Friday, May 8, 2009

Today is VE Day

VE Day stands for Victory in Europe Day.
It marks a very important event in World War 2 - the end of the War with Germany on Tuesday 8 May 1945. In fact, the war ended a day earlier on 7 May when Germany surrendered. Adolf Hitler, who led the German Nazi party, had committed suicide eight days earlier on 30 April.

End of suffering

With the end of the war came the end of six years of suffering across the world. On 8 May, Britain's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, made a radio broadcast announcing that war in Europe was finally at an end. The news was greeted with relief, sadness, pride and celebration.

Fighting continued

But the fighting went on up to the very last minute and even continued past the date marking the start of peace in Europe. A German U-Boat sank two ships off the Scottish coast on 7 May, and some Germans continued to fight against the Red Army for several days after VE Day. The end of war with Europe however was not the end of World War 2 and many soldiers, sailors and airmen were sent to fight the Japanese in the Far East. (souce CBBC)

audio link to Hear it Now

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