz, 2000, p.27). So it wasn't a duty very glamorous (though on a second thought, advising die-hard Hitler-Youths on how to mend their socks is a task even more heroic than throwing yourself in front of a T-34 with an anti-tank mine ). I've visited the book only via GoogleBooks, it doesn't seem to contain any info on their uniforms.

According to regulations nurses were not to be employed in field hospitals below corps level, i.e. 50 or 60 kilometers behind the frontline at least. In case of a massive enemy breakthrough they could get in danger though. A number of nurses were trapped in the Stalingrad pocket and had to be flown out. We have a thread on them here
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... s#p1273957.

A similar situation could arise when one of Germany's allies changed sides suddenly. I've seen an account somewhere of two sisters, Countesses Pia and Toto of Praschma that went MIA in summer 1944 in NE Romania. They were Red Cross nurses in the area of the reformed 6th Army and were last seen in the company of one of the corps commanders after the front collapsed. Their trace then disppears just like that of the general. (See nos. 81. and 82. of this genealogy index for example http://patricus.info/Rodokmeny/Prazma.txt)

With the collapse of the Reich gathering speed in 1945 such cases became more frequent because an evacuation of all hospitals became less and less feasible. On the other hand there were some cases when female volunteers joined combat units. Here's something about a girl from Cologne who served in the Volkssturm as a medic:
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 69#p983369
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 78#p968578

There's a similar case mentioned somewhere in von Ahlfen (1998). A local nurse joined an infantry unit in Silesia in Feb./Mar 1945 and even participated in several counter-attacks, winning the Iron Cross. No details on her unfortunately, not even a name or a reference.

If it was a regular situation one can assume that till early 1945 nurses in a combat theatre did wear normal female DRK items, i.e. a grey costume, a work smock with blue and white stripes or the grey work dress. See the chapter on Red Cross uniforms in Angolia (1995) for details. There were two b/w photos on Ebay though years ago showing a group of Red Cross nurses on the Eastern front that wore jackboots (or wellingtons perhaps), overalls of blue or dark grey colour and the typical white caps. They were visiting a tank unit. I have the pics somewhere on the harddrive of my old computer but don't have access to that at the moment. If needed I can post them here when I'm back home.

I've also seen some accounts of Luftwaffe-Helferinnen and Heer-Nachrichtenhelferinnen stationed in Northern France and Belgium in Aug/Sept 1944 that were simply transferred to hospital duty because the regular personnel couldn't cope with the very high number of casualties any longer. They simply kept the uniforms they had. For another example see the Helferin in centre of this photo http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 3#p1281263. On a similar note during the retreat from SW France a number of Heer-Nachrichtenhelferinnen removed the Heer eagle and and the rank insignia from their tunics and simply posed as Red Cross personnel since the basic costume was the same. Having some sick at hand surely made their appearance even more convincing.

After early 1945 it's anything goes if you're willing to accept scenarios of moderate possibilty: German Red Cross (DRK) uniforms, NSV uniforms, dress of free-lance nurses, habit of religous orders involved in tending sick, BDM or even a hodgepodge of male items like Maria from Cologne.

References:

von Ahlfen, Hans
Der Kampf um Schlesien 1944 - 1945.
8th ed., Motorbuch Verlag; Stuttgart; 1998

Angolia, John R.
In the Service of the Reich.
James Bender Publishing; San José, (Ca.); 1995

Nemitz, Werner
Kriegsende eines HJ-Volkssturmsoldaten.
Books on Demand, Norderstedt, 2000

Best regards
Torsten

[nobodyofnote]

I won't republish this photo, but you can find it in this message here:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 5#p1703347

It is often said she is a Swedish nurse with Nordland, but I've read other discussions that she was an auxiliary or even a civilian. The claim is made due to the fact of a first aid kit placed next to her in the rear of the half-track. If she could be identified that would settle the debate once and for all.

[tigre]

Hello to all ; a summary about it ..................................

Red Cross nurses. Employment in the African campaign.

The theater of war in Africa was one of the fringe stages of the European battlefield, to which the chief WSan (Chef des Wehrmachtsanitätswesens - Chief of the Wehrmacht Medical Service) sent his medical service. According to Armeeoberin Elisabeth Ohnesorg, the mission of Red Cross nurses in Africa began on March 29, 1941, when nurses from the DRK (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz) set foot on African soil. The tropical medical examination referred especially to the examination of the circulatory system and dental health. In addition, physical and mental resilience were tested. With the 15th Panzer Division, medics selected twelve percent of the soldiers and replaced them. On October 19, 1942, the military doctor of the Panzer AOK Afrika (Armored Army Africa Command) reported the effective presence of 45 nurses and the absence of 6 nurses.

On February 19, 1943, an Oberin (superior), a physiotherapist and two X-ray assistants were assigned to the Kriegslazarett 950 - KL (war hospital 950) Tripoli. The Tripoli KL had a surplus of twelve nurses for the local Derna hospital. The "Deutsches Afrikakorps" doctor listed another 14 nurses for the local hospital in Derna. The extra-planned assignments went beyond what a military hospital could normally expect with the KStN 1352 (organic). The structure of the KL 950 can no longer be accurately verified.

Significantly, no auxiliary nurses were provided for the assignment, a concession the chief physician of a military hospital certainly could not count on otherwise. 23 sisters currently worked at the war hospital in Tripoli, some of them from the Berlin Motherhouses DRK Weissensee and Rittberghaus and twelve at the Feldlazarett 200 (field hospital 200) in Benghazi. Some 25 nurses are appointed to the KL 950, including Anna Hecht, Babette Petereit, Erna Schmidt and Käthe Tränkner, in addition to leitende Operationsschwester (Chief Nurse of Surgery) Annedore Heyd and leitende Oberschwester (Chief Nurse) Valeria Arendt.

On April 30, 1941, Head Nurse Radolfe K. wrote to her (superior) Oberin in Munich. She ran the seriously injured ward in the basement with a colleague. Conditions were primitive. Many sisters suffered from febrile infectious diseases, including diphtheria. On July 13, 1941, she wrote that all the sisters were becoming quite thin from heat, work, and hardship. Many sisters are too young, said the head nurse. She asked that they be relieved by the older women. Mrs K. was transferred to Germany at the end of the year for health reasons.

From November 20, 1942, the KL 950 was again in the Tripoli area and, apparently based on the KStN 1352, formed the hospital base for all medical facilities of the Panzer Army. At the end of 1942, DRK nurses were still assigned to care for the sick and wounded, specifically at War Hospital 950 (Kriegslazarett - KL), located in Tripoli, at Field Hospital 200 (Feldlazarett), located in Benghazi and in the so-called local hospital Derna (Ortslazarett). On October 13, 1941, the KL Tripoli consisted of surgery, an inpatient ward, and an Otorhinolaryngology, eye, and infection department.

On January 16, 1943, there were mainly 150 surgical beds plus 50 inpatient ward beds. According to a document dated December 20, 1941, the KL Tripoli had just been expanded to 700 beds, which did not change until November 20, 1942. The completely overcrowded 200-bed field hospital in Benghazi saw around 517 patients on November 29 1941. Apparently, many were prostrated by infections such as dysentery contributed by lack of hygiene, filth, poor personal hygiene.

Ilse Schulz and Grete Fock, both served as nurses in North Africa (see Afrikakorps ribbon) and were awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class.

Source: Rotkreuzschwestern. Ihr Einsatz im mobilen Sanitätsdienst der Wehrmacht 1939-1945 (Red Cross Nurses. Their employment in the mobile medical service of the Wehrmacht 1939-1945).
https://www.emedals.com/a-rare-iron-cro ... =1&slide=4

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more.................................

Red Cross nurses. Employment in the African campaign.

Source: original Foto Nachlass Beamter DAK Afrikakorps Tripolis Krankenhaus 53 Bilder. eBay Auction

Cheers. Raúl M .