LONDON (AP) 鈥 Even if the end of World War II in Europe spawned one of the most joyous days the continent ever lived, Thursday鈥檚 80th anniversary of V-E Day is haunted as much by the specter of current-day conflict as it celebrates the defeat of ultimate evil.
Hitler鈥檚 Nazi Germany had finally surrendered after a half-decade of invading other European powers and propagating racial hatred that led to genocide, the Holocaust and the murdering of millions.
That surrender and the explosion of hope for a better life is being celebrated with parades in London and Paris and towns across Europe while even the leaders of erstwhile mortal enemies are bonding again.
Germany鈥檚 new foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, paid tribute to 鈥渢he enormous sacrifices of the Allies鈥 in helping his country win its freedom from the Nazis and said that millions of people were 鈥渄isenfranchised and tormented by the Nazi regime.鈥
鈥淗ardly any day has shaped our history as much as May 8, 1945,鈥 he said in a statement. 鈥淥ur historical responsibility for this breach of civilization and the commemoration of the millions of victims of the Second World War unleashed by Nazi Germany gives us a mandate to resolutely defend peace and freedom in Europe today.”
Gloomy outlook
His comments underscore that former European enemies may thrive 鈥 to the extent that the 27-nation European Union even won the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize 鈥 but that the outlook has turned gloomy over the past year.
Bodies continue to pile up in Ukraine, where started the worst war on the continent since 1945. The rise of the hard right in several EU member states is putting the founding democratic principles of the bloc under increasing pressure.
鈥淭he time of Europe鈥檚 carefree comfort, joyous unconcern is over. Today is the time of European mobilization around our fundamental values and our security,鈥 Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a Dutch memorial event in the lead-up to the celebrations.
It makes this unlikely stretch of peace in Europe anything but a given.
And even NATO, that trans-Atlantic military alliance that assured peace in Europe under the U.S. nuclear umbrella and its military clout, is under internal strain rarely seen since its inception.
U.S. contributions to the war effort
The United States was instrumental in turning the tide of the war in Europe, invading along with Allies the D-Day beaches in France’s Normandy on June 6, 1944 in what proved to be the tipping point of the war in Europe that inexorably led to the invasion of Germany and the defeat of Hitler.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed Thursday as a day for the United States to celebrate victory in World War II, insisting the country should better recognize its essential role in the war.
“We are going to start celebrating our victories again!鈥 he said.
The war did drag on beyond Europe especially in the Pacific against Japan, but even for the first time 鈥 and highlighting current-day threats. Instead of Russia, it was centering on China, its immediate rival. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory to be annexed by force if necessary.
“Military aggression against another country is an unjust crime that is bound to fail,鈥 Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said.
He added that both Taiwan and Europe were 鈥渘ow facing the threat of a new authoritarian bloc.鈥
European celebrations
Commemorations have been going all week through Europe, and Britain has taken a lead. Here too, the current-day plight of Ukraine in its fight against Russia took center stage.
鈥淭he idea that this was all just history and it doesn鈥檛 matter now somehow, is completely wrong,鈥 U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “Those values of freedom and democracy matter today.鈥
In London later Thursday, a service will be held in Westminster Abbey and a concert, for 10,000 members of the public, at Horse Guards Parade. In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to oversee a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe.
And in Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz will again highlight how Germany has remodeled itself into a beacon of European democracy by laying a wreath at the central memorial for the victims of war and tyranny.
And, symbolically, Russia and President Vladimir Putin will be totally out of lockstep with the rest of Europe, one day later with a huge military parade on Red Square in central Moscow to mark the massive Soviet contribution to defeat Nazi Germany.
___
Raf Casert reported from Brussels. Mike Corder in Wageningen, Netherlands, and Jamey Keaten in Geneva, contributed to this report.
