V-E Day and V-J Day
V-E Day, or Victory in Europe Day, is commemorated on May 8, marking the formal surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II in Europe. Following intense military campaigns, particularly the Soviet advance into Berlin, Germany officially surrendered on May 7, 1945, with celebrations erupting across cities like New York and Ottawa the next day. These celebrations ranged from quiet church services to exuberant street parties, although they were not without incidents of violence, notably the Halifax riots.
In contrast, V-J Day, or Victory over Japan Day, signifies the end of World War II in the Pacific, with Japan's surrender announced on August 14, 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. President Truman delayed the formal proclamation of V-J Day until the surrender ceremony on September 2, 1945, on the USS Missouri. The joy of V-J Day led to widespread celebrations, particularly in Times Square, but also witnessed significant unrest, such as riots in San Francisco. Both days symbolize the end of a painful conflict and the complex emotions tied to victory, including celebration and the remembrance of the war's darker moments.
Subject Terms
V-E Day and V-J Day
The Events Dates on which Germany and Japan formally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II
Dates May 8, 1945 (V-E Day); August 14, 1945 (V-J Day)
The end of World War II in Europe in May, 1945, and in the Pacific four months later was cause for celebrations throughout the world, with people jubilantly participating in unplanned and often unrestrained festivities. For many people, the events of these two days would be indelibly etched in their memories.
In Europe, it became obvious by April, 1945, that the fall of Nazi Germany was only days away. Soviet forces had fought their way into Berlin, while the Western Allies advanced deep into Germany. On April 30, 1945, German leader Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker. His titular successor, Admiral Karl Dönitz, administered a makeshift government in the north German town of Flensburg, the sole purpose of which would be to negotiate peace with the Allies. On May 4, 1945, Dönitz brought about the first significant armistice, ending the combat operations of the units defending northwestern Germany. On May 6, German Field Marshal Alfred Jodl went to Allied headquarters at Rheims, France, to sign a general surrender. This document, signed by Jodl on May 7, called for hostilities to cease on May 8. Soviet objections to being left out of the process led to a more all-embracing surrender in Berlin on May 8, which became effective on May 9.
Proclamation and Celebrations
The official announcement of German surrender generated controversy. The news was to have been revealed on May 8 in a joint Allied proclamation of the event. However, the Associated Press news service broke the story on May 7. The term “V-E Day” (victory in Europe) appeared in the press in anticipation of the official announcements, which occurred in Washington, D.C., and London in speeches by President Harry S. Truman and Prime MinisterWinston Churchill on May 8. The Soviets waited until the Berlin capitulation had been formally signed and approved by their leaders, and the Soviet Union did not proclaim victory until May 9.
All over the United States and Canada, notably in New York, Montreal, Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Ottawa, the announcement of surrender was met with demonstrations of joy. In some cases, people expressed their happiness in quiet gatherings, such as special church services and prayer or thanksgiving meetings. However, many of the celebrations were more demonstrative, with conga lines forming in parks and squares in Washington, D.C., servicemen randomly kissing every woman in sight, alcohol flowing freely, and a massive victory parade in Ottawa. On occasion, violence erupted, the most serious instance of which broke out in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Halifax V-E Day riots exploded on May 7 and 8, 1945, with combined mobs of servicemen and civilians, most of whom were intoxicated, ransacking stores and restaurants and vandalizing and destroying almost the entire business district. Three deaths occurred before order was restored.
Japan’s Surrender
Jubilation over victory in Europe was balanced by the realization that Japan was still very much at war. A massive invasion of Japan was planned. This campaign, code-named Operation Downfall, was expected to end the war in the fall of 1946, at a projected cost of one million Allied casualties. However, the August 6 atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the August 9 bombing of Nagasaki brought about the Japanese surrender on August 14, 1945. Many consider this date to be properly designated as “V-J Day” (victory in Japan), but this was contrary to the wishes of Truman, who insisted upon delaying his proclamation of V-J Day until the actual surrender ceremony took place on board the battleship USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. It was on August 14, however, that spontaneous and often highly individualized celebrations expressing joy and relief again broke loose, this time on a scale far larger than that of the previous May. In New York City’s Times Square, the largest and most famous of these festivities saw the entire thoroughfare entirely blanketed with ecstatic, standing participants. In San Francisco, celebrations were marred by the worst rioting in the city’s history; drunken servicemen rampaged through the downtown streets, resulting in eleven deaths, an indeterminate number of injuries and rapes, and the looting of nearly every store in the area.
Impact
The positive images of millions of people openly giving vent to sheer exuberance are invariably presented in connection with the end of World War II. The best-known of these images was the snapshot taken in Times Square of a sailor and a nurse, two total strangers, who were photographed in the act of kissing by Life magazine photographerAlfred Eisenstaedt. This evocative scene has fascinated the world ever since. While Eisenstaedt’s image and the sense of unalloyed joy and comradeship that it conveyed have endured historically to define the popular perception of both V-E and V-J Days, the uglier side of the revelry, exemplified by the riots in Halifax and San Francisco, has largely been forgotten.
Bibliography
Axelrod, Alan. The Real History of World War II: A New Look at the Past. New York: Sterling, 2008. An attempt to chronicle the war from a fresh perspective. Though the account of victory celebrations is succinct, it places them in a useful perspective.
Coombs, Howard, ed. The Insubordinate and the Noncompliant: Case Studies of Canadian Mutiny and Disobedience, 1920 to Present. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2008. The article by Robert H. Caldwell offers a detailed analysis of the Halifax riot.
Gilbert, Martin. The Day the War Ended: May 8, 1945—Victory in Europe. New York: Henry Holt, 1995. Comprehensive and readable account, which only lightly mentions the Halifax riot.
Kimber, Stephen. Sailors, Slackers, and Blind Pigs: Halifax at War. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2003. Well-researched investigative work on the nature of Halifax’s wartime population and the factors behind the riot of May 7-8.
Satterfield, Archie. The Home Front: An Oral History of the War Years in America, 1941-1945. New York: Playboy Press, 1982. Final chapter includes some good firsthand accounts of V-J Day revelry, though it may paint too rosy a picture and only hints at the day’s excesses.