Slow Recovery - Shock of Spanish Flu and World War I
The 1918-19 flu was the worst pandemic in human history. More than half the world’s population was infected. To find out about the recovery after these combined shocks of war and pandemic, we hear from three experts in this episode who study the period. Caitjan Gainty (King’s College London) explains what measures were put in place to recover from the Spanish flu and how the pandemic led to a rethink in the way cities and buildings were designed, and a focus on fresh air. Tim Hatton (University of Essex) outlines how an economic boom followed the end of the war due to pent-up demand, but it was followed by a severe economic slump and high unemployment. He explains what policies were introduced to help the recovery and why that recovery was patchy in the UK. And Chris Colvin (Queen’s University Belfast) tells us why it’s so hard to unpick the economic impact and recovery from the Spanish flu from the recovery from the first world war.