V-E and V-J day
Victory in Europe DayBy: Sofia Beraldo, Mary Connor, and Liane
McPheeApril 30 1945After Hitler returned from bidding farewell to
his staff members, two men heard a gunshotThey entered Hitlers
quarters to find his body sprawled on the sofa Blood dripped from
his head due to the gunshot to the right templeEva (his wife) died
shortly after from drinking poison(Goebbels et all)
May 2 1945Germany lost any chance of continuing the war in an
organized wayGerman Forces in Italy surrenderedSoviet Union
announced the fall of Berlin(New York Times)
May 7 1945Unconditional surrender form was signed by General
Alfred Jodl (Sheffield) Unconditional surrender means the allies
can take whatever they want from the surrendering partyWinston
Churchill announced that it would be a public holidayGermany was
done at this point and wanted to end the war
May 8 1945The official celebration of Victory in Europe dayVE
day was celebrated in Germany with a church parade Bonfires in
Germany were lit on which swastikas were ceremonially burned
(Sheffield)It was a day for celebration and remembrance
British and Canadian AdvancesA force of British and Canadian
ships spent VE Day sailing to Jersey and Guernsey (Sheffield)Some
Canadians drove in their trucks celebrating the day Many sailors of
the Royal Navy discovered the news through their ships' sparks
(Sheffield)There were also street parties held in Britain
ImportanceAlthough it does not mark the end of the war VE day
marks a day when peace started to be restoredThe Germans had
finally surrendered unconditionally to the alliesThe war in Europe
was finally over and civilians could stop living in fear (Coyler et
all)A painting of VE day in Europe by Laurence Stephen Lowry
Fun FactsOver 1 million people gathered in the streets and
villages of the UK to celebrateVE day is not the marking of the end
of the war all togetherTo mark the 50th anniversary VE day in 1995
May Day Bank Holiday in the UK was moved to 8th MayThere were
fireworks, bonfires, speeches and Church services, parades and
street parties to celebrate
(Sheffield)
Victory in Japan DayAugust 14 & 15 1945Japanese Emperor
Hirohito announced Japan would be surrendering News spread
worldwide about Japans unconditional surrender This effectively
ended World War IIThe day was full of celebrations
everywherePresident Harry S. Truman announced the news on the 14th
at a meeting in the white house (History.com)
Citizens from Tennessee celebrating the news
One of the most famous pictures from WWII which was taken in
Times Square of a sailor kissing a nurse taken by Alfred
Eisenstaedthttp://time.com/3517476/v-j-day-1945-a-nation-lets-loose/
September 2 1945The day which is actually celebrated as Victory
in Japan dayThis was the day in which the forms were actually
signed (Coyler et all)The signing took place aboard the U.S.S.
Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay Members of the Japanese empire were
the ones to sign the forms and American General Douglas
MacArthur
Fun FactsVJ day is an annual state holiday celebrated on the
second Monday in August in Rhode Island in the United States August
6th was the day the first atomic bomb was dropped by the Americans
on Hiroshima, Japan they did not surrender until another was
dropped on Nagasaki, Japan The atomic bomb completely destroyed the
city and killed thousands and thousands of people(Coyler et
all)
ImportanceVictory in Japan day is one of the most important days
in historyThe brutal and fearsome environment that many called home
was now restored to peaceFor many it was a day to honour those who
served and lost their lives for the freedom of others(Coyler et
all)MLA Citations"VE Day, 8 May 1945." WarMuseum.ca. Government of
Canada, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
Sheffield, Gary, Dr. "Victory Day in Europe." BBC News. BBC, 10
Mar. 2011. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
"1945: Allied Nations Celebrate VJ Day." BBC News. BBC, 15 Aug.
1945. Web. 20 Jan. 2015.
The Associated Press. "Berlin Falls to Russians, 70,000 Give Up;
1,000,000 Surrender in Italy and Austria; Denmark Is Cut Off;
Hamburg Gives Up." The New York Times. N.p., 2 May 2014. Web. 21
Jan. 2015.
Thompson, Julian. WW2 Victory in Europe Experience: From D-Day
to the Destruction of the Third Reich. Great Britain: Carlton,
2005. Print.
James. "VE Day Facts." VE Day Facts. N.p., 11 Mar. 2013. Web. 21
Jan. 2015.
Colyer, Jill. Creating Canada: A History - 1914 to the Present.
Toronto, ON.: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2010. Print.
"V-J Day." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.
21 Jan. 2015.
"World War II History: WW2 in the Pacific (Japan) for Kids."
Ducksters. Technological Solutions, Inc. (TSI), Jan. 2015. Web. 22
Jan. 2015. .
Goebbels, Joseph, Dr. "The History Place - Holocaust Timeline:
The Death of Hitler." The History Place - Holocaust Timeline: The
Death of Hitler. N.p., 1997. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.
