On 8 September 1943, Italy capitulated and renounced the German-Italian alliance. Italian soldiers became enemies. The Wehrmacht brought 600,000 of them to Germany for forced labour. Among them were wounded and diseased Italian soldiers from southeastern Europe. The Wehrmacht brought about 3,000 prisoners suffering primarily from malaria to Zeithain. The transports also brought Italian medical staff, Red Cross nurses and their medical equipment to the camp. After the recovery of many of the malaria patients, the Italian section of the hospital emptied by late 1943. The patients who had recovered were transferred
to other camps for forced labour. As a result of the severe living and working conditions coupled with undernourishment, many Italian prisoners of war contracted tuberculosis in 1944-1945. Those Italians who were infectious and no longer able to work were transferred to the Zeithain hospital. A separate area was established in the Italian sector of the hospital to isolate the tuberculosis patients. The medial staff were not prepared for this disease and only inadequately equipped to treat it. They often had no choice but to care for the soon moribund and dying patients until they died. By summer 1945, 874 Italian soldiers had died of their diseases. More former prisoners died while being repatriated to their Italian homeland.