Victory in Europe Day brought the curtain down on a horrific conflict that decimated a continent and upended the world. But the price of victory over fascism was impossibly high. Many millions had been killed, and vast areas of Europe had been all but destroyed. VE Day signalled the end of Nazi Germany, and yet the war on the Pacific Front was still raging, and Stalin was already tightening his grip on what would become the Eastern Bloc. Meanwhile, many of the countries that had joined the fight against Hitler were left broken, bankrupt, and lawless.

So, what did it take for the war to finally end? How was news of Germany’s surrender spread and received? And amid the devastation, how do the continent’s citizens celebrate and look forward with optimism? 

This is a Short History Of VE Day.

A Noiser production, written by Martin McNamara. With thanks to Keith Lowe, a British historian and writer specialising in the Second World War. 

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If you want to know more about how the Allies turned the tide on the war in Europe and began the final push towards victory, check out D-Day: The Tide Turns - another podcast from the Noiser network. Search ‘D-Day: The Tide Turns’ in your podcast app and hit follow.

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