Veterans have always had a hard time adjusting back to civilian life after war. Government assistance is often required for a veteran to successfully re-enter civilian life. The longer and or more brutal the war the harder for a veteran to rehabilitate generally speaking. World War II was both long and brutal and posed significant difficulties to soldiers of every nation when the war was over.
Russians and Germans faced similar difficulties in that much of their country was destroyed in the total war of the 1940s. Many people had no homes to return to or alternatively they did not want to or were not allowed to return home. With the power shifts in Eastern Europe many people became refugees fleeing from or to the new superpowers of communism and capitalism. Russians in particular suffered heavy civilian casualties in addition to military casualties. That made the struggle of rejoining civilian life difficult for all Russians not just former soldiers. The Germans also faced heavy devastation towards the end of the war. Their veterans tried to gain forgiveness and move on leaving the war a bad memory.
Americans celebrated the return of the troops with parades and parties but in the long run that doesn’t help a lot with rehabilitation. After WWII there was a rise in the study of psychological war injuries and institutions experience reforms during the 40s and 50s leading to better treatment. Unfortunately, soldiers suffering from these injuries were widely misunderstood by the general public for quite some time. Another common result for veterans was alcoholism. This is common even today but after the sheer number of soldiers that fought in WWII alcoholism rose. There were ways to get help as the support group known as Alcoholics Anonymous was formally founded in 1935 and rose in membership following WWII.
Isn’t amazing that the reentry of military veterans into civilian life will likely always be a problem, no matter how many wars we fight and how ever many people serve. Fighting in wars and serving in the military is unlike any other occupation, made all the more interesting because most of those who participate in the conflict, specifically in the western developed countries, only do so for a few years of their lives before returning to be a regular citizen.