May 8, 1945 - VE Day

Human Rights a Day

Victory in Europe Day (VE-Day) commemorates World War II’s end in Europe. Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, and with his band of Nazi thugs and murderers, gradually turned the country into a dictatorship of hatred and bloodshed. After his invasion of Poland in September 1939, the United Kingdom and other countries declared war on Germany to stop Hitler’s quest for world domination. While the war raged in Europe, Hitler and his collaborators carried out acts of murder, torture and human experimentation to eliminate individuals they felt did not fit into the “master race.” Jews were singled out for extermination, and other “enemies of the German State” were targeted for execution, including Gypsies, homosexuals, criminals, the insane, Jehovah’s Witnesses, communists and socialists. The war in Europe lasted almost six years. Western and Soviet Allies anxiously awaited its end as they began to score victories. On April 30, 1945, as the Allies were closing in, Hitler and his key players committed suicide in a bunker under Berlin. Although the war continued to rage against Japan, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared May 8, 1945 “Victory in Europe Day,” which became known as VE-Day. Citizens around the world took to the streets to celebrate the end of Hitler’s murderous regime, and reflect on the war’s terrible cost: an estimated 50 million soldiers and civilians dead.