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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Guardian readers

What was the 1930s really like? We want to hear your family's stories

The Jarrow March from Tyneside to London in October 1936.
The Jarrow march from Tyneside to London in October 1936 was a protest against poverty and unemployment. Photograph: Pictorial Press/Alamy

It seems that everyone from Prince Charles to Paul Krugman to Lord Ashdown is drawing parallels between today’s tumultuous political and social events and the 1930s – bookended, as they were, by the Great Depression and the second world war.

We’d like to know what Guardian readers recall of the 1930s – either directly or via stories that have been passed down from older family members. They could be tales of the hunger marches and protests such as Jarrow, as reported here by the Guardian in 1936, or stories about the impact of the Great Depression in the US and around the world.

We’d also be fascinated to hear your accounts of what life was like during the political turmoil that led to the start of the second world war. Perhaps you have had stories handed down about the Spanish civil war, or Britain’s abdication crisis? We’d also like to hear accounts of everyday life, be they stories about work, home or recreation, and from anywhere in the world.

Please share your stories, memories and family photographs of the 1930s, either via GuardianWitness by clicking on the blue “contribute” button, or by filling in the form below. We will publish a number of them later this year.


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