The garrison hospital Djatingaleh (Semarang) was founded to replace the old military hospital in the quarter Bodjol of Semarang.(See the page on the Bodjol hospital). In Koloniaal Verslag 1920 the start of the building of this new hospital is announced. It was built in the southern outskirts Djatingaleh of Semarang together with the military establishment to house the 5th batallion Infantery in the hilly quarter at the outskirts of the city.  In May 1920 the transfer of the military could take place. The new military hospital was planned together with housing facilities for the staff.

The directing officer of health W. van der Veer published an article about the history of the Military Medical Service over the period 1911-1935 (GTNI, 76 (1936) 202-234) and mentions the measures to cut down expenditure by downgrading hospitals to infirmaries. This happens to the Hospital of  Semarang in 1932: it is turned into an infirmary.

See Grote Atlas van Nederlands Oost Indie (p. 282-287) with a townplan of Semarang, indicating the locations of the Bodjol hospital and the Jatingaleh hospital.

Semarang was in the 1930s a Residency of the province of Central Java. It was at the same time a regency and a district with a capital of the same name. The city of Semarang is also the capital of the province of Central Java and is the most important port town of that province. It is ruled by a municipality council, chaired by a mayor. The number of inhabitants is 218,000, of whom 12,600 Europeans and 27,500 Chinese. The Europeans mostly live in the hilly quarter of Tandji. The Governor of the province has his seat also in Semarang (Gonggryp 1934, 1287).