Editing Greatest Generation (section)

===Germany===
{{Main|Germany in World War II}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild Y 10-1020-79, SED-Delegiertenkonferenz der NVA, Honecker.jpg|thumb|East German leader [[Erich Honecker]], a communist of the [[German resistance to Nazism|German resistance]] during World War II, with [[National People's Army|NVA]] generals Walter Allenstein, [[Heinz Hoffmann]] and [[Kurt Wagner (general)|Kurt Wagner]] – The first a former [[Roter Frontkämpferbund]] militant, the second an [[International Brigades]] veteran of the [[Spanish Civil War]], the third a former political prisoner of [[Waldheim Prison]].]]

Members of the World War II generation in [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] came of age following [[World War I]] and the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919]]. They faced economic hardships related to the Great Depression and [[Treaty of Versailles]] as unemployment rose to nearly 40%. [[Adolf Hitler]] then rose to power, and many of this generation joined organizations such as the [[Hitler Youth]]. In 1935, Hitler instituted military conscription. During the war, nearly 12.5 million members of this generation [[Wehrmacht|served]] in the war and 4.3 million were killed or wounded.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Simkin |first1=John |title=The German Army in the Second World War |url=https://spartacus-educational.com/2WWgermanA.htm |website=spartacus-educational.com |access-date=January 6, 2021 |date=September 1997 |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204091011/https://spartacus-educational.com/2WWgermanA.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> By the end of the war, 5 million Germans were dead, including civilians. German cities and towns were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns. 12 million Germans were refugees and many were forced to settle in the Soviet Union. In addition, the [[Holocaust]] claimed the lives of millions of [[German Jews]] and others. Following the war, the Allies began the [[denazification]] and [[demilitarization]] of a post-war Germany. Returning German veterans found their country carved up into four zones of occupation; later becoming [[West Germany]] and [[East Germany]]. In the west, the [[Marshall Plan]] resulted in the "[[Wirtschaftswunder]]", an economic boom that caused 185% growth between 1950 and 1963.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Mark |title=How World War II shaped modern Germany |url=https://www.euronews.com/2015/05/05/how-world-war-ii-shaped-modern-germany |access-date=January 6, 2021 |agency=[[euronews]] |date=May 5, 2015 |archive-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419082522/https://www.euronews.com/2015/05/05/how-world-war-ii-shaped-modern-germany |url-status=live }}</ref> Surviving members of the German World War II generation would go on to experience the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] and the creation of the European Union. Unlike the Western allies and the Soviet Union, Germany did not honor its veterans, as the association with [[Nazism]] continues in contemporary Germany today.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barkin |first1=Noah |title=Where Veterans Aren't Thanked for Their Service. Because of Germany's tortured 20th-century history, its struggle to forge policies to support its veterans is in many ways unique. |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/08/what-makes-german-military-veteran/595381/ |access-date=January 6, 2021 |agency=[[The Atlantic]] |date=August 9, 2019 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225134111/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/08/what-makes-german-military-veteran/595381/ |url-status=live }}</ref>