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. The result of both the demise of great aristocratic empires and the economic depression was an "anti-modernist" movement that military might was the only means to create stability within the inhumane world of post WWI Europe. As a result, Nazism and Fascism developed in some of the most destitute areas of war ravaged Europe. These two regimes grew out of a massive anxiety over the chaotic nature of life in the post war era. Specifically, there was a sense of disillusionment and cynicism over the victimization of the war. This was specifically pronounced through the Dolchstosslegende, or "dagger stab legend," which stated that Germany was the victim of domestic factors...

That many segments of the society had intentionally sabotaged the war effort by not rising to a "public calling. The Nazism and Fascism of this era showed a true anxiety among the populace and a yearning for order. The lack of economic, political and social control that resulted from the war created a populace that fervently wanted order. Although both regimes went to the extremes of control, the anxiety of Italy and Germany overcame any other moral or conscience decisions of the populace. Strict authoritarian regimes provided a sense of calm and direction for the people and in their desperation for some sort of control they relied upon this change to bring sanity to their worlds.
The anxiety of the post war era can be understood in the context of massive social, political, intellectual and cultural change. The collapse of empires and cultural domains resulted in chaos and social upheaval. In the search for order and an answer to the depression, the people of many nations turned to extremes. Some chose to follow an extreme movement for the proletariat, while others chose the extreme authoritarianism of the Nazis and Fascists. At the heart of all of these decisions were born out of fear and a social decision for change.