The challenge of living in Belgrade 1918-1941: housing, disease and malnourishment

Abstract

After the end of the First World War, Belgrade became the capital of the new state — Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes/Yugoslavia. This enticed a great immi‑ gration wave of the surrounding rural population, but also the influx of educated and professionally trained people (clerks, administrative staff, soldiers, officers, businessmen etc.), as it was demanded by Belgrade’s new status of political, administrative, economic and military centre of the new state. This great immigration wave — the population doubled in the first ten years after the war — worsened the already existent problem of inadequate housing. Belgrade was one of the few European capitals that was on the frontline, and consequently it suffered enormous damage during the First World War. According to contemporary data, between 25% and 33% of the existing pre‑war residences were destroyed in the 1914‑1918 period. Therefore, after the end of the war, Belgrade experienced a huge influx of immi‑ gration. The capital’s population was 112,000 in 1919 and 314,000 in 19392 . This was not only witnessed in Belgrade, however. All other major urban centers of the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes were subjected to a similar reality. It could be argued that this was actually a pan‑European trend, considering that all other major cities of the Continent were subjected to a similar immigration influx.In Belgrade, the disparity between the number of immigrants and the quantity of available apartments led to situations where newcomers were lodged in staircases, hallways, vestibules and even tents. These developments led to an abrupt increase of the building activity. During the following decade, two peaks can be observed: the first one happened between 1926−1928, while the second encompassed the 6 January Dictatorship of the King Alexander 1930−19324 . During these intervals, 13.21% (1927) and 12.5% (1932) more buildings have been constructed.