The term “The Greatest Generation” is often used to describe Americans who participated in the war effort in the Second World War. Many members of the Greatest Generation went on to become the parents of the Baby Boomers, the generation which was born in the years following the Second World War. Chronologically, the Greatest Generation follows the Lost Generation of the 1930s, and precedes the Silent Generation of the 1950s.

In order for someone to be considered a member of the Greatest Generation, he or she must have been born between roughly 1900 and 1920. Many members of the Greatest Generation actively served in the Second World War, leading some people to call this generation the GI Generation. Others worked at home to keep the United States productive during the war years. Members of the Greatest Generation also helped to rebuild the United States and the world after the ravages of the Second World War.

Some people take exception to the characterization of the Greatest Generation as consisting of people who supported the war. People who opposed the Second World War, for example, argue that they contributed in a positive way to society with their political dissent, and that people may have refrained from participation in the war effort for a variety of reasons. As the Greatest Generation aged, many of these concerns became less critical, as all people over a certain age came to be referred to as members of the Greatest Generation, regardless as to their role in or opinions on the war.

The concept of the Greatest Generation was popularized in a book by Tom Brokaw, which included a number of profiles of members of the Greatest Generation. The book was designed to capture these stories for the benefit of history before the Greatest Generation disappeared. Many people characterize the America of the Greatest Generation as an America of innocence and simplicity, and some people idealize the America of the 1940s. Certainly the Second World War created an economic boom, and it is sometimes regarded as the last just war, because the reasons for entering the war were so clear to the populace.

However, the Greatest Generation also faced its share of adversity and problems, and not just on the battlefield. Sexism and racism were still serious problems in the United States, with many states still having laws on the books to ban miscegenation and property ownership by ethnic minorities. Women may have sustained the workplace in the Second World War, but they found themselves shunted back to the kitchen after the war, while black servicemembers distinguished themselves on the battlefield, only to meet with prejudice at home.

Many people in the Greatest Generation also had vivid memories of the hardship of the Depression, and older members remembered the First World War as well. Life for people in this generation was far from simple and idealistic, making their contribution to American history and society all the more remarkable.