Victory in Europe Day, generally known as V-E Day, VE Day or simply V Day, was the public holiday celebrated on 8 May 1945 to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany‘s unconditional surrender of its armed forces. It thus marked the end of World War II in Europe. In a sense it ended over six hundred years of European civil wars from the days of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). Europe finally collapsed in exhaustion, as the two great non-European powers, the United States and the Soviet Union had the power, the manpower and the will to fight this last world war to its just conclusion.
The term VE Day existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory. On 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin. Germany’s surrender, therefore, was authorized by his successor as Reich President, Grand Admiral Karl Döenitz. The administration headed by Döenitz was known as the Flensburg Government. The act of military surrender was signed on May 7th in Reims, France and on May 8th in Berlin, Germany.
In the field, at his headquarters, Luneburg Heath, Germany, Field Marshall, Bernard Law Montgomery, Commander of the 21st Army Group, had been approached days before, on May 3rd, by a German delegation led by Grand Admiral von Friedeburg, now Commander in Chief of the German Navy. Montgomery demanded a surrender from Admiral von Friedeburg, who could not speak for the new German government. He returned, under escort to the German lines, with a message regarding Montgomery promise to continue pounding the Germans, for a message to Keitel and Doenitz.
Eventually, the next day, their delegation, led by von Friedeburg returned and signed the instrument of surrender of all German forces in northwestern Europe. This would set the stage the general surrender that would occur in the following days. Interestingly, Admiral Friedeburg presented a letter from Field Marshall Keitel wanting to withdraw three German armies from the Russian front and to surrender to him and his command of British and American troops. Montgomery stated, that this was unacceptable. Von Friedeburg said it was unthinkable to surrender to the Russians as they were savages and the German soldiers would be sent straight to work in Russia. Montgomery answered, “That the Germans should have thought pf all these things before they began the war, and particularly before they attacked the Russians in June, 1941!” Of course, this localized surrender in the West, would lead to a general surrender of all German forces to all of the Allied Powers, as delineated in the agreements crafted at the Yalta Conference.
In the early hours of May 7, 1945, the first formal signing of the surrender agreement took place. The venue was, the Supreme Commander of SHAEF, General Eisenhower’s L–shaped war room. Its cramped 30 square foot room, in an old school house, with the walls covered with battle maps, was packed with war reporters, microphones and a Hollywood-style battery of film lights and news real cameras. The representatives of the Allied powers were assembled on one side of a large table. Which had been mover to accommodate the press. Four copies of the surrender documents, bound in plain gray paper covers, lay on the table. General Eisenhower, refused to deal with German officers directly, was not present. In the room, but waited in his office down the corridor, pacing up and down impatiently. General Walter Bedell Smith, Eisenhower’s Chief of Staff, asked General Alfred Jodl, Chief of the German General Staff, if all the point in the document were clear and whether he was prepared to sign. Two pens, owned by General Eisenhower one solid gold and one gold-plated were offered Jodl, and the signed, followed by Bedell Smith and General Susalaparov for the Soviets and General Sevez for the French. (Jodl would be sentenced to death at the Nuremburg Trials in October, 1946.)
Lt. Kay Summersby, General Eisenhower’s English WAC driver, secretary and confidante, watched the Nazis generals march into his office. She later recalled, they looked like, “the exact prototypes of film-land Nazis, sour-faced, glum, erect and despicable.” General Eisenhower demanded, “Do you understand all the provisions of the document of surrender you have signed?” Jodl, replied “Ja!” Eisenhower then continued, “You will officially and personally be responsible if the terms of this surrender are violated, including the provisions for the German commanders to appear in Berlin at the moment set by the Russian High Command to accomplish formal surrender to that government. That is all!” After their departure, Eisenhower broke into an immense grim, posed for the cameras and recorded a short statement for the radio and sent a formal cable to the Combined Chiefs-of-Staff in Washington: “The Mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 02:41 local time, May 7, 1945.”
Unfortunately, Edward Kennedy, Chief of the Paris Bureau of the Associate Press, broke the rules, by relaying the news of the surrender, before the official announcement and the news broke all over Britain and America, before it was officially announced. Therefore the official announcement was pushed ahead to the next day, thus May 8, 1945
Eventually, the Soviets were apprised of the signing, and Major-General Suslaparov, who had signed the May 7th document on his own, and without the consent of Marshal Stalin, the “official” surrender, with all the Allies was re-scheduled for Berlin the next day and it was chaired by short, stern and dynamic Marshal Georgy Zhukov. With Eisenhower’s representative, the British Air Marshall Arthur Tedder, American General Carl Spaatz and the Soviet Representative from the Kremlin Andrei Vyshinsky, who even Zhukov had to defer to, the proceedings opened. As this meeting convened, an arrogant, tall German officer, in smart field gray, entered. Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel, with all his medals and decorations steeped stiffly to the table, jerked up his silver –headed baton in a curt salute and was seated. According to Eisenhower’s aided Captain Harry Butcher, “Keitel was still arrogant and defiant and seemed to survey the room like he might the terrain of a battlefield.” Keitel, looked around and said, “The French are here too!” Vyschinsky heard him mutter when he set eyes on the French general de Lattre de Tassigny, “That’s all we need!” In contrast, German General Friedenburg look morose with deep rings round his eyes! (Two weeks later he would commit suicide.) Eventually, with all the bluster and demands, Keitel wanted to make, he had signed, the war was now officially over and there were at least 25 toasts by the victors to Stalin, Eisenhower, Churchill, Roosevelt and Truman, victory and Allied friendship. By five o’clock, most of the banquet guests were good and drunk. Some of the Russians were under the table and three generals had to be carried out. (Keitel would be sentenced to death at Nuremburg and Doenitz would receive a prison sentence.)
From the diary of Harold Nicholson- “At 3 pm comes the news that an hour ago Schwerin von Krosigk (Foreign Minister under the Donitz government) has spoken on the wireless from Flensburg (the town where the Doenitz rump government was set up). He said the Germany was obliged to surrender unconditionally, crushed by the overwhelming might of her enemies.” Ben and Vita (Vita Sackville-West and his son) and Nicholson climb their turret stairs to ties the flag to ropes and hoist it in the soft south-west breeze. “It looks proud and gay after five years of confinement.” He heads to London to where the news of Schwerin’s broadcast has spread. “…there are flags everywhere!”
President Harry S Truman, broke the news to reporters at 8:30 am. At 9:00 from the Diplomatic Reception Room where Roosevelt had so often broadcast to the country, he spoke to the largest radio audience yet recorded. “This is a solemn but glorious hour. I only wish Franklin Roosevelt had lived to witness this day….We must work to finish the war. Our victory is but half-won…” May 8th, was President Truman’s sixty-first birthday. He had been president for three week and four days! The day before, Mrs. Roosevelt had moved out of the White House and the Trumans had moved in. He stated, I call upon every American to stick to his post until the last battle is won.”
Eleanor Roosevelt, on the occasion of VE Day wrote, Admiral William D. Leahy, FDR’s long-time Chief of Staff. “Dear Admiral Leahy: My thoughts are with you today. I know Franklin would want to clasp your hand and congratulate you for all you have done to make this victory possible. Please accept my deepest appreciation and respect, and my affection good wishes.” Very sincerely yours Eleanor Roosevelt.
Churchill, after hearing the final news, felt free to announce the end of the war to the British people in a broadcast from the Cabinet room at 10 Downing Street, at 3pm London time on May 8th. “Advance Britannia!” He concluded rousingly, “Long live the cause of freedom! God save the King!” That afternoon Britain’s war leader made a triumphant entry into a packed House of Commons; later he appeared with the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace and treated a similar multitude to an impromptu speech at Whitehall. “This is your victory, he told the throng, “it is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land. In all our long history we have never seen a greater day than his. God bless you all!”
For six years the entire land had endured a total blackout after sunset. Now all the public buildings were brilliantly lit with floodlights. All over the country huge beacons burst into flames one after another, stretching mile after mile until it seemed the very hills were on fire.
Allied soldiers on the front in Germany and France often sat in silence, thinking about their lost comrades. There were few celebrations that night and soldiers had to report to duty the next day!
Let us also not forget that in France, the Fascist leaning, anti-Semite, Marie Le Pen was defeated. Maybe, the French had memories of Vichy traitors like Petain and Laval and thought they did not want to go down that road once again. But, understand she received 35% of the vote and here in the United States, we have neo-fascists and racists in our Congress, and advisors to the President in people like Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka.