By Anchal Jain
1. The first war was unique because for the first time the war was brought beyond just hand-to-hand battlefield combat to the “Home Front”. Civilians faced the war at home as much as the armies at the front line.
2. The creation of Home Front brought new uncertainties, fear, grief, sorrow, riots, curfews, censorship as well as deprivation and shortages of food, fuel, etc. in the countries involved. Meanwhile, the Spanish Flu which was ironically first detected in Fort Riley in Kansas, USA was exported via American military men to the war and beyond in Europe.
3. Interestingly, with the men away to war, women took up jobs that were traditionally male domains. This included ordnance factories making bombs, manufacturing, civil services, post, docklands, farms etc. As they were freed of the masculine governance, women became aware of their potential and power. This was a significant shift that changed forever the gender equation and left a marked impact on the fashion and lifestyle industry.
4. The years following the end of the First War and Spanish Flu were painful from political point of view but still saw the stunning economic boom and emergence of some iconic art movements, product/service categories and brands.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are Val-More’s views only. Anchal is neither an economist nor an astrologer. However, besides having an ability to connect future dots, he is an eternal optimist always looking at the positives in human behavior in any difficult moment to come out stronger. Special mention of Manoj Kumar and Geetanjali Rastogi from the Val-More partner team for their contribution and challenges.
If you would like the full PDF, please contact our founding partner and author of this article at anchal@val-more.com