HOW DID THE SPANISH INFLUENZA IMPACT THE 1918 UNION OF TRANSYLVANIA WITH ROMANIA?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24919/2519-058X.21.246904Abstract
The National Assembly, scheduled for Alba Iulia on December 1, 1918, was meant to proclaim the Union of Transylvania, Banat, and Partium (parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918, but with a Romanian ethnic majority) with the Kingdom of Romania. Among the worst enemies for the organization of this Assembly was the Spanish Influenza.
Towards the end of 1918, explanations about this pandemic were partly modern. Transylvanian newspapers made some efforts to depict the Spanish flu, emphasizing a scientific dimension, occasionally giving space for the medical discussions, although theories without scientific support were present as well. In some countries around the world, modern procedures were taken against the spread of the flu, such as wearing a mask or the interdiction to organize events with numerous participants, but in Transylvania, at the end of the war, it appeared that very few cared for real measures regarding the pandemic. The major imperatives of the period were hundred per cent towards the national emancipation. There was also a vacuum of authority which needed to be filled.
The deputies for the National Assembly were elected 4 – 7 days prior the event established to take place in Alba Iulia. A significant number of them got sick in this period, becoming unable to make the trip to Alba Iulia. Most of them sent telegrams to the Assembly organizers, specifying that they were victims of the Spanish flu and that they were forced to stay in bed. Some of those afflicted were replaced by substitutes already elected. Nevertheless, other Romanian leaders, although being very ill, made a considerable effort and managed to be present at the event. Carrying the flu germs (knowledge about viruses was extremely limited) and putting others in danger was not seen as a major problem.
Key words: pandemic, flu, World War I, post-war, Transylvania, unification, National Assembly
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