Existentialism joined a historical crisis to older philosophical roots
Existentialism is presented as a philosophical concern with death, freedom, and meaninglessness. The excerpt connects its emergence to the Second World War, the Nazi death camps, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, while also noting earlier philosophical groundwork in the nineteenth century. The overview therefore presents the movement as tied to a particular historical crisis and to thinkers who came before.
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The excerpt ties existentialism to death, freedom, meaninglessness, and historical catastrophe.
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It also points to earlier groundwork, so the war was not the movement's entire origin in this overview.
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That makes the label useful as a historical-philosophical connection, not a universal diagnosis of anxiety.