Heer Medical / Sanitator:

Heer Oberfeldwebel, Militärärztliche Akademie:

The Militärärztliche Akademie (Military Medical Academy) was reopened on 1 October 1934 in the Kaiser Wilhelm Academy building to ensure the training of Sanitätsoffizieranwäter, Sanitätsinspekteur & all other medical aspects for the medical officers and officials in the military. 

As with all military organizations, Unteroffizier or non-commissioned officers kept the gears turning in all aspects of the training, personnel, and material processing in this massive organization as it grew with the demands of the war.

This Oberfeldwebel’s Heeres Dienstanzug Model 1936 is commonplace in the halls of the Akademie.  An Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse und Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen winner in France he also wears the Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber from a wound putting him in a place off the front line, perhaps loss of an eye.  While on his duty day, he will wear standard trousers with standard Marchstiefel or shoes, a cartridge belt with buckle, and Schirmmütz piped in matching Dünkelblau Waffenfarben. The collar Litzen are the generic war pattern instituted around 1940, they are backed and sewn to the collar. Highly trained medical support for all branches of the Wehrmacht was considered essential. Training in field settings comprised part of the course for medical officers at the Militärärztliche Akademie. With the Building of the German Uniform Collection.

It all started with just an insignia collection and old US uniforms. When that filled a couple of boxes, I started putting them on uniforms, I thought I knew something about. That did not pan out so well, then I found someone who could help me out, who wrote books on finding fakes, and now I have him help me make reproductions, and over a long time and a ton of work I’m amazed just how many uniforms we came up with, often with me wanting to make some odd uniform, he figured just didn’t really exist, or too hard to make, did I mention this is a very expensive hobby, sometimes we went back and forth sometime’s he learned something, sometimes me, but all of it was an eye opener to what I got into.

It does amaze me how far we have gotten, and the tons of uniforms I had never even thought about before, and what some of the insignia ended up looking like on a jacket and cap. The American Collection was going on at the same time, actually started first, though, for a different reason, we were very busy over the years, that time has come to a radical slowdown as all things eventually do, still, things pop up.

Sani in white fatigues, and Helmet:

While fooling around one day, trying to figure out I guess where to use a set of work trousers, we grabbed a helmet, and there ya go, but I thought still it might work here. Could happen I suspect, if not in the field, maybe training, with a gray shirt and a common helmet. The helmet had been reworked, it had gotten very worn out, a reproduction, but an old one, just green color for some time, till I had a Medic or Sanitat uniform needing a helmet, and decals had been applied, they were less than adequate, but the color bleached out, and soon painted over, till that too was washed off with cleaners, now it has been brought back to an acceptable appearance and a fair example of a Medical Sani’s Helmets were sometime marked up. This helmet or Stahalam, has been used now with several of the Sanitators in the collection, and some several times.

Unteroffizier  2. / Sanitäts-Abteilung 34  Infanterie Division 34:

Infanterie-Division 34 was formed in April 1936 in Koblenz and mobilized in August 1939 as part of the 1. Welle or wave. It manned defensive positions in the Saarpfalz in 1939 and later participated in the invasion of France. It took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 and saw continuous combat there for almost three years. After suffering heavy losses in the relief of the Cherkasy pocket and in the fighting at Uman, it was refitted in May 1944 as part of the 26. Welle from.  Transferred to Italy in July 1944, the division surrendered there in April 1945.

Typical of the medical component of a division Sanitäts-Abteilung 34 was composed of two Sanitäts-Kompanie (mostly front-line combat medical personnel), two Krankenkraftwagenzug (ambulance platoons), and a Feldlazarett (field hospital). The Sanitäts-Kompanie personnel was assigned to provide organic support to the combat elements of the division with the Krankendraftwagenzugs dispatched as required by mission need; all feeding directly to the Feldlazarett.

The Feldbluse Model 36 is typical of the combat uniform worn during the Battle of France in 1940. The collar Litzen has been directly sewn into the collar and the shoulder insignia is war period slip-on style with the Sanitäts-Abteilung identifying numerals embroidered directly which is standard for the rank of Unteroffizier or below.  During combat, the Unteroffizier may well turn this upside down as a security measure.  Both the Litzen and the shoulder insignia display the Dunkel-Blau Waffenfarben of the medical branch. On his Right Silver is the Medical Qualification Tnsignia, of interest is the silver chors around it, an officer or highly qualified marking. When on duty he will wear a red cross vest and armband, and at this place and this point, a marked helmet.

‘Medic’ Sanitatskompanie 1/104 Agrinion, Greece Okt. 1943:

Converted from the 704th Infantry Division in April 1943 the 104th Jager Regiment was posted to Western Greece in June. The division remained there till the advancing Red Army forced movement to Yugoslavia where it fought against Tito's partisans. The division ended the war on the Southern Eastern Front. This "Sani" wears the standard tropical uniform.

Often associated with only the Afrika campaign the Tropical uniform was widely issued to troops in southern areas of operation such as Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, and Southern Russia.

As in most cases, the Sani has taken specific insignia from his continental wool uniform and placed it on the tropical tunic. This was done as the uniform was issued only with a collar and national insignia in the standard tropical style. To ensure identification as medical personnel he wears the standard armband as well as the prominent vest in combat. His shoulder insignia is piped in branch blue, he wears a Jager badge on both his tunic sleeve and cap and has his medical trade badge sewn on the right cuff.

Ritterkreuztrager u. Stabsartz Hans-Joachim Merkel:

Known as the ‘Panzer-Doktor’, Merkel was the only German Army doctor to be awarded the Knights Cross for combat leadership. Assigned as a medical officer for the 1st Battalion of the 35th Panzer Regiment in November 1943. Merkel had found himself as the ranking officer and successfully took on the attacking Soviets, in an engagement on the Eastern Front. Wounded during the battle, he was awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross and the Black wound Badge on the 23rd of December 1943. Merkel had been also awarded the German Cross in Gold, as well as the Iron Crosses I and II.

With the forming of the new Panzer Lehr Division in 1943, Merkel was assigned to the division-level medical section, Sanitatstruppen 130 which consisted of three ambulance platoons. The division was created to be used to defeat the imminent Allied invasion in the West but saw its first action in Hungary occupying the capitol of Budapest belatedly arriving in France in May. The Normandy Invasion and the commitment of the Panzer Lehr saw the division in constant combat and never regaining its organized strength as a panzer division. After the withdrawal from Normandy, the Division fought constantly, being consistently whittled down till the surrender in 1945.

Two uniforms have been represented by Stabsartz Merkel. First is the one he wore with the Panzer Regiment 35 in Russia. This is the standard Heer-style Armored uniform for the enlisted soldier with standard collar insignia and breast eagle. Merkel has added medical shoulder insignia to the uniform. He wore black trousers with a wrap, black boots, and a belt. The seems to be evidence pictorial he wore a panzer overseas cap, nor Schirmmutz, but there is a wide variety of clothing.

The second uniform is the standard Heer Officers M36 style field uniform. Here Merkel has both medical branch collar and shoulder insignia. This would be the style of uniform he probably wore with the Panzer Lehr. Along with probably a Schirmmutz and/or M-43 Field Caplikley Breaches and boots. As a combat veteran, he probably wore and standard service pistol the P08 or P38, and a standard black belt with a double claw buckle. In one of the other uniforms, he wore a light color sheepskin coat and a fur-lined M43-style cap with Heer insignia on it.

Common Medical Kit of the German Wehrmacht we have in the collection:

The brown 3-piece “Web-Gear” set up, The Brown was common to the Heer, and the Luftwaffe, possibly the Kriegsmarine as well. The picture doesn’t show the Y straps that were generally worn with the belt. It’s filled with gauze, and medical dressings as well as other common medicines, and, pills, etc.

The black kit would be more common with the Heer, and the Waffen-SS forces. and also has the bigger box going in the back, and two smaller, pouches. The tops flip forward, keeping guys out of them, and providing a tray, for pills or medicines, needles, what have you.

There is a carry bag, that was hung from the shoulder, canvas, it was flexible and light, and marked with the red cross, this was not that common in the German Army of the time, work’s here too, but was used in the Post War Army.

The n there are two large medical leather boxes, with a strap on them, where a medic could carry one over his shoulder or two crosses over his body, for some serious doctoring in the field.

The use of the make-shift kit, in the way of carrying battlefield, medical supplies, forceps, sulfide, dressings, and tourniquets basically I suppose, could be carried in captured bags, or liberated by need, there were likely civilian packs and cross-strapped bags types. Then there is the use in the last pictures, of the use of a large type of MG-42 Machine-gunners tool and cleaning kit-box, it may have once held the leather gloves, but it’s been adapted for medical use, and it is full of dressings.