Greatest Generation
This essay is an original work by RobSmith. Please comment only on the talk page.
According to Wikipedia the Greatest Generation are generally considered those born between 1901 and 1927. This generation was shaped by the Great Depression and defeated both fascism and bed bugs.[1]
The Greatest Generation, along with the Silent Generation (1928-1945) are the parents of the Boomer Generation, and the generation who bequeathed to the planet the nuclear age.[2] Having been raised through the Great Depression, the Greatest Generation knew hunger. With the multiplicity of their children after World War II, they were quick to recognize a "boom" emerging out of the "Boom and Bust" economic cycle of hardship and deprivations they experienced in their youth. They saw in their children, the "baby boom", the creation of demand for jobs and services, for diapers, food, construction, housing, schools, hospitals, jails, etc. throughout the cycle of life.
One popular myth about the Greatest Generation is that they were highly ideological and fought for what is good and right.[3] The truth is, hunger was very much a real issue for children in America,[4] and across the global in the 1930s.[5] John Steinbeck, author of The Grapes of Wrath noted "American cities are like badger holes, ringed with trash--all of them--surrounded by piles of wrecked and rusting automobiles, and almost smothered in rubbish".[6] Many young people were quick to sign up for three hots and a cot provided by the government in the United Kingdom[7] and Germany in 1939,[8] and the United States in 1941,[9] even if it meant having to be trained to kill to survive. And many were ready to do it to survive.
References
- â Greatest Generation defeated both fascism and bed bugs
- â The Greatest Generation bequeathed to the planet the nuclear age
- â The Greatest Generation Wasnât Always That Great, Matt Gallagher, Task & Purpose, Published Jan 12, 2016. taskandpurpose.com
- â 1929-1940: America in Crisis and Recovery. hungermuseum.org
- â The Great Depression of 1929: A Global Economic Catastrophe (2025 update), 25 April 2025. worldhistoryjournal.com
- â https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/400446-american-cities-are-like-badger-holes-ringed-with-trash--all-of
- â Thirties Britain: The depressed decade. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
- â The Battle for Food in World War II A new book examines how food figured into the major powersâ war plans, Jesse Rhodes, February 2, 2012. smithsonianmag.com
- â Did people join the military in 1941 for a job and food?