Sources of anxiety following World War I

World War I or what was commonly called "The War to End All Wars" resulted in the collapse of four aristocracies and many of the great Empires of Europe. In its aftermath a traumatic world was plunged into chaos and recession by a number of factors. The post war era left a generation of youth drained and disillusioned by both the war itself and the lives of the war-ravaged nations. All of this resulted in a deep set anxiety that took over much of the world and which would ultimately result into the Second World War.

The anxiety of the Post War era could be seen in almost all areas of life in the post war era, it was very evident in the intellectual and artistic movements of the era. World War I brought an end to the exploratory art of Picasso, Cubism, Expressionism and other forms and instead introduced an "anti-art movement." The works of Marcel Duchamp such as Dada, and Surrealism are exemplary of the art of this period which developed from the disillusionment and general atrocities that the youth generation witnessed during this period. Art within the West was signified by the photography of the Great Depression and the devastation of the Western Europe. Much of it focused on the despair of the general populace and war for survival that established the credibility of this particular era. Artist groups such as de Stijl and Bauhaus developed an interrelation of the arts, architecture, and design and art education. These elements all combined to show that there was a dramatic improvement in the overall social and political forces that motivated change in this particular era. The art of this era revealed a strange devotion to social adaptability and a changing ambience of social and political upheaval.

The First World War drained Europe of its economic resources as well as a large segment of their youth. As a result, a global depression occurred that would last for more than a decade. Within the United States, an overabundance of production resulted in "the Great Depression"; while in the rest of Europe the chaos of inefficient government, out of control inflation and other economic depressants resulted in a massive Continental depression. The result was the rise of political unrest that was fueled by a combination of chaos and desperation. It gave rise to a new political movement of the proletariat, the communist movement. This movement resulted from a demand from the working class to unionize and transform an aristocratic driven economic and political sphere into a wholly populist state. This movement gained tremendous momentum as a result of the post war depression of Europe and specifically among a new class of unemployed, returning veterans of the war. The depression and unemployment of this era was more than anything else a driving force for anxiety. Unemployed soldiers returned from war without jobs and joined the ranks of the unemployed, hyperinflation and the need for war reparations from the defeated countries resulted in economic crisis. The inevitable result of a massive panic of the masses as they felt the need for quick and easy solutions to their economic crisis. Thus, anxiety that resulted from economic disparity was one of the strongest forces in modern society and forced social and political upheaval throughout the era.