The Biggest Party: Victory Day Celebrations Around The World In 1945
- By Amos Chapple
Historic photos capture the joy that erupted throughout Allied countries after Nazi Germany surrendered in the spring of 1945, ending the horror of World War II in Europe.
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British women dance with U.S. soldiers in London on May 8, the day after Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies.
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Young Americans partying in Baltimore, Maryland.
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A spontaneous parade of Parisians marches through the streets of the French capital.
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Crowds gather under a replica of the Statue of Liberty on Times Square. A reporter described the giddy scene: “Here and there, a tipsy civilian – sometimes a serviceman – offered drinks to strangers. The drinks were eagerly accepted, mostly by teenagers.”
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A woman breaks into song in central Moscow. In the Soviet Union, the party got started in earnest on May 9.
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A British sergeant being thrown into the air by a crowd of youngsters in Moscow. The Soviet Union celebrated one day after most Allied countries because Germany’s high command signed a second surrender document, as demanded by Josef Stalin, late on May 8. Due to time-zone differences, the signing in Berlin took place in the small hours of the following morning in Moscow.
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Londoners, including a man with his nostrils stuffed with Hitler-like bristles, gleefully sink beers in a pub in the Lambeth part of London.
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Women dressed in the flags of the United States, France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union during celebrations in central Paris.
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A group watches from the top of Paris's Arc de Triomphe as crowds gather.
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Prime Minister Winston Churchill joins Britain’s royal family to acknowledge the roaring crowd in front of Buckingham Palace. That evening, the future Queen Elizabeth II (left) and Princess Margaret (right) snuck into the crowds to join the party. Elizabeth described the experience as "one of the most memorable nights of my life."
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Wounded U.S. Army Sergeant Arthur Moore “while contemplating the general sense of euphoria” in New York.
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A packed pickup rolls through London. A witness to London’s giant party described an infectious atmosphere that “combusted spontaneously in the bosom of every member of every family, from the smallest babies, with their hair done up in…ribbons to beaming elderly couples who, utterly without self-consciousness, strolled up and down the streets arm in arm in red, white, and blue paper hats.”
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A crowd packs the street outside British and U.S. embassies in Lisbon.
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Young servicepeople march through London. Some lasting relationships began amid the party. Teenager Susan Neilly was celebrating in Belfast when a 16-year-old boy called Bertie “came up, grabbed me and gave me a big kiss.” The two later married and had a son and daughter. They remained together until Bertie died in 2012.
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Belarusians celebrate victory in central Minsk. More than a quarter of the entire population of the Belorussian S.S.R. were killed during World War II.
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Crowds gather at London’s Piccadilly Circus. The structure at center is a covering for the pedestal of the famous Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain to protect it from Nazi bombing raids.
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Raucous celebrations on Moscow’s Red Square. A witness recalled “everyone had fun, although some had tears in their eyes.... At the American Embassy, we saw diplomats and employees throwing chocolate, sweets, and toys from the balcony.”
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Crowds gather in Trondheim, Norway, to celebrate on May 8. Norway endured five years of Nazi occupation.
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Union Jack flags hung on the streets of Jerusalem on May 9, 1945. Israel – a country founded soon after the end of the war -- celebrates VE day on May 9, reportedly because of the large number of emigrants from the former Soviet Union.
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British revelers roll through London. Mixed with the joy of victory was bittersweet relief. One British woman recalls thinking "they won’t bomb us any more, they won’t kill any more of our young men."
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Moscow’s Red Square, packed with people as fireworks explode around the Kremlin. One man who was there later told Russian media “Strangers kissed each other. I don’t remember such a unity of people as it was on May 9, 1945; we were all one and the same -- Russians, Tatars, Uzbeks, and Georgians -- we were all united as never before."
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Revellers sleeping off the giant victory party. Although the war in Europe was over, the Second World War was not. The fight against Japan continued until September 1945.
