Porumbăcean, Claudiu (szerk.): Satu Mare. Studii şi comunicări. Seria istorie-etnografie-artă 35/2. Volum aniversar 1969-2019 (2019)
Istorie
It is obvious that in the pre-war years, the population of the city grew naturally, the GDP growth being positive until 1914 and negative after this year. Basically, if we take into consideration the population of Satu Mare recorded during the 1910 census (nearly 35,000 inhabitants), we can say that in 1912 the population grew naturally by about 1.31 %, in 1913 by 1.05 %, in 1914 by 0.97%, whereas the year 1915 brought about a net population decline. The city of Satu Mare was protected from the direct threat of the war. The front line was the closest to Satu Mare in October 1914, when the Russian army entered Sighet (Maramureş County). However, the war was present in the life of every family. Everyone had someone serving on the front line. The news about battle stirred up feelings. Diseases, especially typhus, cholera and, since 1918, the Spanish maintained a state of panic. The eight military hospitals in the city, the presence of the wounded, the prisoners of war did not leave room for illusions. Somewhere out there, people were fighting and they were dying. However, the city was trying to live as close to the normal state as possible. The shops were open, people, especially men, were still meeting at cafés in order to discuss politics and to share impressions of the war, schools were open each autumn, being closed several times because of the risk of epidemics. After being closed for several months, the theater reopens on December 5, 1914. At the beginning, there was a propaganda film “Franz Joseph transmits ...” The theatrical performances were constantly present in all the years of war. The media reported extensively on the donations made by the inhabitants of Satu Mare both to the soldiers on the front line, and to the wounded in the military hospitals in the city. Goods such as food, clothes, money were donated. The donors were named nominally. There was hardly any issue of the Szamos newspaper which failed to mention such donations. In addition to the donations made by the city’s citizens, we can also notice the attitude of the City Hall, which has made a constant effort to help those affected by the war. For example, the wounded and their families, as well as the families of the deceased on the front line received social support from the City Hall. As early as August 1, 1914, the army requisitioned food from the main warehouses in the railway station area. Since then, fears have been expressed about rising prices. More or less forced requisitions remained a reality until the end of the war. The high demand for products led to a rapid rise in prices. Starting with the autumn of 1914 there were products that in two to three months’ time doubled their price. We believe the graphs are illustrative in this respect. These price rises, then the disappearance of some products from the market and the rationing of food, affected negatively the living standards of the city’s inhabitants, and the purchase of products of strict necessity became a real adventure especially during the last two years of war. The city got past this war. Then in March and April 1919, it met the Communist Directorate. The war really came to an end for the inhabitants of Satu Mare only on April 19, 1919, with the Romanian troops entering the city. Keywords: Satu Mare, the First World War I, demography, rising prices, food shortages Oraşul Satu Mare în timpul Primului Război Mondial-aspecte demografice şi de viaţă cotidiană 98
