A Hard Ordeal – Consequences of the Spanish Flu at Veržej in the Year 1918

Abstract

The Spanish flu after World War I meant a global threat. It spread from the United States of America and took between 20 and 50 million victims, in some estimations twice that much. The first news of the disease in Slovenia dates to July 1918, that is during the second wave of its spreading. The paper presents the aspect of the Slovenian Church leaders on the disease and its dimensions in some Church educational institutions in Slovenia. Frequent contacts among the institutions were a favourable circumstance for a relatively fast and vast spreading of the disease. The most affected was the Salesian College of Veržej, in that period destined to the formation of the Austrian aspirants for the Salesian life, where from the very beginning a lack of fundamental food and difficult economic situation were met. Mainly young members of the community turned sick, and four of the staff members, the age between 29 and 34 years, died.

Keywords

• spanish flu
• epidemic
• slovenia
• church
• salesian order
• college of veržej