Changes

At the [[Teheran Conference]], the Angelo-American Powers agreed with the Soviet Union not to accept a separate peace. Upon the death of [[Hitler]] and [[Goebbels]], Grand Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] was appointed Chancellor (the short-lived Flensburg government). Dönitz immediately attempted to [[negotiate]] a separate peace with the Angelo-American forces.  Dönitz authorized General [[Alfred Jodl]] to sign an unconditional surrender with the Angelo-American forces before midnight on May 8 in [[Reims]], France.<ref>See also [[Operation Unthinkable]].</ref>  During the [[Cold War]], '''V-E Day''' or '''Victory in Europe''' day was marked as May 8 in [[the West]].  Gen. [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] however, Commander of Allied Forces in France, recognized the May 9 Berlin surrender as the authentic surrender date and document.

At the [[Teheran Conference]], the Angelo-American Powers agreed with the Soviet Union not to accept a separate peace. Upon the death of [[Hitler]] and [[Goebbels]], Grand Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] was appointed Chancellor (the short-lived Flensburg government). Dönitz immediately attempted to [[negotiate]] a separate peace with the Angelo-American forces.  Dönitz authorized General [[Alfred Jodl]] to sign an unconditional surrender with the Angelo-American forces before midnight on May 8 in [[Reims]], France.<ref>See also [[Operation Unthinkable]].</ref>  During the [[Cold War]], '''V-E Day''' or '''Victory in Europe''' day was marked as May 8 in [[the West]].  Gen. [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] however, Commander of Allied Forces in France, recognized the May 9 Berlin surrender as the authentic surrender date and document.

May 9 became a non-working holiday in the Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic in 1963, where most of World War II fighting in [[Europe]] was fought, and only two years later in the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1965.<ref>May 1 also known as '''May Day''' or International Workers' Day, was previously marked as a global celebration of [[labor]] and  workers’ rights with large parades in Red Square (in the United States]], [[Labor Day]] is celebrated in early September to avoid association with the [[Comintern|International Communist movement]]). After the [[desecularization]] of [[Russia]] in 1991, the large parades were officially moved to May 9. Just as [[Christmas]] and [[New Years]] are commonly referred to as the '''Winter Holidays''' is [[Slavic]] [[culture]], now [[Easter]], [[Pentecost]] & Victory Day are now known as the '''Spring Holidays'''.</ref>  May 9 was recognized as a national holiday by the [[Russian Federation]] in 1991 when it ascended as the predecessor regime to the Soviet Union.  In 2010 [[American]], [[British]], [[Polish]], and [[Ukrainian]] armed services were invited and participated in Victory march on [[Red Square]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBlXGb0bjdM</ref>

May 9 became a non-working holiday in the Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic in 1963, where most of World War II fighting in [[Europe]] was fought, and only two years later in the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1965.<ref>May 1 also known as '''May Day''' or International Workers' Day, was previously marked as a global celebration of [[labor]] and  workers’ rights with large parades in Red Square (in the United States]], [[Labor Day]] is celebrated in early September to avoid association with the [[Comintern|International Communist movement]]). After the [[desecularization]] of [[Russia]] in 1991, the large parades were officially moved to May 9. Just as [[Christmas]] and [[New Year's]] are commonly referred to as the '''Winter Holidays''' is [[Slavic]] [[culture]], now [[Easter]], [[Pentecost]] & Victory Day are now known as the '''Spring Holidays'''.</ref>  May 9 was recognized as a national holiday by the [[Russian Federation]] in 1991 when it ascended as the predecessor regime to the Soviet Union.  In 2010 [[American]], [[British]], [[Polish]], and [[Ukrainian]] armed services were invited and participated in Victory march on [[Red Square]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBlXGb0bjdM</ref>

The march of the Immortal Regiment, in which nearly 1 million people participate in Moscow and in cities all over [[Europe]], has been raised to a religious-like ceremony. Marchers carry portraits of family members who fought and died in the [[Great Patriotic War]]. The status of those family members is raised almost to [[saint]]hood in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] which extensively uses [[icon]]s. Since 2022, participants in some of these marches have also begun carrying portraits of [[Russian]] soldiers who died in the [[NATO war in Ukraine]]—portraying them as the successors of their grandfathers who fought the [[Nazi]]s.<ref>[https://consortiumnews.com/2025/04/20/in-ukraine-ultra-nationalists-are-the-good-guys/ In Ukraine, Ultra-Nationalists Are the ‘Good Guys’], by Natylie Baldwin, ''[[Consortium News]]'', April 20, 2025. </ref>

The march of the Immortal Regiment, in which nearly 1 million people participate in Moscow and in cities all over [[Europe]], has been raised to a religious-like ceremony. Marchers carry portraits of family members who fought and died in the [[Great Patriotic War]]. The status of those family members is raised almost to [[saint]]hood in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] which extensively uses [[icon]]s. Since 2022, participants in some of these marches have also begun carrying portraits of [[Russian]] soldiers who died in the [[NATO war in Ukraine]]—portraying them as the successors of their grandfathers who fought the [[Nazi]]s.<ref>[https://consortiumnews.com/2025/04/20/in-ukraine-ultra-nationalists-are-the-good-guys/ In Ukraine, Ultra-Nationalists Are the ‘Good Guys’], by Natylie Baldwin, ''[[Consortium News]]'', April 20, 2025. </ref>