Victory in Europe Day

History

Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, had committed suicide on 30 April during the Battle of Berlin, and Germany's surrender was authorised by his successor, Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz. The administration headed by Dönitz was known as the Flensburg Government. The act of military surrender was first signed at 02:41 on 7 May at the Supreme Headquarters of Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) in Reims. A slightly modified document, considered the definitive German Instrument of Surrender, was signed on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin at 22:43 local time.

Upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the Western world, especially in the United Kingdom, in North America and in USSR. More than one million people celebrated in the streets throughout the UK to mark the end of the European part of the war. In London, crowds massed in Trafalgar Square and up the Mall to Buckingham Palace, where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by their daughters and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, appeared on the balcony of the palace before the cheering crowds. Churchill went from the palace to Whitehall, where he addressed another large crowd:

Churchill asked Ernest Bevin to come forward and share the applause. Bevin said, "No, Winston, this is your day," and proceeded to conduct the people in the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". Later, Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander incognito among the crowds and take part in the celebrations.

In the United States, the event coincided with President Harry S. Truman's 61st birthday. He dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had died of a cerebral hemorrhage less than a month earlier, on 12 April. Flags remained at half-staff for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period. Truman said of dedicating the victory to Roosevelt's memory and keeping the flags at half-staff that his only wish was "that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day". Later that day, Truman said that the victory made it his most enjoyable birthday. Great celebrations took place in many American cities, especially in New York's Times Square.

Tempering the jubilation somewhat, both Churchill and Truman pointed out that the war against Japan had not yet been won. In his radio broadcast at 15:00 on 8 May, Churchill told the British people, "We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing (as Japan) remains unsubdued". In America, Truman broadcast at 09:00 and said it was "a victory only half won".

National celebrations

VE Day is celebrated across European nations as public holidays and national observances.

Austria

The Festival of Joy is an Austrian event held in honor of VE Day. The Austrian Mauthausen Committee (MKÖ) has organised the Festival of Joy since 2013, in cooperation with the Austrian government and the City of Vienna. The festival is held annually on Heldenplatz.

On the eve of the 75th anniversary in 2020, Russian president Vladimir Putin, at the request of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, gave a live address broadcast on Austrian TV channel ORF.

France

France celebrates VE Day on 8 May, known as 8 mai 1945, being a national and public holiday.

As of 3 September 2018, at least 523 street names "Rue (du) 8-Mai-1945" are recorded in the 18 regions, as well as in the 36,700 French communes (equivalent of civil parishes in England).

Orléans simultaneously celebrates both VE Day and the anniversary of the Siege of Orléans being lifted on this date by French forces led by Joan of Arc, patron saint of France, in 1429, during the Hundred Years War.

Germany

Events in Berlin occur on 8 May to commemorate those who fought against Nazism in the German Resistance and died in World War II. In 2020, a regional holiday in Berlin occurred on 8 May to mark the 75th anniversary of surrender. East Germany celebrated 8 May as its Tag der Befreiung (Liberation Day), first celebrated under Walter Ulbricht's government in 1950 and repeated annually until the fall of communism. Between 1975 and 1990, it was Tag des Sieges (Victory Day).

Poland

The 8th May is known in Poland as "Narodowy Dzień Zwycięstwa" (National Victory Day), and this has been the officially recognised date since a decision on 24 April 2015. From 1945 until 2014, Poland officially recognised 9 May, in line with Russia.

On 8 May 1945, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held, debating whether to establish the holiday on 8 May (proposed by Marshal Michał Rola-Żymierski) or 10 May (proposed by the government). Finally, the "National Day of Victory and Freedom" was established on 9 May by decree.

From 1946 to 1989, it was celebrated with Russian traditions, as Poland was a socialist state at the time. The main celebrations were carried out at Plac Zwycięstwa (Victory Square) or Plac Defilad (Parade Square) in Warsaw (most notably in 1985).

After 1990 and the fall of the Soviet Union, no official ceremonies were organized; however, many cities and military units together with local governments organized their own festivities. The Russian minority in Poland continues to celebrate 9 May traditions to this date. At the end of March 2015, due to the upcoming 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, the president of the Institute of National Remembrance Łukasz Kamiński sent a letter to the Marshal of the Sejm requesting a change from 9 to 8 May. On 24 April, the Sejm adopted the Act on National Victory Day to be celebrated on 8 May, at the same time abolishing the National Day of Victory and Freedom celebrated on 9 May.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, although a major national event, VE Day is not an annual public holiday. In 1995 and 2020, the early May bank holiday was moved by the government from the preceding Monday to 8 May to commemorate the 50th and 75th anniversaries of VE Day, respectively.

United States

Victory Day is not a federal holiday in the United States. However, on 8 May 2025, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation designating the day as "Victory Day for World War II".

Commemorative events

• Belgium: In Belgium, the commemoration of the termination of World War II since 1974 has been part of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 (Dutch: Wapenstilstandsdag), an annual national holiday. Every year on this day, a truce-ceremony is held in the presence of the king at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Congress Column in Brussels. It was first intended to commemorate the victims of the First World War and subsequently those of World War II and all other wars worldwide.
• Czech Republic: Since the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Republic has officially recognized 8 May as Victory Day (Den vítězství) Liberation Day (Den osvobození). In recent years the liberation of Plzeň by American forces has been commemorated on 5 May. From 1948 to 1993, the Czechoslovak Republic celebrated 9 May, which was marked with a military parade of the Czechoslovak People's Army (ČSLA) on Letná every five years.
• European Union: 9 May is Europe Day which celebrates "peace and unity in Europe", on the anniversary of the 1950 Schuman Declaration.
• EstoniaLatviaLTU Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania officially commemorate 8 May, but do not commemorate 9 May since it marked the Soviet occupation in 1944 for these states. Despite this, the local Russian communities still informally celebrate 9 May. Russian diplomats, other representatives from the Commonwealth of Independent States, and local politicians of Russian origin usually take part.

List of associated holidays

Soviet Victory Day

Main article: Victory Day (9 May)

The instrument of surrender signed 7 May 1945 stipulated that all hostilities must cease at 23:01 (CET), 8 May 1945. Since that point in time would be on 9 May in local time in the Soviet Union, most Soviet states including Russia celebrated Victory Day on 9 May.

Gallery

File:Victory Day Parade 2005-36.jpg|Fireworks in Moscow, Russia (Victory Day 2005) File:Cérémonie commémorative du 8-mai-1945 Strasbourg 8 mai 2013 26.jpg|Ceremony in Place de la République, Strasbourg, France (2013) File:In 5mei2014 096.jpg|Concert in Amsterdam, Netherlands (Bevrijdingsdag 2014) File:Т-72Б Вооружённых Сил Казахстана.JPG|A T-72 tank in the Victory Day parade, Astana, Kazakhstan (Victory Day 2015) File:Парад в честь 70-летия Великой Победы - 19.jpg|The Victory Day Parade, Red Square, Moscow, Russia (Victory Day 2015) File:День Победы в Армении 04.jpg|Ceremony at the Mother Armenia monument, Yerevan, Armenia (Victory Day 2018) File:75th Anniversary of VE Day decorations, Poplar Avenue, Wetherby (8th May 2020) 001.jpg|A street in Wetherby with decorative bunting, United Kingdom (2020) File:The 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (49882960996).jpg|Ceremony at the World War II Memorial, Washington D.C., United States (2020)

References

Bibliography

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