The psychological study of anxiety in the era of the Second World War.
The mid-twentieth century in Britain ushered in a new age of anxiety with the development of total war and the aerial bombing of civilians. Rather than trying to chart and quantify levels of anxiety and fear on the British home front during the Blitz, this article's goal is to examine how these emotions were conceptualized by psychological experts immediately prior to and during the war. The essay follows the rising problematization of anxiety and fear as new concepts calling for professional knowledge and management. It emphasizes the contribution of psychoanalysts to this development while pointing to gradual change between the two world wars.