The new 'Garnison - Lazareth Cuxhaven' shortly after it was put into service on the 'Altenwalder Chaussee'. View from the street side of the west wing. Source: Andreas Möller

The 'Cuxhaven Naval Hospital' in the early 1920s, view of the north wing.Source: Andreas Möller

Staff and patients in the clinic gardenSource: Andreas Möller

Besuch eines Kameraden im Marinelazarett Cuxhaven.
Quelle:Gerd Wildfang

From mid-1936 until shortly before the end of the war in 1945, numerous new naval hospitals were set up in the German Reich. However, due to the course of the war, some were closed or had to be dissolved. The staff that became available as a result was partly distributed and used for new facilities or to maintain existing stocks in other parts of the Reich. In the command area of the Kriegsmarine, there were almost 80 hospitals and 8 recreation facilities, including the 'Cuxhaven Naval Hospital' with its specialist departments. As in the previous war, many Wehrmacht wounded were treated from 1939 onwards. It was mainly naval forces of the Kriegsmarine who had to be cared for after heavy fighting with the Royal Air Force, and most of the injuries were very serious. German aircraft crews who were brought in after air battles or crashes were also treated there. But prisoners of war, such as shot down Allied aircraft crews, were also treated there. In addition, foreign auxiliary workers who were serving in the Wehrmacht were cared for here. These were often people from the East who had been forced to work. Among other things, they were used as ammunition haulers in the anti-aircraft batteries. However, this advantage did not benefit every forced laborer during this time. Many died in their camps without receiving any care when they became seriously ill. One example of this is 'Konstantin Stebljanko', who died in the Cuxhaven naval hospital from a serious infectious disease (dysentery).

The north wing in the early 1940sSource: Andreas Möller

1942 - Field postcard to Chief Medical Officer/Squadron Doctor Dr. SeichterSource: ebay

Lazarettstempel

In addition to treating its patients, the Cuxhaven naval hospital was also responsible for identifying washed-up victims from all warring nations, as well as dead aircraft crews. However, given the capabilities available at the time and the condition of the dead, this was sometimes no longer successful at all, especially when the relevant identification papers or dog tags were missing. Very often, victims were brought in who were found in the Cuxhaven area or at sea. These records are publicly available in the American National Archives. They are copies of German fighter aircraft records that were made after the war when searching for Allied aircraft crews. Photographs of patient records from the hospitals were also used. There are no reports of British or German aircraft crews.

Example 1: Report from the chief physician of the Cuxhaven naval hospital on the identity of the recovered dead of the American bomber crew 'Lucky Tiger'.

Example 1: The B 24 Liberator crashed into the mudflats near Spieka-Neufeld on October 8, 1943 after being fired upon by fighters. The entire crew lost their lives.

Example 1: The crew of the plane drifted to the Wurster North Sea coast a few days later. They were all buried in Brockeswalde and reburied in Becklingen after the war.

Example 2: Discovery of an unknown American pilot in the Elbe by the harbor patrol boat 'DC 5'.

Aerial photograph from April 18, 1944 of the city of Cuxhaven. Source: 392th Bomb Group

Aerial photograph from January 2022, above the Altenwalder Chaussee.Source: Jan Czonstke Photographed