Here in the United States, we celebrate V-Day in a variety of ways. In general, the manner in which we celebrate V-Day in 2019 is drastically different than it was celebrated in 1945.
At the end of World War II, the connotation that V-Day carried was not one about love or celebrating with one’s significant other. Instead, people all across the U.S., and indeed across the world, were waiting patiently for Victory in Europe Day. This finally came on May 8, 1945, when the Allies formally accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany, a surrender which was unconditional.
Although the U.S. entered the war in 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor, WWII officially began in the autumn of 1939 when Nazi Germany, lead by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland with assistance from Soviet Russia. By the time the U.S. joined the war, it had been raging in Europe and across the globe for quite some time. The devastation in the United Kingdom as a result of the ongoing Battle of Britain (an intense air campaign conducted by the German Luftwaffe) was widespread. After the U.S. joined the war, the bombing campaign against Nazi Germany picked up speed, bringing that same destruction to cities across Germany, namely those that formed the foundation of Germany’s manufacturing.
By 1945, the Allies, having gained the Soviet Union as an ally, were weary of war, and so a victory weighed heavily on the minds of all those involved in the war effort. Millions of soldiers had been killed over the duration of the war, the vast majority of them belonging to the Soviet Union. By the spring of the final year of the war, the Allies were rapidly approaching Berlin, signaling the coming conclusion to a years-long conflict that involved hundreds of nations. Relief finally came in the few days following April 30, 1945, the day that Adolf Hitler committed suicide to avoid capture.
When victory in Europe finally came, citizens of all the Allied nations celebrated. People filled the streets in Britain, numbering in the millions. Much the same thing occurred in the U.S., where President Truman was also celebrating his birthday. Huge celebrations were held in the major cities in many states. Peace had been achieved in Europe after many trying years and many losses for both the Allied and Axis alliances. These were celebrations unlike anything seen today to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Despite the defeat of Germany, it would be another few months before Japan, the last member of the Axis powers, would surrender. Even so, neither Victory in Europe Day or Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) ended conflict entirely.
The impact of WWII is still very real and present today, but it was certainly of great importance in the decades following its end. WWII gave rise to the Cold War, wherein the U.S. and the Soviet Union competed on a global scale for control of economies, resources, hearts, and minds. The Cold War struggle gave rise to the threat of nuclear war, a number of other wars fought in faraway places, counter-cultural movements, and new ways of thinking. All of this, built upon the victories achieved in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of WWII, contributed to the world we know today.
