A European "take" on the "Greatest Generation"

    "At that time West Germany was swarming with starved, frightened, suspicious, stupefied hordes of people who did not know where to turn and who were driven from town to town, from camp to camp, from barracks to barracks by young American boys, equally stupefied and equally shocked at what they had found in Europe.  These boys had come like the crusaders to conquer and convert the European continent, and after they had finally settled in the occupation zones, they proceeded with dead seriousness to teach the distrustful, obstinate German bourgeoisie the democratic game of baseball and to instill in them the principles of profit-making by exchanging cigarettes, chewing gum, contraceptives and chocolate bars for cameras, gold teeth, watches and women.

     Brought up worshiping success, a success to be achieved only by the daring use of one's wits, believing in equal opportunities for everyone, accustomed to judging a man's worth by the size of his income and a woman's beauty by the length of her legs, these strong, athletic, cheerful men, full of the joy of living and the expectation of great opportunities lying around the corner, these sincere, direct men with minds as clean and fresh as their uniforms, as rational as their lives, as honest as their uncomplicated world, felt an instinctive contempt for the people who had failed to hold on to their wealth, who had lost their businesses and their jobs and dropped to the very bottom of society.  But their attitude towards the courteous German bourgeoisie who had managed to preserve their culture and their fortunes, and towards the pretty, cheerful German girls, as kind and gentle as their sisters, was one of understanding and friendly admiration.  They had no interest in politics (that part of their lives was taken care of by the American Intelligence and the German press).  They felt they had done their duty, and now they wanted to go home - partly because they felt homesick, partly because they were bored, and partly for fear of losing their jobs and missing out on their opportunities."

Tadeusz Borowski
This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen

An interesting look at the GI's from the point of view of a Pole who survived Auschwitz.  Both the strengths and the weaknesses of the generation appear in this description, allowing for distortion created by the specificness of the point of view.  It can be usefully paralleled to Hugh Nibley's description of his generation during the occupation of Europe.