The Apocalypse Already Occurred: In the 1930's?

Dust Storm, Texas, 1935

In each generation, including the present time, there are people in society who proclaim that the "End of Days", or the "Apocalypse," is arriving. What does that exactly mean? Eschatology is a fancy word that refers to what is generally a religious-based concept that the end of the world as we know it is approaching, usually in a very disastrous way, to be replaced by something else -- usually something better:

Judaism  The Hebrew Bible contains portions that foretell the coming of the "Messiah," a man who will usher in a new age of peace and the absence of death. "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" [Isaiah 2:4] According to tradition, this will occur sometime before the year 2240.

Christianity  There are many sects with varying beliefs (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant), but a common theme in the Christian Gospels, particularly in the Book of Revelations, is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, whom many believe is the Jewish Messiah. This new age will be brought about only after there are terrible wars and enormous natural disasters.

Islam  Many Muslims believe that the Day of Judgment will come after the prophesied redeemer al-Mahdi joins with the returned Jesus Christ to defeat the forces of evil. Shi'ite Muslims believe that al-Mahdi is the returning "12th Imam," Muhammad al-Mahdi, who lived in the 9th century. These battles are to be preceded and accompanied by natural disasters.

Hinduism  There is a general belief that there is a final "Dark Age" that is characterized by war, disease, and natural disasters -- which lead to total destruction. This period is then followed by a Golden Age.

Buddhism  Before the appearance of the next Buddha, Maitreya, the world will devolve into general social disarray and violent lawlessness. Fortunately, this might not happen for another couple thousand years or so.

So why am I bringing up all this talk about destruction of the world? Well, there are quite a number of people who are claiming that the present proliferation of wars, global climatic changes, and economic collapse are signs that we have entered the End of Days. Whether that is so or not, I would like to bring to their attention a time in our recent past when everything was much worse than it is today, yet the world continued along its own miserable or wonderful existence.

The 1930's

The decade of the 1930's was probably the worst in the recorded history of this world, in terms of economics, politics, and Nature. While I will focus here on the United States, similar events and situations were occurring throughout the world at the same time:

ECONOMICS

"Recession", "stagflation", and other colorful terms are used to describe the present woeful economic situation. However, the standard by which all bad economic situations are measured is comparing them to the Great Depression.  The Great Depression is synonymous with the 1930's.

Stock Market  People these days are talking about how horrible the present recession is. One way of gauging how bad things are is to look at the popular stock market averages. For instance, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its all-time high on October 2007, when it hit 14,198. The present figure  in July 2011 (almost 4 years later) has dropped 10.7% since that high. Sounds rather bad, doesn't it? Well, what about this: Between October 1929 and July 1932 (almost 3 years), the Dow Jones average dropped 89%. It dropped to its lowest level ever in July 1932: 41.22.

Unemployment  Everyone is concerned these days with national debt, unemployment, and the rising cost of essential items, such as toilet paper. According the U.S. Bureau of labor Statistics, the present unemployment rate in the U.S. is about 9.2%, the highest since 1982, when it reached 10.8%. As recently as 2007, it was at 4.7%, so things sound pretty bad, right? Well, how about this: In 1932, the estimated U.S. unemployment rate was 23.6%, the highest in recorded history.

NATURAL DISASTERS

Floods  There are plenty of stories about terrible flooding throughout the U.S. and the world. In fact, there are too many examples to give here. However, if we were to look for the worst flood in history, we would have to review the Huang He (Yellow) River floods in China in 1931. It is estimated that as many as 4 million people were killed during those floods, the worst natural disaster in recorded history. Ok, it might not have been as bad as the one Noah survived, but 1) there might not have been that many people in the world at that time; and 2) the same people who claim that the flood is historical would also have to claim that it was not quite a "natural" disaster.

Climate  There's lots of talk these days about Global Warming and worldwide droughts. The 2010-11 winter seemed colder than usual, and summer 2011 has already seen temperatures constantly in the high 90'sF and over 100F. I don't feel like giving figures, but, yeah, it's bad. But if you think this is bad, let's look at the weather in 1936 in the U.S.:

At least 9 states recorded their lowest temperatures ever, such as North Dakota (-60F/-51C) and South Dakota (-58F). Below-average temperatures for the winter were recorded for 43 out of 48 states, and 32 of those averages were below freezing. Some average temperatures were even under 0F, and windchills sometimes went under -100F (-73C). Let's agree that that was a cold winter. So the following summer was mild? Not exactly. A heat wave in the summer of 1936 was the worst in North American history. At least 14 states recorded their highest temperatures ever, such as North Dakota (121F) and Ohio (110F). Parts of Illinois had 100+F (38C) temperatures for 18 consecutive days.

During this heat wave, soil temperatures in some regions reached over 200F (93C) at the 4-inch depth. The severe heat scorched the earth, creating terrible drought conditions. As the land dried, the topsoil was blown away, and great stretches of farmland turned to dust. Enormous dust storms devastated the landscape, including livestock and wild fauna. This entire scenario became known as the Dust Bowl. Over 2.5 million people fled the area, creating the largest migration in U.S. history. 

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

Lots of discussion these days focus on the various armed conflicts going on the world: Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, etc. Any war is a terrible thing, but what has been the most devastating war of them all? Just about everyone would agree that World War II would be the standard by which all other wars are compared for sheer terror, loss of life, physical destruction, and financial ruin. Most people would argue that WWII began with the German invasion of Poland in 1939, and lasted until Japan's surrender in 1945. By that measure, the 1930's can easily claim the beginning of the worst conflict in recorded history. However, it was much worse than that. When did WWII actually begin? Let's look at some of the major combatants and decide for ourselves:

Japan/China  In September 1931, approximately 50,000 Japanese troops invaded and occupied the Chinese province of Manchuria. Heavy fighting continued through 1932, although smaller skirmishes lasted for years. In July 1937, full-scale war broke out as Japan invaded China proper, eventually using about 4 million troops. Fighting continued until Japan surrendered in 1945. This part of the war broke out over 2 years before the invasion of Poland. Some feel this is the true beginning of WWII.

Italy/Ethiopia  In October 1935, over 100,000 Italian troops invaded Ethiopia from Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. Fighting continued until the formal surrender of Italy in 1943. Casualties on both sides were in the hundreds of thousands.

Spain  In July 1936, civil war broke out in Spain. Heavy fighting continued until April 1939, just 5 months before the invasion of Poland. There were over 500,000 casualties on both sides. Although it was considered an internal conflict, other nations provided significant support to the Nationalists (Germany, Italy) and Republicans (Soviet Union).

Conclusion

Although many people might consider the present circumstances in the world to be dire, there really is no comparison to what occurred in the 1930's. Terms arising from that decade --the Great Depression (economics), the Dust Bowl (climate), and World War II (political) -- became standards by which the worst of all things are measured. If that did not signal the Apocalypse, then perhaps we do not need to worry about today, tomorrow, or next week.