Italian Hospital Train Unloading Slip for German POW Walter Schmitt

Italian Hospital Train Unloading Slip for German POW Walter Schmitt

Notes on the Handwriting

The handwritten entries are faded graphite pencil.

This is not a medical record itself, but rather a transport tag used on a military hospital train.

"Entladezettel"

The word literally means "unloading slip" or "disembarkation slip."

It accompanied a patient being removed from a hospital train and served as a logistics document so personnel at the receiving station knew:

which railway car the patient occupied,
who the patient was,
his military rank,
his medical case number,
whether he could sit or required a stretcher,
where he was to be unloaded.
"Ital. Lazarettzug"

This stands for:

Italienischer Lazarettzug

Italian Hospital Train

During World War II, Germany operated numerous Lazarettzüge (hospital trains). Those designated "Italian" generally operated in the Italian theater after the German occupation of Italy in 1943, transporting wounded soldiers northward into Germany or Austria for treatment.

The blank train number suggests either:

the number was never entered,
it was recorded elsewhere,
or this was a preprinted form used quickly during unloading.
Car No. 10a

This identifies the specific railway carriage containing the patient.

Hospital trains commonly had:

ward cars,
operating cars,
pharmacy cars,
kitchens,
staff accommodations,

so identifying the correct carriage was essential during unloading.

Illness Number (Krankheitsnummer)

The Krankheitsnummer was an administrative case number assigned to the patient for transport and medical documentation. It was not a diagnosis or severity rating.

Offenburg

Offenburg, in Baden, southwestern Germany, was an important railway junction during the war.

It served as:

a transfer point for military trains,
a reception point for wounded soldiers,
and the location of several military hospitals (Lazarette).

Many hospital trains traveling north from Italy passed through or terminated at Offenburg because of its strategic rail connections.

Overall Assessment

This document is a hospital train unloading tag documenting the transfer of a wounded or ill German soldier.

The form would originally have accompanied the patient as he was removed from the hospital train and handed over to the receiving military medical authorities. It is a logistical document rather than a clinical medical record.

This was likely a tag from before his capture in Tunisia

Translation

ENTLADEZETTEL

Unloading Slip

ITAL. LAZARETTZUG Nr.

Italian Hospital Train No.
(No number has been entered.)

Wagen Nr.:
Car No.: 10a

Listen Nr.:
List No.: (blank)

Dienstgrad:
Rank: (appears to read "Gefr." = Gefreiter, but the handwriting is extremely faint and not completely certain)

Name:
Surname: Schmitt

Vorname:
Given name: Walter

KRANKHEITSNUMMER:
Illness / Case Number: 12

Sitzend = S
Sitting = S

Liegend = L
Lying (stretcher) = L

(Lying appears to be marked)

AUSLADEORT:
Unloading Location: Offenburg

Bemerkungen:
Remarks: (blank)