Every generation faces the world as it was given to them, and strives to leave it safer for the next. For those who came of age in mid-20th century America, the challenges were particularly daunting.

After a childhood overshadowed by the Great Depression, world war rushed these young men and women into adulthood. This generation's endurance and ingenuity brought not only wartime victory but unprecedented prosperity in the post-war years. In recognition of their courage and in gratitude for their efforts, many have called them the "Greatest Generation

In Their Words: Stories of Minnesota's Greatest Generation is an evolving web site that follows the personal stories of members of this remarkable generation through the pivotal decades of the Depression, the War, and the Boom, illustrated with photographs, objects and other materials found in the Minnesota Historical Society's Collections.

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