Victory in Europe Day - encyclopedia article about Victory in Europe Day.

For the end of the war in Japan and the Pacific Theater, see .

Winston Churchill waves to crowds in Whitehall on the day he broadcast to the nation that the war with Germany had been won.

Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day or VE Day) was May 7 and May 8, 1945, the dates when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide during the Battle for Berlin, and so the surrender of Germany was authorized by his replacement, President of Germany Karl Dönitz. The administration headed up by Dönitz was known as the Flensburg government. The act of military surrender was signed on May 7 in Reims, France, and May 8 in Berlin, Germany.

History

Surrender in Reims

At 02:41 on May 7 1945, at the SHAEF headquarters in Reims, France, the Chief-of-Staff of the German Armed Forces High Command, Colonel General Alfred Jodl, signed the German Instrument of Surrender. All active operations were to cease at 23:01 Central European Time on May 8 1945. However as the British were operating on British Double Summer Time this was 00:01 May 9 in London.^[1]

Western journalists broke the news of Germany's surrender prematurely, precipitating the earlier celebration. Fighting continued on the Eastern Front until the Germans surrendered specifically to the Soviets at Karlshorst. The Soviet Union kept to the agreed celebration date, and Russia and other countries still commemorate the end of World War II, a significant part of which is known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union, as Victory Day on May 9.

By May 8, most of Germany had already been taken by Allied forces. Hence V-E day was not such a drastic change for most German civilians. In the years after, V-E day was predominantly perceived as the day of defeat. But over the decades, this perception changed, culminating in the speech by West German President Richard von Weizsäcker on the 40th anniversary of V-E day in 1985, in which he called May 8 "the day of liberation" from the Nazi government.

Surrender in Berlin

Shortly before midnight on May 8, a second unconditional surrender was signed in the outskirts of Berlin, Germany. The signing ceremony took place in a villa in an eastern suburb of Berlin called Karlshorst. Representatives of the USSR, Great Britain, France, and the United States arrived shortly before midnight. After Soviet Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov opened the ceremony, the German command representatives headed by General Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel were invited into the room, where they signed the final German Act of Unconditional Surrender entering into force at 23:01 Central European Time.

Celebrations

On that date, massive celebrations took place, notably in London, where more than a million people celebrated in a carnival atmosphere the end of the European war, though rationing of food and clothing was to continue for several years. In London, crowds massed in particular in Trafalgar Square and up The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, appeared on the balcony of the Palace to cheering crowds. Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander anonymously among the crowds and take part in the celebrations.

In the United States, President Harry Truman, who celebrated his 61st birthday that day, dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, because he had been so committed to ending the war. Roosevelt had died less than a month earlier, on April 12. Flags remained at half-staff for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period, which ended on May 12, to pay tribute to Roosevelt's commitment toward ending the war. Massive celebrations also took place in Chicago, Los Angeles and especially in New York City's Times Square.

Red Army and Eastern Europe

Red Army veterans and all peoples in Russia customarily celebrate V-E Day on May 9 instead of Western European May 8. Several former Soviet-influenced and -occupied countries in Eastern Europe still heed that practice.

May 8 as public holiday

East Germany as Tag der Befreiung (Day of liberation).
France

References

1. ^ RAF Site Diary 7/8 May

External links

Victory address by Sir Winston Churchill, 1945-05-08], 3 PM] (Danish site, English audio, Real Player)
Victory address by King George VI, 1945-05-08], 9 PM] (Danish site, English audio, Real Player)

May 7 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses.

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May 8 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo

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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s
1940 1941 1942 - 1943 - 1944 1945 1946

Year 1945 (MCMXLV
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Allied powers:
Soviet Union
United States
United Kingdom
China
France
...et al. Axis powers:
Germany
Japan
Italy
...et al.
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Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. Within the ranks of the Allied powers, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom were known as "The Big Three." U.S.
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Unconditional surrender is a surrender without conditions, except for those provided by international law. Normally a belligerent will only agree to surrender unconditionally if completely incapable of continuing hostilities.
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Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (The Nazi party). He was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, and became Führer (leader)^[2] in 1934, remaining in power until his suicide in 1945.
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April 30 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule.

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death of Adolf Hitler on April 30, 1945 is suicide by gunshot and cyanide poisoning. The dual method and other circumstances surrounding the event encouraged rumours that Adolf Hitler may have survived the end of World War II along with speculation about what happened to his
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Battle of Berlin was one of the final battles^[12] of the European Theatre of World War II. In what was known to the Soviets as the "Berlin Offensive Operation
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The Flensburg government was the short-lived administration that attempted to rule Germany during most of May 1945. The government was formed following the suicides of German dictator Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels during the Battle of Berlin.
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May 7 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses.

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Reims

Place du Parvis and statue of Joan of Arc, in Reims
Location

Coordinates

Administration
Country France
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May 8 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo

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Berlin

Flag Coat of arms

Details
Location of Berlin within Germany / EU

Coordinates
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Administration
Country
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May 7 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses.

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Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (abbreviated as SHAEF, pronounced "shāf"), was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II.
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Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), (Wehrmacht High Command, Supreme Command of the Armed Forces in English), was part of the command structure of the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.
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Alfred Jodl (May 10, 1890 – October 16, 1946) was a German military commander, attaining the position of Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, or OKW) during World War II, acting as deputy to Wilhelm Keitel.
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The German Instrument of Surrender was the legal instrument by which the High Command of the German Armed Forces surrendered simultaneously to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and to the Soviet High command at the end of World War II in Europe.
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Central European Time (CET) is one of the names of the time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in most European and some North African countries.

Its time offset is UTC+1. During daylight saving time CEST is used instead (UTC+2).
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May 8 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo

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Western European Summer Time (WEST) is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:

the Canary Islands
the Faroe Islands
the Republic of Ireland
the Crown dependencies

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May 9 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

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London
Canary Wharf is the centre of London's modern office towers
London shown within England
Coordinates:
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
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