Europe marks 80th anniversary of World War II’s end
- Europe marked the 80th anniversary of V-E Day on May 8, 2025, commemorating Nazi Germany's surrender ending World War II in Europe.
- Nazi Germany had waged a five-year war marked by invasions and racial hatred that caused genocide and the Holocaust before surrendering on May 7, 1945.
- Celebrations included parades in London, Paris, and other towns, wreath-laying ceremonies by leaders, services at Westminster Abbey, and highlighted both past sacrifices and current conflicts.
- German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier acknowledged that it was Germany’s actions that initiated the devastating conflict, pulling the entire continent into destruction, while leaders emphasized that the fight to preserve freedom continues today.
- The anniversary took place amid rising tensions from Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the resurgence of Europe's hard right, and Taiwan's first-time participation stressing current authoritarian threats.
59 Articles
59 Articles
Hitler's Reich: A German journal
On 8 May 2025, the world marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Allied victory brought an end to Adolf Hitler's 12-year rule. Journal entries from Hitler's supporters and opponents offer insight into life in Nazi Germany.
The Third Reich after Hitler's Death: The Last Days of Nazi Rule
On 8 May, Hitler-Germany officially surrendered. But until the end of May, cabinet meetings were held in the last seat of government. Gerhard Paul tells the story of the "Third Reich" beyond the end of the war.
Defeat of Nazi Germany 1945: A celebration with tears in our eyes
By Sergey J. Nechayev May 8, 2025 Sergey J. Nechayev has been the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Germany since 2018. He wrote this essay for the German daily, junge Welt, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi-ruled Germany on May 9, 1945, a victory for which
ROGERS: A family radio and the German surrender
Eighty years ago this month, in May 1945, the European part of World War II ended. I remember because it was on my parents’ bedside radio my schoolmates at the Edgewood School in Detroit heard details of the German surrender. The war, which had begun Sept. 1, 1939, when Germany attacked Poland, had included Nazi Blitz bombing on London and other English cities and Allied fighting across Western Europe from the beaches of France. It ended with th…
WWII survivors share haunting memories as France marks 80th anniversary of Nazi surrender - The Philadelphia Sunday Sun
By Sylvie Corbet ASSOCIATED PRESS PARIS — As France prepared to mark the 80th anniversary of the Nazi surrender to Allied forces, survivors of World War II reflected on painful memories of fear, deprivation and persecution shaped by the German occupation of the country and the deportation of Jews and others to death camps. In May 1940, Nazi forces swept through France. Among those caught in the chaos was 15-year-old Geneviève Perrier, who fled h…
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