[A new Spanish enemy; the Spanish flu in the Netherlands in the period 1918-1920].

The Dutch example shows that there are not only differences but also several similarities between COVID-19 and the Spanish flu, although risk of infection and death toll were much higher than they are now, especially at the end of 1918. These similarities include emphasis on the importance of hand washing, prohibition of gatherings (and disregard of these rules), disruption of public life, uncertainty about the nature of the cause, praise of and warnings against ineffective medication as well as debate on use and necessity of certain measures. There is also the social context in which the disease and the measures taken to combat it are happening, with the poor paying the highest price, now as well as then.