A cross on the card indicates that the prisoner died in the camp. The cross can appear in different places. For example, there may be a small cross next to the date. In these cases, an additional T for Tod or tot (“death” or “dead”) was often written in the upper section as well. On other cards, the prisoner’s death (gestorben, “died”) was noted in the field marked Krankheit (“illness”), and a cross was drawn next to this in red pen.
If a card has been crossed out with a red or purple pencil but there are no other markings or crosses, this does not necessarily mean that the person died. Cards for prisoners who had been released from the sick bay or transferred to another camp were crossed out in this way so that the back of the card could be used for another prisoner.