On April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide during the Battle for Berlin, and Karl Dönitz, his replacement as President of Germany, authorized the surrender of Germany.
The act of military surrender was signed on May 7, 1945 in Reims, France, and on May 8, 1945 in Berlin, Germany.
Thus May 8 is commemorated as V-E Day—Victory in Europe, the day the Allies formally accepted Germany's unconditional surrender, ending Hitler's Third Reich, an era responsible for years of the bloodiest conflict in human history, and the death of millions of innocent people.
This day is still a national holiday in France known as Victoire 1945 or La fête de la victoire. May 8 is also celebrated as a holiday in several other European countries.
Reflection
When I was a child, V-E Day was a day commemorated in the United States in most homes.
My dad was a soldier who landed at Normandy on D-Day. My mom worked in a factory that made cannon shells for tanks. We were a very patriotic family.
When I was growing up, we had neighbors, an elderly couple who were the only surviving members of their families. They lost everyone in the camps.
Another neighbor, Jeanne, was a child during World War II. Originally from Belgium, she had vivid memories of the war.
Several years ago, I was in Paris. It was a hot August afternoon, but that didn't stop elderly men and women who had been in the French Resistance from marching in a parade honoring those who fought in the war.
Takeaway Truth
So, for Jeanne, Mr. and Mrs. Heller, those French Resistance fighters, my Dad, and all the other soldiers who fought in Europe (and in other parts of the world) to save the world, I honor V-E Day.
Photo "Arc de Triomphe Paris" by Wiki Images from Pixabay
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