V-E Day: The World War II Defeat of the Nazis

Victory celebrations for America and its allies in Europe

by Aaron Kassraie, AARP, Updated April 27, 2021

crowded street of returning soldiers and others embracing at the announcement of nazi defeat

Bettman/Getty Images

En español | Nazi Germany's military leaders signed surrender documents on May 7, 1945, marking the end of nearly six years of war throughout Europe. When the news was announced a day later, mass celebrations erupted across Europe and America as millions took to the streets, cementing May 8's legacy as V-E Day — for victory in Europe. President Harry S. Truman dedicated the day to former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had died just weeks earlier.

"Our victory is only half over,” Truman said in reference to the fighting that continued in the Pacific with Japan for three more months.

AARP Membership -Join AARP for just $12 for your first year when you enroll in automatic renewal

Join today and save 25% off the standard annual rate. Get instant access to discounts, programs, services, and the information you need to benefit every area of your life.

|
Photos

- 1 of
PHOTO BY: Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty

An American newsstand announces the surrender of the last German units on V-E Day, signaling victory in Europe.
- 2 of
PHOTO BY: Library of Congress

Brothers in Verdun, France, read the news of victory. The artillery behind them, a German 88-millimeter gun, was one of the most formidable battlefield weapons developed during WWII. It could destroy tanks and aircraft.
- 3 of
PHOTO BY: National Archives

Assistant Chief Operator Bessie Fowlkes reads the newspaper announcing the victory to telephone switchboard operators in Newport News, Virginia, while Chief Operator Hanna Byrd supervises.
- 4 of
PHOTO BY: Bettmann/Getty

As the news spread, celebrations appeared all around the world. In New York, people hold up copies of the New York World-Telegram with the headline “Nazis Give Up."
- 5 of
PHOTO BY: Bettmann/Getty

In Chicago, a parish priest shows students at a Roman Catholic parochial school a newspaper with news of Germany's surrender.
- 6 of
PHOTO BY: Bettmann/Getty

Seventh Army troops wave flags atop a dais where Adolf Hitler once gave speeches at the Luitpold Arena in Nuremberg, Germany.
- 7 of
PHOTO BY: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Women in Paris wear dresses to represent flags of the Allied powers: the United States, France, Britain and the Soviet Union.
- 8 of
PHOTO BY: Bettmann/Getty

Americans fill Times Square in New York, waving flags and celebrating the surrender of German forces.
- 9 of
PHOTO BY: Bettmann/Getty

British women from the Picture Division of the London Office of War dance in the street with American soldiers during celebrations in London.
- 10 of
PHOTO BY: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Reenactors salute while the national anthem plays during a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of V-E Day at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 2015.