Epidemic Typhus Strikes Moldavia – the Patients in the Hospitals of Iași (1916–1918)

The typhus epidemic struck hard during the war years, claiming the lives of thousands of Romanians. The disorganised withdrawal of the Romanian army and the flow of refugees fleeing the enemy crowded the towns and villages of Moldavia, facilitating the transmission of the plague due to poor hygiene conditions. In a small territory between Siret and Prut, many divisions withdrawn from the front were crowded together. The commanders of the units recovering in Moldavia tried to find accommodation for troops as close as possible to the decision-making centre in Iași. Several localities bordering the city (Poieni, Grajduri, Voinești), covering an area of several dozen square kilometres, offered provisional residences to four army divisions. The soldiers lived in overcrowded peasant huts. Half a square metre for each man. Under these conditions, it’s no wonder the virus germinated unchecked and the epidemic spread among civilians and soldiers alike. The disease appeared as early as December 1916 and peaked in March 1917. The statistics of the time recorded an increase in mortality (around 15–17%) among both army and civilians. The medical corps also paid a heavy price. More than 300 doctors (Romanian and foreign) fell in the line of duty. The proposed paper, drawing on local archival sources and following fragments of memoirs, investigates how the authorities in Iași responded to the challenges posed by the spread of this disease, which haunted hospitals and entered people’s homes. Administrative measures at the level of the Iași City Hall and the ‘circulation of papers’ between authorities, responding to the impact of the epidemic, thus complement the reflection of trauma in autobiographical literature.