Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day, also known as VE Day, celebrates the surrender of Nazi Forces to the Allies during World War II, on May 8 , 1945.
It is a national observance, but not a public holiday, so businesses and schools remain open.
History Of The VE Day
After Adolf Hitler's suicide on April 30, his successor Karl Donitz declared the Nazis' surrender.
He negotiated the end of the war with the Allies and signed an act of unconditional surrender on May 7. It was officialized on May 8, in Berlin
VE Day was announced by President Truman through radio. His words were
"Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have paid to rid the world of Hitler and his evil band. Let us not forget, my fellow Americans, the sorrow and the heartache, which today abide in the homes of so many of our neighbors - neighbors whose most priceless possession has been rendered as a sacrifice to redeem our liberty."
With this, all around Europe, German soldiers laid down their guns, and a final cease-fire was declared.
How To Celebrate It
All around the world, people took to the streets to celebrate the end of the War in Europe, and many partied well into the night.
In the United States, President Truman dedicated this victory to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was essential in the victories of the United States during World War II and had died just one month before victory day.
Even though this was a day of celebration, the flags remained at half-staff in Roosevelt's memory of him. Still, thousands of people took to Times Square and other American cities to commemorate the Germans' surrender.
The conflict officially started when the Soviet Union and Germany invaded Poland. Over 6 million Jews who were killed by Nazi Germany were among the deceased.
The battle in the European theater also claimed the lives of some 250,000 US soldiers.
This is the day when the U.S. and the Allied Forces pulled their stop on the Normandy beaches in France. It signaled that the end of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler is near.
It marked the end of almost a five-year-long World War II in Europe and people all over the globe were celebrating. Two surrender signings happened simultaneously- German Col. Gen. Alfred Jodl signed Germany's surrender on all fronts in Reims, France on May 7, 1945.
The second signature, which was required by Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, was signed on May 8, 1945, in Berlin by German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel.
Later, the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, convicted Jodl and Keitel guilty of war crimes and they received the death penalty.
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