The Public’s Health

Abstract

The war saw a protracted mortality crisis among civilians. The movement of millions of refugees and evacuees with little access to sanitary facilities, clean water, or medical care led to widespread epidemics. Evacuation took an especially heavy toll on small children, who died from a measles epidemic as well as starvation, diarrhea, and pneumonia. Widespread hunger and nutritional deficits damaged the health of people of all ages. In 1943 and 1944 starvation and tuberculosis—a disease highly sensitive to malnutrition—together became the largest single contributor to adult mortality. Defense production exposed workers to new, toxic chemicals. The war made unprecedented demands on public health, but health officials and medical staff lacked almost everything they needed. After the majority of medical professionals were drafted, only a “skeleton staff” remained to treat the civilian population. Yet public health officials managed to contain the worst epidemic outbreaks. During the final years of the war starvation and malnutrition became the country’s primary health hazard.