Lost Generation facts for kids

The Lost Generation is a special name for a group of American writers and artists. They lived in Europe after a very big war called the First World War. Some famous people from this group were Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sherwood Anderson, and John Steinbeck.

Sometimes, this name is also used for young people who had trouble finding jobs after the big money problems in 2008-2009.

What Does "Lost Generation" Mean?

The writer Gertrude Stein is often said to have created this term. She supposedly heard her French garage owner talk about his young workers. He called them "une generation perdue," which means "a generation lost."

Later, the famous writer Ernest Hemingway used this term. He put it in the introduction of his book, The Sun Also Rises. This made the name very well known.

When Was the Lost Generation?

The term "Lost Generation" usually describes people who grew up during a specific time. This period started after the end of the First World War. It continued until the start of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a time when many people lost their jobs and money.

Images for kids

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  Family in Queensland pictured at home (circa 1900)

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  Class photo taken at a school in Sweden (1900)

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  French Soldiers on a battlefield during the First World War

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  A young woman burning a cable for scrap at a shipbuilding yard in Glasgow during World War I.

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  Image taken from a magazine cover (published 1924) of a couple dressed in fashionable clothing of the period.

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  Weapons training for members of the Volkssturm, a militia all German men not already in military service up to the age of sixty were obliged to join in the final months of World War II.

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  Gertrude Stein with Ernest Hemingway's son Jack in 1924. Stein is credited with bringing the term "Lost Generation" into use.

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  Typewriters entered common use as a writing tool for the Lost Generation

See also

In Spanish: Generación perdida para niños