OBNOVA I DRUŠTVENI RAZVOJ HERCEGOVINE OD 1945. DO 1952. GODINE
POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF HERZEGOVINA BETWEEN 1945 AND 1952

Summary/Abstract: In the period from 1945 to 1952, the region of Herzegovina underwent major social changes. According to the results of the first post-war population Census conducted in 1948, the total population of this region was 310,684. Due to the war, educational system was almost totally destroyed. Out of 280 primary and 12 secondary schools that had existed there before the war, 168 were either damaged or destroyed. This had a negative effect on literacy rates; thus, in 1948, there were 134,916 illiterate and 84.536 literate people. In an effort to improve the overall picture, and to introduce the schools of Herzegovina into their ideological concept, the communist authorities invested great funds and efforts in the reconstruction of schools. The result of this endeavour was so significant that, e.g. in the school year 1950/1951, there were 273 primary schools and 520 teachers as well as 51,729 students in this region. Besides schools, a great role in ensuring literacy of local population was played by the so-called “evening schools”, where adults obtained basic literacy skills. On the other hand, the problems posed by the fact that there were more than 25,000 refugees slowed down the process of consolidation of social relations in Herzegovina. An evident lack of basic foodstuffs, medicines and professional medical staff caused the breakout of contagious diseases, mainly typhoid and tuberculosis. With the distribution of the so-called “consumer coupons” that provide some food for the most vulnerable groups, the authorities succeeded in alleviating to some extent the problem of starvation. The number of beneficiaries of this type of aid grew speedily. Thus, in Herzegovina, in December 1950, there were 5,226 beneficiaries, while only two months later their number rose to 5,599.

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