Express Train Collision in Wartime Germany

In the years between the end of the First World War and the outset of the second one in 1939, Germany had received a good reputation for the efficiency of its train service. As the Second World War began and much of its railway system and employees were handed over to the military to work for them. In order to keep the civilian train services running many previously retired railway workers were drafted back into service to help run the system. For these employees, and many had not operated this machinery before, the training when it existed was minimal.

On the morning of the 22nd December an express train bound for Cologne had made an unscheduled stop at Genthin Station close to Magdeburg, it was packed full of people hoping to do some Christmas shopping. An express train heading to Berlin was routed onto the same set of tracks and went through a stop signal. It was travelling at its full speed when it ploughed into the back of the stationary Cologne train.

The rear three coaches of the Cologne train were demolished by the impact. The locomotive of the Berlin express derailed and carried five coaches full of passengers with it. The official death toll was placed at 132 people with an additional 109 suffering from serious injuries. Those were the figures issued by the ruling Nazi government of the country. Many people at the time felt those numbers were kept artificially low by those in power to avoid any feeling of low morale amongst its people. The government had originally attempted to keep the story from appearing in the press.