Erinnerungen an die Grippe-Opfer aus Veendam: Die große Grippe-Epidemie von 1918 im Norden der Niederlande

The Spanish flu made many victims in the period 1918-1920. Especially in the Fall of 1918, many people died in the northern Netherlands. The consequences of this pandemic were considerable in various fields. This article examines the effects that the Spanish flu had on the way people dealt with death, how they mourned and how they buried their dead. In particular, the effects of the Spanish flu in Veendam are central. Newspaper articles from this period show that these effects became clearly noticeable in public life, although only temporarily. Mourning advertisements show how the loss of life was experienced in private life. A spatial analysis of the cemetery in Veendam shows that the rise in the number of deaths has left hardly any trace in the grave system.