Description
SOLDBUCH – LOTHAR SCHMIDT – SANITÄTS-STABSGEFREITER – KRANKEN-TRANSPORT-ABTEILUNG 601 – EASTERN FRONT MEDICAL SERVICE – PANZER TUNIC ID PHOTO
DETAILS:
Soldbuch issued to Lothar Schmidt, born 1 December 1899. Protestant; occupation Gastwirt (innkeeper). Includes an excellent uniform portrait photograph showing Schmidt wearing a black Panzer-style wrap tunic with medal ribbon bar, an unusual and visually striking image for a Sanitätstruppe soldier. Early mobilization on 1 September 1939 into 1./Kranken-Transport-Abteilung 601.
Service throughout the war within medical and casualty evacuation units, including 1. and later 3./Kranken-Transport-Abteilung 601, with documented attachment to Genesenden-Abteilung 16 (convalescent formation). Replacement unit recorded as 3. Sanitäts-Ersatz-Abteilung, Guben.
Rank progression reflects steady service within the Sanitätstruppe: Obersoldat (31.12.1939), Gefreiter (01.06.1940), Sanitätsgefreiter (01.11.1940), and Sanitäts-Stabsgefreiter (01.08.1943).
Award entries confirm Eastern Front service, including the Ostmedaille (1 August 1942) and Kriegsverdienstkreuz II. Klasse mit Schwertern (20 April 1942), indicating service under combat-zone conditions in a medical evacuation role.
Soldbuch shows continuous field use with extensive entries for issued equipment, including winter clothing (1944), gas mask inspections, and detailed weapons accountability. Weapons pages record initial issue of a captured Dutch rifle, later replaced by a Karabiner 98k, along with pistol entries—typical of evolving equipment allocation within support units.
Stamped entries include multiple medical authority and unit confirmations, including Stabsarzt and Oberarzt signatures, as well as a Krankensammelstelle (casualty collection point) stamp dated 1 September 1944, reinforcing front-line medical chain involvement.
No combat wounds are recorded in the visible pages.
Accompanied by original period photograph depicting a Sd.Kfz. 251 Schützenpanzerwagen marked with Red Cross insignia crossing a temporary bridge in a combat zone, directly reflecting mechanized casualty evacuation capability within frontline conditions.
Also included are postwar documents, including a Berlin administrative letter (1941) regarding family support payments and a 1954 Versorgungssamt Berlin document referencing a claim connected to war service.
AWARDS:
Kriegsverdienstkreuz II. Klasse mit Schwertern – 20 April 1942
Ostmedaille – 1 August 1942
PROMOTIONS:
Obersoldat – 31 December 1939
Gefreiter – 1 June 1940
Sanitätsgefreiter – 1 November 1940
Sanitäts-Stabsgefreiter – 1 August 1943
UNITS:
1./Kranken-Transport-Abteilung 601
Genesenden-Abteilung 16
3./Kranken-Transport-Abteilung 601 (2. Zug)
3. Sanitäts-Ersatz-Abteilung, Guben
NOTES:
Clear portrait photo in black wrap Panzer-style tunic with ribbon bar
Initial issue of captured Dutch rifle noted in weapons section
Sd.Kfz. 251 Schützenpanzerwagen (Red Cross) photo included
Extensive equipment and field-use entries
Krankensammelstelle stamp (1 September 1944)
Postwar administrative and pension-related documents included
STATUS:
Active service documented through late 1944
“`
