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[[File:Depiction of Soviet flag over the Reichstag.jpg|right|415px|thumb|V-E Day depiction of the Soviet flag raised over the [[Reichstag]]. The original black and white photograph had been touched with color added by Soviet artists.]]

[[File:Depiction of Soviet flag over the Reichstag.jpg|right|415px|thumb|V-E Day depiction of the Soviet flag raised over the [[Reichstag]]. The original black and white photograph had been touched with color added by Soviet artists.]]

'''V-E Day''' celebrates the '''Victory in Europe''' over [[Nazi Germany]] in the United States and Great Britain. The day at one time was commemorated in [[the West]] on May 8 when the document giving the unconditional surrender of [[Germany]] was signed with [[Angelo-American]] forces in France in 1945.  In [[Russia]], '''Victory Day''' is celebrated on May 9 when German forces surrendered to Russian forces in [[Berlin]]. Gen. [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] recognized the May 9 Berlin surrender as the authentic surrender document.

'''Victory Day''' commemorates the victory over [[Nazi Germany]] and its [[List of Axis Powers|European allies]] by the [[Soviet Union]] in 1945.<ref>[https://youtu.be/xhr3mVQ1jYo Victory Day In Russia - Why 9 May Is So Important For Russians?]</ref> In [[Russia]], Victory Day remains the largest national holiday celebrated since German forces surrendered on May 9, shortly after midnight (12:43 midnight [[Moscow]] time or 10:43 PM [[Berlin]] time). Field Marshal [[Wilhelm Keitel]] signed the surrender document to the Russian forces in the [[German]] capital of Berlin.

Upon the death of [[Hitler]] and [[Goebbels]], Grand Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] was appointed Chancellor (the short-lived Flensburg government). Dönitz immediately opened up negotiations with the [[Western alliance|Western Powers]] to offer Germany's unconditional surrender.  The Western Powers had previously agreed with their [[Soviet]] allies not to accept a separate peace.

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.

On May 7, Dönitz authorized General Alfred Jodl, to sign the unconditional surrender of German forces in the West to the American and British forces in [[Reims]]. On May 9, shortly after midnight Moscow time Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signed the surrender document to the Russian forces in Berlin.

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.  May 9 was recognized as a national holiday by the [[Russian Federation]] in 1991 when it ascended as the predecessor state to the Soviet Union.<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]], [[Easter]], [[Pentecost]] & Victory Day are now known as the '''Spring Holidays'''.</ref>  In 2010 [[American]], [[British]], [[Polish]], and [[Ukrainian]] armed services were invited and participated in the Victory March on [[Red Square]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBlXGb0bjdM</ref>

May 9 has been a national holiday in the [[Russian Federation]] since its formation 1991. May 9 became a non-working holiday in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1963 and only two years later in the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1965.

The march of the Immortal Regiment, in which nearly 1 million people participate in Moscow and in cities all over [[Europe]] and the world, 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>

[[Category:World War II]]

[[Category:World War II]]

[[Category:European History]]

[[Category:European History]]

[[Category:Germany]]

[[Category:Germany]]