Haben Sie schon Ihre Influenza gehabt?“ – Österreich-Ungarn im Gefühlsreigen der Russischen Grippe 1889–1895

The Russian Flu not only claimed many lives but also affected public sentiment in various ways. This article examines the emotional responses to the pandemic in Austria-Hungary, drawing primarily on press sources from 1889 to 1895. The new disease initially triggered a mixture of confusion and the need for information which quickly gave way to fear, pity, and resignation, along with exhaustion, depression, and lack of energy. The pandemic also sparked political discontent and economic stress, as well as hostility. Several contemporaries expressed dissatisfaction with some of the press coverage of the disease, accusing journalists of sowing public insecurity. Anti-Semites used this criticism to lash out at Jews once again. Yet, most of the resentment seems to have been directed at the medical profession which could do little to remedy the situation. For some, humor was a way to cope with the disease

Criticism · Hostility · Pity · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Resentment · Sympathy · Witness · Central European and Russian historical studies · Central European national history · German Literature and Culture Studies · History · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology

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