Victory in Europe Day

Almost exactly 75 years ago, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, marking the end of World War ll in Europe.

Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day, is celebrated in European nations including, but not limited to, France, Germany, Austria, Poland, and the United Kingdom. In Russia, it is celebrated simply as “Victory Day”. It is celebrated in post-Soviet states on May 9th as opposed to May 8th because the German document of surrender stated that all fighting must stop by 23:01. That is May 8th, Central European Time which was May 9th in local time in the USSR.

Victory Day fireworks in Moscow, Russia

Many European countries celebrate V-E Day as a public holiday, while it is more informal in North America.

World War ll was a catastrophic event that disrupted the lives of countless people from all walks of life, all around the world.

The people alive during World War ll had to live through a devastating war that spanned a total of 6 years and that they had no control over. Some had to live through unimaginable hells and many lost their lives and the lives of loved ones.

The world was able to overcome the hardships of World War ll and learn from them. The UN Declaration of Human Rights and Geneva Conventions were created to ensure that the atrocities committed during the war were never repeated again.

Covid-19, while not as bad as World War Two, it is another major struggle that we, as humans, are facing. Terms commonly used in armed conflicts such as ‘frontline’ were being used to describe the physicians and nurses at the center of the struggle to defeat this virus for many months now.

People’s daily lives were turned upside down. Many had to switch to online ways to learn and work, some lost their jobs altogether. And the lives lost to this virus are not to be understated.

Maybe when the majority of the world population becomes immunized and vaccinated, the CDC will release a statement marking the pandemic as officially over. Maybe there will be parties and celebrations all over the world, or maybe there won’t be. Maybe people will just be happy to finally get it over with and not talk about it again. But what I am sure of is that as a group, we will be able to overcome this pandemic and we will be able to learn and grow from it, making the world a better place in the process.