A Photo of Paris on V-E Day in 1945

 

This was an amazing picture. Ran into it on Facebook earlier today.  It is a black and white view  of the Champs-Elysees in Paris on the day when World War II finally ended in Europe.

Obviously, the street was packed with people celebrating the end of the war. An incredible moment in history captured with a click of a camera. 

Seemed worth sharing on this day. 

Enjoy!

May 9th is V-E Day in Russia: Recognizing That the Soviets Played the Largest Role in Defeating Nazi Germany

    

This is a strange year for me to post this. After all, Russia earlier this year played the role of legitimate bad guys when they went ahead and invaded Ukraine, a sovereign neighboring nation. Since then, Russian military forces have launched attacks on almost every major city in Ukraine, and even leveled most of two of them, Kharkiv and especially Mariupol. This came eight years after Russia had intervened in Ukrainian affairs and taken Crimea before annexing it. Since then, Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine have continued a de facto war. But this latest war is very different. This was an out and out conventional land war on a continent that had seen nothing of this scope and magnitude for the better part of a century. 

It still feels to me that a lot of the responsibility for this war rests not just on Russia, but also the West, and especially the United States. After all, Americans were the ones thumping their chests and bragging about having won the Cold War. They delighted in beating the big, bad Russkies, and some seemed to rejoice as that country fell into chaos and corruption. But when countries go through chaotic and/or humiliating experiences like that, they often turn to a strong authority figure that, they believe, will stabilize things, bring order, especially if they also believe that there will be a return to great power. Germany infamously turned to Hitler, who promised a return to greatness for Germany. Afghanistan experienced decades of war, and they now have twice turned to the Taliban to restore order. Even here in the United States, facing a hard to ignore decline in power and prestige, as well as living standards, enough Americans turned to a man who warned that only he could save the country, and promised a return to greatness for the country. He was elected to the highest office in the land, and came as near as anyone has at toppling American democracy.

So perhaps we should not view Putin as such a mystery, or his motives as so perplexing. As we all do, Americans like to believe certain convenient things about themselves. I remember one history teacher of mine in the eighth grade, back during the days of the Cold War and Reagan warning Americans not to overlook the threat of the Soviet bear, claiming that we Americans were the good guys in the white hats. A decade and a half later, much of the world were viewing Americans as a huge threat to world peace just before the invasion of Iraq. We are hardly viewed as good guys in much of the Middle East, and my guess is that the Vietnamese in particular would also have good reason to question our status as "the good guys." 

Yet, that is still the perception that many Americans want to believe so much, that they in fact do believe it. But Russia wanted to bounce back from the humiliating fall from one of the world's two superpowers, to an impoverished nation ridden with corruption and chaos. They had a leader in Gorbachev who had wanted to ease tensions with the West, particularly the United States. He seemed to have acted in good faith, but wanted his own country to be treated fairly, as equals. Initially, it seemed that this was a hope that would indeed be granted. Under George HW Bush, there was a promise that NATO would not expand anywhere near Russian borders. But Clinton scrapped that, and a number of former Warsaw Pact/Eastern Bloc countries joined NATO, including several which outright border Russia. 

Why wouldn't Russians worry? They were still often demonized as bad guys, and as a threat. NATO always seemed to be, and still remains, particularly focused on keeping the Russian threat in check. And remember, Russians have known invasions by hostile foreign forces. They were invaded twice in the 20th century, and once in the 19th century. So they have legitimate concerns regarding the safety of their own borders. And when the West, and particularly the United States, seemed to court Ukraine and tried to pull them into their sphere of influence, Russia has legitimate reasons to feel concerned.

No, I am not siding with Putin, or saying that he is not such a bad guy. He has acted like a tyrant, effectively ending democracy in Russia in favor of authoritarian rule. And he had some brutal chapters that he was responsible for since coming to power. There was the hostage situation that ended in bloodshed. He has been brutal in Chechnya and Georgia, as well as, obviously, Ukraine. And let us not forget that he has been instrumental in keeping the hugely unpopular and undemocratic Lukashenko in power in Belarus. So no, he is certainly no angel. 

However, he is not all-powerful, either. As convenient a scapegoat as Hillary Clinton tried to make him out to be, faulting Russia for deciding the 2016 election in favor of Trump, it always felt to me that this was a preposterous claim. Hillary Clinton lost that election because many, many Americans did not feel that they could trust her, and that the Clintons were too power hungry in general to be trusted. It is unfortunate that Trump was the one who benefited, but I for one remain skeptical that Putin somehow orchestrates entire elections in other countries, let alone one as big and as powerful as the United States. He may have had some influence, but frankly, I long suspected that we were heading towards someone like Trump for a long time. 

So now, let me get back to this topic for today, specifically: Russians were the ones who broke the back of the Nazi German war machine, not Americans. That is not to say that Americans did not play an important role, or that the soldiers on the western front were not heroic during the war against Germany. However, the clear momentum of the Nazi war machine was broken forever not long after Operation Barbarossa, when they invaded the Soviet Union/Russia to the east. Their forward progress was stopped dead in it's track, particularly at Stalingrad. Then, the Germans were moving backwards, no longer dictating the tempo of the war, but desperately playing defense and trying to plug up the holes that Russians were punching through the German lines regularly after Stalingrad. 

Many Americans traditionally wanted people around the world - particularly Europeans - to thank Americans for their role in Europe during the two world wars, especially the last one. The logic, according to them, is if not for American involvement, they would be speaking German. In fact, closer to the truth is that they might speak Russian, although even then, it should be made clear that they likely would still be speaking their own tongues, but that Russian might have been far more strongly encouraged in their school curriculum. That is what happened in Eastern Bloc nations of the Warsaw Pact, the ones that actually were largely taken over by the Soviets at the end of the war, and where puppet states on the model of the Soviet Union were established and maintained for the better part of half a century. 

This is a subject that upsets a lot of people, particularly Americans. It does not fit with the narrative that many Americans believe in, that the United States has played the most heroic role ever since it came into existence, and that the world would be inextricably worse than it is without us. Indeed, many Americans do indeed believe that Europe would probably be speaking German today, if not for them.

Only one problem with that theory and thinking: it is really not accurate.

Indeed, I mentioned this a few times, here and there, to some people who got angry, and even once or twice, almost violently angry, accusing me of being virtually a communist sympathizer. All I generally do in response is simply request that whoever is getting all worked up look at the dates of what happened and when during World War II or, better yet, peruse through a historical atlas of the Second World War. Because any halfway decent and remotely objective review of historical facts will show that, in fact, the Soviet Union was the driving force behind the ultimate defeat of Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Most people, including military experts like Norman Schwartzkopf, have been quite clear that the biggest mistake that Hitler and Nazi Germany ever made was invading the Soviet Union, which they did in June of 1941 with Operation Barbarossa. Of course, up to that point, the Nazi war machine had rolled across Europe, winning one battle after another. It seemed that they were in a dominant position to that point, and when they first started quickly going through vast territories that had been part of the Soviet Union, it looked like it was happening again. 

But that ended abruptly once the Germans were locked in far inside of Soviet territory. This was particularly months later, once that infamous and brutal Russian winter began to take hold. 

There were many reasons for what happened next, and how it all contributed to the eventual German defeat. The Soviet Union did not have the infrastructure that western Europe had, and so many of the roads became virtually impassable when there was rain and the roads became muddy, or in the brutal Russian winters. This was not accommodating for the Germans, who found their modern war vehicles bogged down on muddy tracks. That meant that supplies, including food, was very slow to get there, when the Germans needed them. 

Yet, it was more than that. Once again I turn to General Schwarzkopf, who co-hosted a terrific documentary on the Second World War with Charles Kuralt, 'Hitler and Stalin: A Legacy of Hate.' Schwarzkopf suggested that Stalin was notoriously distrustful of almost everyone, but about the only person he seemed to trust was, of all people, Adolf Hitler. He simply refused to believe that Hitler would betray him and break the non-aggression pact that existed between the two nations. So he refused to prepare for the invasion, with disastrous results which, amazingly, could have been even more disastrous if things had worked out a little bit differently. 

However, when Stalin finally did realize that Hitler and the Nazis had betrayed the non-aggression pact between the two countries, he became completely committed to defeating the Germans. That does not make him a hero, or any less brutal in history. In fact, though, it was his brutality that perhaps was one of the deciding factors forcing the outcome in favor of the Soviets. How so? Well, he made sure that the Soviet troops fighting the Germans figuratively had guns pointed at their backs, as he made clear that any deserters would be shot on the spot. They could not surrender to the Germans, nor turn their heels and retreat. They really had no choice but to fight the Germans tooth and nail, and indeed, they did. 

The war on the eastern front was stunningly brutal, to the point that it was the deadliest war in all of human history. Think about that. All of the ways through thousands of years, and it was the war between Germany and the Soviet Union on the eastern front during World War II which proved to be the deadliest, the most brutal. I have heard repeated figures that 20 million Soviets lost their lives. Yet, in the end, this war was what broke the back of the war hopes of Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Of course, mentioning just how critical the role of the Soviets was in defeating Nazi Germany is often viewed as blasphemous by those who subscribe to American exceptionalism, and who view history through that lens. First of all, it seriously challenges the Americentrist theme during World War II, particularly in Europe, which again, many Americans subscribe to. But going even further, a lot of people simply do not want to give any credit to the big, bad, Soviet Commies for doing anything positive. 

Still, John Adams was right when he said that facts are stubborn things. And the facts bear the truth out: the Germans concentrated their main forces in the war on the eastern front, against the Soviets. When it became clear that they were losing, they tried to get the western powers to join them in the fight, to see the Soviet Union as the real threat, although they had no real success in this. It was the Soviet forces who stopped the Nazi war machine in it's track, particularly with the Battle of Stalingrad, which still ranks as the deadliest single battle in all of history. From that point onward, the Soviets pushed the Germans back, closer and closer to the border of the Reich and, eventually, forced Nazi Germany to collapse in on itself. There was the eventual help of the western allies, who by June of 1944 (but not before) had opened up another another front in the west. By then, though, it was clear that the Germans were well on their way to losing the war, and that their defeat was really just a matter of time.

Yes, it was the Soviets who actually broke the back of the Nazis, and it was the Soviets who paid far and away the biggest price and made the most sacrifices to achieve this victory. They paid the heaviest toll by far, but nonetheless managed to beat the Nazis back, mostly out of necessity. Some have speculated that had the Germans treated the Russians well, come in as liberators instead of occupiers who were even worse than the Soviets, that they might have had a real chance. The Soviet regime was indeed brutal, and the people were ready for a change. But the Nazis proved to be even more brutal, and thus, there really was no choice left. They had to fight to get rid of an even worse form of evil.

The war on the Eastern Front was, again, the most brutal war in all of human history. It was very grim, and there are images and stories from those times that will live on. Ultimately, though, it proves that the Soviets who turned the tide of the war, and sent the invading forces of Nazi Germany retreating back to the borders of the Reich, and ultimately, continually retreating, until there was little left of Germany itself. The cities were bombed out shells of what they once had been, reduced to rubble. And when the capital fell, it was the Soviet flag that replaced the Nazi one atop the Reichstag, indicating the de facto end of the European theater of war.

On this day, recognized as V-E Day in Russia, it seemed appropriate to acknowledge that fact, and to give credit where credit is due. The United States and other western Allies helped to uproot and defeat the Nazis in western Europe, but this happened while the Germans were focusing most of their war effort to the East, where the Soviets had already figuratively broken the back of the Nazi war machine.

Below is the link to an article elaborating on just how critical the role of the Soviets was in defeating, and ultimately destroying, the Nazi German threat during World War II:

75 Years Ago, The Soviet Union Saved the World from Hitler’s Nazi Regime by Caleb G., April 6, 2020:

https://ushypocrisy.com/2020/04/06/75-years-ago-the-soviet-union-saved-the-world-from-hitlers-nazi-regime/?fbclid=IwAR1xIYZoszf7bwFutrFIifwHJgnzvLd3hnqcwFX5X0RcB0GZOVU9fnA9vjQ

Here is another link to an interesting article:

We Remember World War II Wrong by Adam Tooze, May 7, 2020:

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/07/world-war-2-victory-day-russia-75th-anniversary/

May 9th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 1457 BCE, the Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC) was fought between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh. It was the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail. In 1012 BCE, there was a solar eclipse seen at Ugarit, 6:09-6:39 PM. Athanasius was elected Patriarch Bishop of Alexandria on this day in 328. Lincoln Cathedral was consecrated on this day in 1092. In 1336 on this day, Italian poet Francesco Petrarca climbed Mont Ventoux. Treaty of Windsor between Portugal & England was signed on this day in 1386. On this day in 1429, after a week of leading the French army in battles that ultimately liberated the city of Orléans from the English siege, Joan of Arc left the city to meet with Charles VII at Tours. In 1502 on this day, Christopher Columbus left Spain on his fourth and final trip to the "New World." Colonel Thomas "Captain" Blood stole the crown jewels from the Tower of London in 1671 on this day. English King Willem III declared war on France on this day in 1689. King Louis XV disbanded the French Parlement on this day in 1753. The first newspaper cartoon in America showed the famous "Join or die" divided snake in "The Pennsylvania Gazette" on this day in 1754. The HMS Beagle, with British botanist Charles Darwin aboard, departed Port Louis, Mauritius, on this day in 1836. The city of Reno, Nevada, was founded on this day in 1868. On this day in 1873, "Der Krach" occurred in Vienna, Austria, as the stock market crash heralded the Long Depression. This day  in 1877 came to be known as Independence Day for Romania, as Mihail Kogălniceanu read, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Declaration of Independence of Romania. Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opened in London on this day in 1887. On this day in 1901 in Australia, the Duke of Cornwall and York declared the First Commonwealth Parliament open in Melbourne. The German and French forces fought at the Battle of Artois on this day in 1915 during World War I. In 1916 on this day during the "Great War" (now known commonly as World War I), British-France Sykes-Picot met over the division of the Ottoman Empire. Americans Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett became the first men to fly an airplane over the North Pole on this day in 1926. Canberra officially replaced Melbourne as the capital of Australia on this day in 1927, as the Australian Parliament first convened in the new capital. There was a massive victory celebration at Red Square in Moscow, then the capital of the Soviet Union, on this day in 1945, to mark the end of World War II in Europe with the official unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. In 1945 on this day at the end of World War II in Europe, Hermann Göring was captured by the United States Army on this day in 1945. In 1950 on this day, L. Ron Hubbard published Dianetics. Nigeria became a member of the British Commonwealth on this day in 1960. On this day in 1962, the Beatles signed their first recording contract with EMI Parlophone, and hired George Martin to be their producer. On this day in 1970, hundreds of thousands of Americans demonstrated against the Vietnam War. In 1974 on this day in the United States during the Watergate scandal, the House Judiciary Committee began formal hearings on the potential impeachment of American President Richard Nixon. The bullet-riddled body of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro was found in an automobile in the center of Rome on this day in 1978. The Red Brigades had abducted him. On this day in 1989, over one thousand journalists petitioned the Chinese government for freedom of press. Paraguay held its first Presidential & Parliamentary elections in 50 years on this day in 1993. In 1994 on this day, the South African Parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the first black President of the country following the nation's first ever multiracial elections days earlier. On this day in Ghana in 2001, 129 football fans died in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium Disaster. The deaths were caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of teargas by police personnel at the stadium) which followed a controversial decision by the referee handling a crucial match between arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko. In Bahrain on this day in 2002, people were allowed to vote for representatives for the first time in nearly 30 years. Women were allowed to vote for the first time in the country's history. On this day in 2004, Chechen Moscow-backed President Akhmad Kadyrov was killed in a remote-controlled land mine bomb blast under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial victory parade in Grozny, Chechnya. Six others were killed and another 60 wounded.

Here's a more detailed look at some of the historical events which occurred on this day in history:

•  On this day in 1457 BCE, the Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC) was fought between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh. It was the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail.

•  In 1012 BCE, there was a solar eclipse seen at Ugarit, 6:09-6:39 PM.

•  Athanasius was elected Patriarch Bishop of Alexandria on this day in 328.

•  Lincoln Cathedral was consecrated on this day in 1092.

•  In 1336 on this day, Italian poet Francesco Petrarca climbed Mont Ventoux.

•  Treaty of Windsor between Portugal & England was signed on this day in 1386. 

The cathedral at Orléans, in the Loire Valley

Picture of the Monument Jeanne d'Arc/Joan of Arc Monument (above) in the gardens in Québec City which now bears her name.

Joan of Arc Statue in Philadelphia

• On this day in 1429, after a week of leading the French army in battles that ultimately liberated the city of Orléans from the English siege, Joan of Arc left the city to meet with Charles VII at Tours.

1450 - 'Abd al-Latif (Timurid monarch) is assassinated.

1460 - Court yard episcopal palace Atrecht has witch burnings

•  In 1502 on this day, Christopher Columbus left Spain on his fourth and final trip to the "New World."

1519 - Austrian adel/burgerij in uprising against central government

1573 - Polish Parliament selects duke of Anjou as king

1588 - Duke Henri de Guises troops occupy Paris

•  Colonel Thomas "Captain" Blood stole the crown jewels from the Tower of London in 1671 on this day.

• English King Willem III declared war on France on this day in 1689.

1726 - Five men arrested during a raid on Mother Clap's molly house in London are executed at Tyburn.

1738 - England routes fleet in Mediterranean Sea & West-Indies

Royal France

•  King Louis XV disbanded the French Parlement on this day in 1753.

•  The first newspaper cartoon in America showed the famous "Join or die" divided snake in "The Pennsylvania Gazette" on this day in 1754.

1766 - John Byron back in England after trip around the world

1785 - British inventor Joseph Bramah patented the beer-pump handle

1788 - English parliament accepts abolishing of slave trade

1825 - The Chatham Theatre opened in New York City. It was the first gas-lit theater in America.

British Botanist Charles Darwin

•  The HMS Beagle, with British botanist Charles Darwin aboard, departed Port Louis, Mauritius, on this day in 1836.

1837 - "Sherrod" burns in Mississippi River below Natchez Miss; 175 dies

1846 - Battle of Resaca de la Palma-US sends Mexico back to Rio Grande

1862 - Battle of Farmington, MS

1862 - Battle of Ft Pickens, FL (Pensacola), evacuated by CS

1862 - US Naval Academy relocated from Annapolis MD to Newport, RI

1864 - -20] Skirmish at Ware Bottom Church, Virginia

1864 - Battle of Cloyd's Mt, and Swift Creek, Virginia (Drewery's Bluff, Ft Darling)

1864 - Battle of Dalton, Georgia

1864 - Ship battle at Helgoland, Austria-Denmark

1868 - Anton Bruckner's 1st Symphony in C, premieres

•  The city of Reno, Nevada, was founded on this day in 1868.

•  On this day in 1873, "Der Krach" occurred in Vienna, Austria, as the stock market crash heralded the Long Depression.

1874 - Victoria Embankment, in London opens

1874 - The first horse-drawn bus makes its début in the city of Mumbai, plying two routes.

•  This day in 1877 came to be known as Independence Day for Romania, as Mihail Kogălniceanu read, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Declaration of Independence of Romania. 

1882 - Telegraph Hill RR Co organized

•  Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opened in London on this day in 1887.

1889 - 15th Kentucky Derby: Thomas Kiley aboard Spokane wins in 2:34.50

1896 - First horseless carriage show in London (featured 10 models)

1899 - Lawn mower patented

Flag of Australia

•  On this day in 1901 in Australia, the Duke of Cornwall and York declared the First Commonwealth Parliament open in Melbourne.

1901 - Cleve's Earl Moore no-hits Chic White Sox 9 inn but loses in 10th 4-2

1904 - The steam locomotive City of Truro becomes the first steam engine to exceed 100mph.

1908 - Dirk Fock becomes governor of Suriname

1911 - Fire breaks out at Empire Theater in Edinburgh Scotland

1913 - 17th amendment provides for election of senators by popular vote

1914 - 40th Kentucky Derby: John McCabe aboard Old Rosebud wins in 2:03.4

1914 - American President Wilson proclaims Mother's Day an official holiday.

1914 - J.T. Hearne becomes the first bowler to take 3000 first-class wickets.

•  The German and French forces fought at the Battle of Artois on this day in 1915 during World War I.

•  In 1916 on this day during the "Great War" (now known commonly as World War I), British-France Sykes-Picot met over the division of the Ottoman Empire.

1925 - Cornerstone for Hebrew University, Jerusalem laid

•  Americans Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett became the first men to fly an airplane over the North Pole on this day in 1926.

1927 - 53rd Preakness: Whitey Abel aboard Bostonian wins in 2:01.6

• Canberra officially replaced Melbourne as the capital of Australia on this day in 1927, as the Australian Parliament first convened in the new capital.

1930 - A starting gate was used to start a Triple Crown race for the first time.



1932 - Piccadilly Circus, 1st lit by electricity

1932 - WOC-AM in Davenport Iowa merges with WHO to become WHO-WOC

1933 - Spanish anarchists call for general strike

1934 - Bradman out for a Cricket duck against Cambridge University

1936 - The first sheet of postage stamps of more than one variety went on sale in New York City.

1936 - 1st KLM airplane to land on Bonaire

1936 - Italy takes Addis Abba, and annexed Absynnia (Ethiopia)

1937 - Reds beat Phillies 21-10 (Ernie Lombardi goes 6 for 6)

1939 - Catholic church beatified the first Native American, Kateri Tekakwitha

1940 - Vivien Leigh debuted in America on stage in "Romeo and Juliet" with Lawrence Olivier.

1941 - English Army breaks German spy codes

1941 - The German submarine U-110 was captured at sea by Britain's Royal navy.

1942 - 68th Preakness: Basil James aboard Alsab wins in 1:57

1943 - 5th German Pantser army surrenders in Tunisia

1943 - Rotschild-Haddassh University Hospital opens

1944 - First eye bank opens in New York

1944 - Country singer Jimmie Davis becomes governor of Louisiana

1944 - Dutch resistance fighter Gerard Musch arrested

1944 - Joe McCarthy returns as Yankee manager after an illness

1944 - Russians recapture Crimea by taking Sevastopol

1945 - Czechoslovakia liberated from Nazi occupation (Natl Day)

1945 - Jersey liberated from Nazis

1945 - Nazi propagandist Max Blokzijl arrested

1945 - New balata ball used in baseball, 50% livilier

1945 - Norwegian Nazi collaborators Vidkun Quisling arrested

• There was a massive victory celebration at Red Square in Moscow, then the capital of the Soviet Union, on this day in 1945, to mark the end of World War II in Europe with the official unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.

1945 - World War II: Partisans liberate Ljubljana.

• In 1945 on this day at the end of World War II in Europe, Hermann Göring was captured by the United States Army on this day in 1945.

1945 - World War II: The Soviet Union marks Victory Day.

1945 - World War II: The Channel Islands are formally liberated by the British.

1945 - U.S. officials announced that the midnight entertainment curfew was being lifted immediately.

1946 - King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy abdicated and was replaced by Umberto.

1946 - First variety show on TV "NBC's Hour Glass," premieres. It is also the first hour long entertainment TV show in history.

1949 - Britain's 1st launderette opens in Queensway London

1949 - Prince Rainier III becomes leader of Monaco

1950 - French Foreign min Robert Schuman calls for European community EGKS

1950 - Norman Dello Joco's premieres in Bronxville

• In 1950 on this day, L. Ron Hubbard published Dianetics.  On this day in 1950, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (1911-1986) publishes Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. With this book, Hubbard introduced a branch of self-help psychology called Dianetics, which quickly caught fire and, over time, morphed into a belief system boasting millions of subscribers: Scientology.   Hubbard was already a prolific and frequently published writer by the time he penned the book that would change his life. Under several pseudonyms in the 1930s, he published a great amount of pulp fiction, particularly in the science fiction and fantasy genres. In late 1949, having returned from serving in the Navy in World War II, Hubbard began publishing articles in the pages of Astounding Science Fiction, a magazine that published works by the likes of Isaac Asimov and Jack Williamson. Out of these grew the elephantine text known as Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.  In Dianetics, Hubbard explained that phenomena known as "engrams" (i.e. memories) were the cause of all psychological pain, which in turn harmed mental and physical health. He went on to claim that people could become "clear," achieving an exquisite state of clarity and mental liberation, by exorcising their engrams to an "auditor," or a listener acting as therapist.  Though discredited by the medical and scientific establishment, over 100,000 copies of Dianetics were sold in the first two years of publication, and Hubbard soon found himself lecturing across the country. He went on to write six more books in 1951, developing a significant fan base, and establishing the Hubbard Dianetics Research Foundation in Elizabeth, New Jersey.  Despite his fast-growing popularity from books and touring, strife within his organization and Hubbard's own personal troubles nearly crippled his success. Several of his research foundations had to be abandoned due to financial troubles and he went through a divorce from his second wife.  By 1953, however, Hubbard was able to rebound from the widespread condemnation beginning to be heaped upon him, and introduced Scientology. Scientology expanded on Dianetics by bringing Hubbard's popular version of psychotherapy into the realm of philosophy, and ultimately, religion. In only a few years, Hubbard found himself at the helm of a movement that captured the popular imagination. As Scientology grew in the 1960s, several national governments became suspicious of Hubbard, accusing him of quackery and brainwashing his followers. Nonetheless, Hubbard built his religion into a multi-million dollar movement that continues to have a considerable presence in the public eye, due in part to its high profile in Hollywood.

1951 - Air raid on Chinese positions at Yalu River

1955 - German Federal Republic joins NATO

1956 - First ascent of Manaslu, the world's eighth-highest mountain.

1958 - Botvinnik recaptures world chess championship

1958 - Richard Burton made his network television debut in the presentation of "Wuthering Heights" on CBS-TV.

1959 - Dorothy Rigney, husband John, & Hank Greenberg resign from White Sox

•  Nigeria became a member of the British Commonwealth on this day in 1960.

1960 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for sale an oral birth-control pill for the first time. The US is first country to use the birth control pill legally

1960 - US send U-2 over USSR

1961 - Jim Gentile (9 RBI's) of the Baltimore Orioles set a major league baseball record when he hit a grand slam home run in two consecutive innings. The game was against the Minnesota Twins

1961 - FCC Chairman Newton N Minow criticizes TV as a "vast wasteland"

1961 - Jim Gentile is 4th to hit grand slams in consecutive innings

    

    

• On this day in 1962, the Beatles signed their first recording contract with EMI Parlophone, and hired George Martin to be their producer.




1962 - Laser beam successfully bounced off Moon for first time

1962 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

1963 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1964 - Khrushchev visits Egypt

1964 - Peter & Gordon release "World Without Love"

1965 - Beatles attend a Bob Dylan concert

1965 - Luna 5 launched (USSR) 1st attempt to soft land on Moon (fails)

1966 - First black member of Federal Reserve Board (A F Brimmer)

1966 - China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC

1967 - First flight of Fokker F-28 Fellowship

1967 - Gijsbert van Hall resigns as mayor of Amsterdam

1969 - BPAA All-Star Bowling Tournament won by Billy Hardwick

• On this day in 1970, hundreds of thousands of Americans demonstrated against the Vietnam War.

1971 - 23rd Emmy Awards: All in the Family, Jack Klugman & Jean Stapleton

1971 - Elizabeth Bonner runs female world record marathon (3:01:42)

1971 - Friends of Earth return 1500 non-returnable bottles to Schweppes

1971 - Largest walk in crowd (31,626) in Balt Oriole history

1973 - For second time, Johnny Bench hits 3 HRs in a game

•  In 1974 on this day in the United States during the Watergate scandal, the House Judiciary Committee began formal hearings on the potential impeachment of American President Richard Nixon.

1975 - Brian Oldfield shot puts 22.86 m (world record)

1976 - "So Long 174th St" closes at Harkness Theater NYC after 16 perfs

1977 - Hotel Poland in Amsterdam destroyed by fire, 33 killed

1977 - Mabel Murphy Smythe confirmed as ambassador to Rep of Cameroon

1977 - Patty Hearst let out of jail

1978 - "Ain't Misbehavin'" opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 1604 perfs

•  The bullet-riddled body of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro was found in an automobile in the center of Rome on this day in 1978. The Red Brigades had abducted him.

1978 - Fee Waybill of Tubes breaks a leg falling off stage

1978 - Musical "Ain't Misbehavin'," premieres in NYC

1978 - PSV beats Bastica, 3-0, to win UEFA Cup in Eindhoven Neth

1980 - A Liberian freighter hit the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida. 35 motorists were killed and a 1,400-foot section of the bridge collapsed.

1981 - Kazimiroff Blvd in Bronx named for a Bronx historian

1982 - "9" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 739 performances

1982 - Arthur Kopit's musical "Nine," premieres in NYC

1983 - 18th Academy of Country Music Awards: Alabama & Willie Nelson

1984 - Alexander Calder's "Big Crinkly" sells for $852,000

1984 - It took the Chicago White Sox 25 innings, eight hours, and six minutes, over two days, to finally defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6. It was the longest game (in elapsed time) in major-league history.

1984 - White Sox & Brewers play 8:06, game, longest timed baseball game

1987 - 183 die aboard a Polish jetliner that crashes in Warsaw

1987 - Oriole Eddie Murray is 1st to switch hit HRs in 2 consecutive games

1988 - Belgium: 8th government of Martens forms

1988 - The new Australian Parliament House opened in Canberra by Queen Elizabeth.

1989 - "Saratina!" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 597 performances

The flag of the People's Republic of China

•  On this day in 1989, over one thousand journalists petitioned the Chinese government for freedom of press.

1989 - NY Mets Kevin Elster, errors after 88 errorless games at shortstop

1989 - NY Mets Rick Cerone, errors after 159 errorless games as catcher

1989 - VP Quayle say in United Negro College Fund speech: "What a waste it is to lose one's mind" instead of "a mind is terrible thing to waste"

1990 - NY Newsday reporter Jimmy Breslin suspended for a racial slur

1990 - Sampdoria wins 30th Europe Cup II

1991 - Italian actress Laura Antonelli found guilty of cocaine possession

1991 - Michael Landon appears on Tonight Show to talk about his cancer

1992 - America Cup finals begin in San Diego

1992 - Final episode of "Golden Girls" airs on NBC-TV

1992 - Michelle McLean, 19, of Namibia, crowned 41st Miss Universe

1992 - Armenian forces capture Shusha, marking a major turning point in the Karabakh War.

1993 - "Ain't Broadway Grand" closes at Lunt-Fontanne NYC after 25 perfs

1993 - "Song of Jacob Zulu" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 53 perfs

1993 - Landslide in Nambija Ecuador, kills 300

1993 - Mustapha Matura's "Playboy of West Indies," premieres in NYC

• Paraguay held its first Presidential & Parliamentary elections in 50 years on this day in 1993.

This was a picture (which I have since cropped) of the new South Africa flag of the post-apartheid era. I actually took this one at the apartheid museum, as this was the final display, if you will, of the museum, the symbol of the emergence of a "new South Africa."

Statue of Nelson Mandela in the gardens in front of the Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa

• In 1994 on this day, the South African Parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the first black President of the country following the nation's first ever multiracial elections days earlier.

1994 - "Passion" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 280 performances

1994 - Mass murderer Joel Rifkind found guilty in NY

1995 - Cleveland Indians tie record of scoring 8 runs before making an out, they beat Twins 10-0

1995 - Kinshasa, Zaire under quarantine after an outbreak of Ebola virus

1996 - In video testimony to a courtroom in Little Rock, Arkansas, American. President Clinton insisted that he had nothing to do with a $300,000 loan in the criminal case against his former Whitewater partners.

1997 - First US ambassador since Saigon fell arrives in Vietnam

1997 - San Diego Padres retire #35 worn by pitcher Randy Jones

• On this day in Ghana in 2001, 129 football fans died in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium Disaster. The deaths were caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of teargas by police personnel at the stadium) which followed a controversial decision by the referee handling a crucial match between arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

2002 - The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem came to an end when the Palestinians inside agree to have thirteen suspected militants among them deported to several different countries. The standoff had begun on April 2, 2002.

2002 - In Kaspiysk, Russia, a remote-controlled bomb explodes during a holiday parade killing 43 and injuring at least 130.

• In Bahrain on this day in 2002, people were allowed to vote for representatives for the first time in nearly 30 years. Women were allowed to vote for the first time in the country's history.

• On this day in 2004, Chechen Moscow-backed President Akhmad Kadyrov was killed in a remote-controlled land mine bomb blast under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial victory parade in Grozny, Chechnya. Six others were killed and another 60 wounded.

2005 - Liberal commentary website The Huffington Post is launched

2006 - Estonia ratifies the European Constitution.

2006 - George Preca is canonised as the first Maltese saint in history.

2012 - Mark Rothko's "Orange, Red, Yellow" becomes the most expensive contemporary art piece to be sold at auction for $86.9 million dollars

2012 - A Russian passenger jet disappears with 45 people on board

2012 - United States President, Barack Obama, officially states his support for same sex marriage


The following are the websites that I primarily used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/may09.htm

http://www.historyorb.com/day/may/9

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/May-9

Today Marks the 100th Birthday of David Attenborough

 

Today is a big day, as it marks the 100th birthday of filmmaker David Attenborough.

Attenborough has been making nature documentaries for many decades now. His voice provides a calm and caring effect that has made him very popular among audiences around the world. Also, he has brought greater knowledge and caring into our living rooms.

Also, it should be noted that David Attenborough has consistently championed action on both climate change and wildlife preservation. By bringing these documentaries into our living rooms, he also helped to make us collectively more aware of these things.

In a world that sometimes makes one wonder if there are any truly good people left, David Attenborough is one of the true exceptions. A fine and inspiring human being who deserves to be honored and getting the accolades he so richly deserves.

Happy 100th Birthday, David Attenborough!

Below are some links to articles relating to David Attenborough and his high-quality nature documentaries:

David Attenborough’s 100th birthday celebration takes place at Royal Albert Hall by BBC News, 8 May 2026:

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c759lwgevl0t

David Attenborough's big 100th birthday celebration takes place at Royal Albert Hall - BBC News

From primates to climate - ten of David Attenborough's best documentaries by Paul Glynn,Culture reporter and Ian Youngs, May 8, 2026:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cevevg98125o

Ten of David Attenborough's best documentaries and where to watch them

Sir David Attenborough On The 1 Thing We Can Do To Help Kids Learn About Our Planet Natasha Hinde 18 October 2023:

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/sir-david-attenborough-1-thing-100948136.html

A Little Bit of Truthful Perspective....From a Congressman?

Now usually, when I hear anyone from Congress (with very few exceptions), I have come to expect some kind of watered down, overly polite version of the truth. There might be a few exceptions, but the exceptions generally prove the rule.

However, I came across something earlier today which caught my attention. It was a very frank, blunt opinion regarding how pathetic our present so-called leaders in this country really are.

The message was from David Kunnghee Min. Min is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 47th Congressional district. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Recently, he made no bones about what he thought of the Trump administration jacking up the budget for the military industrial complex while effectively gutting spending on any domestic aid. He was brutally honest, which is not generally what you expect from a Washington politician, frankly.

Take a look:

“They have the unbelievable gall to propose a $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget to pay for a stupid fucking war that they started for no reason, with no plan, and with no exit strategy, after slashing funding for healthcare, food aid, and housing. These people are the absolute scum of the earth.” 

~ Rep Dave Min 

Take a look at his X page, where he posted this on May 7th:

Rep. Dave Min  @CongressMin, May 7, 2026:

https://x.com/CongressMin/status/2052526610931155237/photo/1

Rep. Dave Min on X: "They have the unbelievable gall to propose a $1.5 TRILLION Pentagon budget to pay for a stupid fucking war that they started for no reason, with no plan, and with no exit strategy, after slashing funding for healthcare, food aid, and housing. These people are the absolute scum https://t.co/ye6xg2yUdL" / X

May 8th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

Yes, on this date in history 80 years ago came V-E Day, marking the Allied victory in Europe following the "unconditional surrender" of Nazi Germany. The Fuehrer had killed himself just days before in his underground Berlin bunker, as the Soviets pounded the city with relentless shelling. Very shortly thereafter, they would outright take over Berlin, taking down the Nazi flags and symbols, and hoisting the hammer and sickle. Germany, which only a few years earlier had still largely retained what could be seen as an empire (they were either allies with, or outright taken over, almost every nation in Europe), was now fighting a losing battle on all sides, as armies closed in all around them, choking off the life of the fascist state. Hitler had declared that he was building the "thousand year Reich", but it had lasted a little more than twelve years.

World War II was not over on May 8, 1945. There was still the war in the Pacific with Japan, after all. There was still months of fighting left, and many more deaths - civilian and military -would be lost yet.

Still, the worst was over with the end of the war in Europe. The casualties on all sides are simply staggering. In all, World War II cost over sixty million people their lives, but that includes the war in Asia. I wondered what the overall toll was in Europe, as well as the toll upon individual European nations - particularly Germany and the Soviet Union.

There was the war on the Eastern Front between these two nations that remains the single deadliest war in history. Think about that for a minute. Of all the wars that have ever existed throughout human history, the war between Germany and the Soviet Union was the deadliest.

There were a lot of famous battles in Europe during the war, but most of these came during the war on the Eastern Front, during which the Soviets managed to stop the seemingly invincible German military machine cold. The German advance was halted and, after a relative stalemate that lasted for years, the Soviets began to triumph in some key battles, and they began to advance forward. That meant that, for the Germans, every step that they took after a certain point was a step backwards. Before long, they had retreated all the way back to the Reich itself, which was collapsing in on itself. It would end in the rubble of bombed out cities, perhaps especially Berlin itself, the capital of the Reich.

But the losses suffered to achieve this were incredible! There are individual battles where the stakes were so enormous, that both sides just kept piling on all the military might that they could to achieve victory. The Battle of Stalingrad was probably the biggest single battle. I heard Norman Schwartzkopf and Charles Kuralt, in a documentary from 1994, state that of every one thousand soldiers on both sides sent to the battle, only three came out alive! When you see the images of the war in the East, particularly during the winter time, you begin to understand just how painful and demoralizing that particular part of the war was.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties), the numbers really are mind-boggling. The most deaths, by far, went to the Soviet Union. According to the website, the Soviet Union had an overall population of over 194 million in 1940. They suffered 10,700,000 military deaths during the war, and 15,900,000 civilian deaths, for a whopping total estimated dead at over 26 million! That, just for the Soviet Union itself.

For Germany, the numbers are equally unbelievable. Within Germany's pre-1937 borders, the overall population stood at just under seventy million. It suffered 4,400,000 military deaths. The civilian death toll is estimated at somewhere between 1,100,000 to 2,500,000. Austria (which became part of the Reich) suffered 260,000 military casualties, and another 120,000 civilian deaths. Then, for ethnic Germans living outside of the Reich itself, there are an estimated 600,000 military deaths, and somewhere between 200,000 and 900,000 civilian deaths. The estimated total of Germans lost during the war, then, are 5,500, 000 military deaths, and somewhere between 1,500,000 and 3,500,000 civilian deaths, for a total of between seven to nine million total dead!

True, that for the Germans, it was a war of aggression. Hitler wanted greater "lebensraum" for his Aryan Master Race of Germans, and so he and the Nazis favored pursuing territorial expansion, particularly to the East. They saw Russia and the East as their future colony, if you will. They pursued it, but they were never going to win that war. I know Americans like to think that they won the war and defeated Hitler, but the truth is that the Germans really lost that war well before D-Day, and the opening of the Western Front. Harry Truman, the future President of the United States, favored what is known as "bait and bleed", which is to say, pitting two enemies against one another and letting them weaken one another. Obviously, given the horrifying numbers of dead for both Germany and the Soviets, this policy worked. But it could also give a glimpse of true understanding for why the Soviets were not exactly trusting of the Western Allies after the war, and why these tensions led to the Cold War. I am not excusing them, but it becomes a bit more understandable why the Soviets wanted those buffer states in between them and Western powers.

For France, there were 217,600 military deaths (including colonies), and 350,000 civilian dead. well over 300,000 deaths for Greeks, and the vast majority of them were civilians. Just shy of 600,000 dead in Hungary, with relatively equal numbers between military and civilian dead. Italy suffered over 300,000 military deaths, with another 153,200 civilian deaths. There were 17,000 military deaths from the Netherlands, but a whopping 284,000 civilian deaths! For Romania, 300,000 military dead, and 500,000 civilian dead! For Yugoslavia, 446,000 military dead, and another 581,000 civilians lost. The United Kingdom lost 383,800 military deaths, and 67,100 civilian deaths. For the United States, 416,800 dead, although this number includes the Asian war.

However, the most deaths for a single country, other than the Soviet Union or Germany, was suffered by Poland, which lost 240,000 civilians and estimates that range between 5,380,000 to 5,580,000 civilian deaths!

We all know about how the Nazis murdered six millions Jews. The Holocaust took place in two different ways. First, and most infamously, there were the death camps, the largest of which was Auschwitz. But the other part of the Holocaust was on the Eastern Front, when the Germans would round up Jews (and other undesirables) and shoot them en masse. Six million Jews!

And it was not only Jews, of course. There are various estimates as to the total number of dead by the Nazis, who pursued genocidal policies. The estimates range by the millions, so no definitive account exists now (and possibly, even probably, never will). But even the lowest estimate stands at roughly 11 million, and quite a few suggest higher, even much higher, numbers than that! There is still a debate about whether or not non-Jews should be included as part of the Holocaust or not.

But one way or another, the costs of this war were truly staggering and mind-numbing!

The late Kurt Vonnegut considered World War II the last necessary war. He himself was a veteran of the war, and was taken prisoner by the Germans. He was taken to Dresden, where he was one of the few survivors of the infamous Dresden fire bombings that destroyed that city. Dresden had remained relatively free from the constant bombings that other German cities had regularly had to endure, since it was an "open city", meaning it had no military value. There had been drills and exercises before, but they had been false warnings that had not actually materialized into anything. But that changed in February of 1945, when the city became the site of what Kurt Vonnegut called the single greatest overnight mass murder in history. He continued to write and talk about the bombing throughout his long and storied writing career.

Some may contend with Vonnegut's assertion that Dresden was the worst overnight massacre in history, but many agree that World War II was the last "necessary" war, if you will. There were aggressive powers that wanted to take over huge chunks of the world, and thus plunged the world into war. The biggest (and usually considered the most evil) of these was Nazi Germany, and the suffering that was inflicted as a result are mind-boggling, and hard to grasp for those of us who were born well after the war, and did not actually see these events unfold. Yes, we have the history books, but can you imagine what it would have actually been like to live through it, to see the war? The deprivations, the deaths, the uncertainty, the rations, the headlines! The revelations that came of the numbers of dead that came as a result, and the documented cruelty of a modern state, intent on wiping out an entire segment of the population.

As you can see, the war was not just costly for those who were literally fighting it! At a time when there was really very little to celebrate in Europe, the end of the war truly marked a momentous occasion and, for once, it was cause to celebrate! So much so, that we still recognize it every year on this day, May 8th. V-E Day.

I got the numbers for this blog entry from the following websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3411800037/world-after-war.html



http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history:

On this day in 535, John II ended his reign as Catholic Pope. In 589 on this day, Reccared summoned the Third Council of Toledo. Peter the Hermit and his army reached Hungary on this day in 1096. The Treaty of Brétigny was signed by English & French on this day in 1360, ending the first phase of the Hundred Years War.. They passed through without incident. On this day in 1429, French troops led by Joan of Arc liberated Orléans from the English. Guided by divine voices, the “Pucelle d'Orléans”, as Joan of Arc came to be known, became a national heroine after liberating Orléans during the Hundred Years' War. The liberation of Orléans is celebrated each year during ten days of festivities. On this day in 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River. He called it Rio de Espiritu Santo. Hung king Bethlen Gabor & Emperor Ferdinand II signed the Treaty of Vienna on this day in 1624. The English Parliament declared Charles Stuart to be King Charles II of England on this day in 1660. In 1792 on this day, the Militia Act was passed, establishing conscription (the military draft) under federal law. On this day in 1794 during the Reign of Terror part of the French Revolution, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, was guillotined. He was the French chemist that discovered oxygen. Congress passed a bill establishing the United States Postal Service Office on this day in 1794. In 1821 on this day during the Greek War of Independence, the Greeks defeated the Ottomans in Gravia. Charles Darwin's expedition returned to the Beagle on this day in 1834. The rubber tire was patented by Robert W. Thompson on this day in 1847. The Confederación Granadina officially became the Estados Unidos de Colombia on this day in 1863. China ceded Taiwan to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki on this day in 1895. Mount Pelee in Martinique erupted, destroying the town of St. Pierre, and killing 40,000 people on this day in 1902. Sweden abolished capital punishment on this day in 1921. The French colonial army defeated Rifkabylen in Morocco on this day in 1925. On this day in 1933, Mohandas Gandhi began a 21-day fast in protest against British oppression in India. Stravinsky's "Dumbarton Oaks," premiered in Washington, DC on this day in 1938. In 1942 on this day during World War II, the German summer offensive opened in Crimea. The Germans suppressed a revolt by Polish Jews and destroyed the Warsaw Ghetto on this day in 1943 during World War II.. Nazi German General Von Keitel surrendered to Soviet General Marshal Zhukov on this day in 1945. On this day in 1945, V-E Day was celebrated among the Western Allied nations after Germany signed an unconditional surrender marking the end of World War II in Europe. American President Harry Truman announced that the European theater of World War II had come to an end. In 1946 on this day, Estonian school girls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blew up the Soviet memorial that preceded the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn. A new West German constitution was approved on this day in 1949. Chiang Kai-shek asked the United States for weapons on this day in 1950. On this day in 1958, U.S. President Eisenhower ordered the National Guard out of Little Rock as Ernest Green became the first black to graduate from an Arkansas public school. Alan Shepard received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal on this day in 1961 in Washington. World boxing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was indicted for refusing induction into the U.S. Army on this day in 1967. The Beatles released the "Let it Be" album on this day in 1970. On this day in 1984, the Soviet Union announced that they would not participate in the 1984 Summer Olympics Games in Los Angeles. Claiming that its athletes would not be safe from protests and possible physical attacks, the Soviet Union announced that it would not compete in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. In 1987 on this day, Gary Hart quit the Democratic presidential race due to the relentless allegations regarding his affair with Donna Rice. French President Francois Mitterrand was elected to a second consecutive term on this day in 1988. This day in 1990 marked the second independence Day for Estonia.

• On this day in 535, John II ended his reign as Catholic Pope.

• In 589 on this day, Reccared summoned the Third Council of Toledo.

615 - St Boniface IV ends his reign as Catholic Pope

685 - St Benedict II ends his reign as Catholic Pope

•  Peter the Hermit and his army reached Hungary on this day in 1096. They passed through without incident.

•  The Treaty of Brétigny was signed by English & French on this day in 1360, ending the first phase of the Hundred Years War..

The cathedral at Orléans, in the Loire Valley

Picture of the Monument Jeanne d'Arc/Joan of Arc Monument (above) in the gardens in Québec City which now bears her name.

Joan of Arc Statue in Philadelphia

• On this day in 1429, French troops led by Joan of Arc liberated Orléans from the English. Guided by divine voices, the “Pucelle d'Orléans”, as Joan of Arc came to be known, became a national heroine after liberating Orléans during the Hundred Years' War. The liberation of Orléans is celebrated each year during ten days of festivities.

1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion-Kentishmen revolted against King Henry VI

1521 - Parliament of Worms installs edict against Marten Luther

• On this day in 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River. He called it Rio de Espiritu Santo.    De Soto reaches the Mississippi On May 8, 1541, south of present-day Memphis, Tennessee, Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River, one of the first European explorers to ever do so. After building flatboats, de Soto and his 400 ragged troops crossed the great river under the cover of night, in order to avoid the armed Native Americans who patrolled the river daily in war canoes. From there the conquistadors headed into present-day Arkansas, continuing their fruitless two-year-old search for gold and silver in the American wilderness.    Born in the last years of the 15th century, de Soto first came to the New World in 1514. By then, the Spanish had established bases in the Caribbean and on the coasts of the American mainland. A fine horseman and a daring adventurer, de Soto explored Central America and accumulated considerable wealth through the Indian slave trade. In 1532, he joined Francisco Pizarro in the conquest of Peru. Pizarro, de Soto, and 167 other Spaniards succeeding in conquering the Inca empire, and de Soto became a rich man. He returned to Spain in 1536 but soon grew restless and jealous of Pizarro and Hernando Cortes, whose fame as conquistadors overshadowed his own. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V responded by making de Soto governor of Cuba with a right to conquer Florida, and thus the North American mainland.    In late May 1539, de Soto landed on the west coast of Florida with 600 troops, servants, and staff, 200 horses, and a pack of bloodhounds. From there, the army set about subduing the natives, seizing any valuables they stumbled upon, and preparing the region for eventual Spanish colonization. Traveling through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, across the Appalachians, and back to Alabama, de Soto failed to find the gold and silver he desired, but he did seize a valuable collection of pearls at Cofitachequi, in present-day Georgia. Decisive conquest eluded the Spaniards, as what would become the United States lacked the large, centralized civilizations of Mexico and Peru.    As was the method of Spanish conquest elsewhere in the Americas, de Soto ill-treated and enslaved the natives he encountered. For the most part, the Indian warriors they met were intimidated by the Spanish horsemen and kept their distance. In October 1540, however, the tables were turned when a confederation of Indians attacked the Spaniards at the fortified Indian town of Mabila, near present-day Mobile, Alabama. All the Indians were killed along with 20 of de Soto's men. Several hundred Spaniards were wounded. In addition, the Indian conscripts they had come to depend on to bear their supplies fled with the baggage.    De Soto could have marched south to reconvene with his ships along the Gulf Coast, but instead he ordered his expedition northwest in search of America's elusive riches. In May 1541, the army reached and crossed the Mississippi River, probably the first Europeans ever to do so. From there, they traveled through present-day Arkansas and Louisiana, still with few material gains to show for their efforts. Turning back to the Mississippi, de Soto died of a fever on its banks on May 21, 1542. In order that Indians would not learn of his death, and thus disprove de Soto's claims of divinity, his men buried his body in the Mississippi River.    The Spaniards, now under the command of Luis de Moscoso, traveled west again, crossing into north Texas before returning to the Mississippi. With nearly half of the original expedition dead, the Spaniards built rafts and traveled down the river to the sea, and then made their way down the Texas coast to New Spain, finally reaching Veracruz, Mexico, in late 1543.

•  Hung king Bethlen Gabor & Emperor Ferdinand II signed the Treaty of Vienna on this day in 1624.

1639 - William Coddington founds Newport RI

•  The English Parliament declared Charles Stuart to be King Charles II of England on this day in 1660.

1721 - Michelangiolo dei Conti replaces Pope Clement XI, as Innocent XIII

1741 - France & Bavaria sign Covenant of Nymphenburg

1784 - Only known deaths by hailstones in US (Winnsborough SC)

1792 - British Capt George Vancouver sights, names Mt Rainier, Wash

• In 1792 on this day, the Militia Act was passed, establishing conscription (the military draft) under federal law  On this day in 1792, Congress passes the second portion of the Militia Act, requiring that every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, resident therein, who is or shall be of age eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years be enrolled in the militia.    Six days before, Congress had established the president's right to call out the militia. The outbreak of Shay's Rebellion, a protest against taxation and debt prosecution in western Massachusetts in 1786-87, had first convinced many Americans that the federal government should be given the power to put down rebellions within the states. The inability of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation to respond to the crisis was a major motivation for the peaceful overthrow of the government and the drafting of a new federal Constitution.    The Militia Act was tested shortly after its passage, when farmers in western Pennsylvania, angered by a federal excise tax on whiskey, attacked the home of a tax collector and then, with their ranks swollen to 6,000 camped outside Pittsburgh, threatened to march on the town. In response, President Washington, under the auspices of the Militia Act, assembled 15,000 men from the surrounding states and eastern Pennsylvania as a federal militia commanded by Virginia's Henry Lee to march upon the Pittsburgh encampment. Upon its arrival, the federal militia found none of the rebels willing to fight. The mere threat of federal force had quelled the rebellion and established the supremacy of the federal government.

The guillotine (below), which was invented during, and became one of the most fearful symbols of,  the French Revolution. It got the nickname "the razor of the nation."

• On this day in 1794 during the Reign of Terror part of the French Revolution, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, was guillotined. He was the French chemist that discovered oxygen.

•  Congress passed a bill establishing the United States Postal Service Office on this day in 1794.

•  In 1821 on this day during the Greek War of Independence, the Greeks defeated the Ottomans in Gravia.

1823 - "Home Sweet Home" first sung (London)

British Botanist Charles Darwin

•  Charles Darwin's expedition returned to the Beagle on this day in 1834.

1834 - Prussia, Austria & Russia sign classified accord about Belgium

1840 - Alexander Wolcott patents Photographic Process

1842 - Versailles to Paris train catches fire; 50 die

1846 - The first major battle of the Mexican War was fought. The battle occurred in Palo Alto, TX.

•  The rubber tire was patented by Robert W. Thompson on this day in 1847.

1858 - John Brown holds antislavery convention

1861 - Richmond Va, is named the capital of the Confederacy

1862 - Valley Campaign: Federals repulsed at Battle of McDowell Va

•  The Confederación Granadina officially became the Estados Unidos de Colombia on this day in 1863.

1864 - Actions at Stony Creek/Nottoway bridge Virginia (Drewry's Bluff)

1864 - Atlanta Campaign: Severe fighting near Dalton

1864 - Battle of Spotslyvania Court House begins

1871 - English-US treaty ends Alabama dispute

1877 - First Westminster Dog Show held

1878 - First unassisted triple play in organized baseball, by Paul Hines

1879 - George Selden files for the first patent for a gasoline-driven automobile

1881 - Henry Morton Stanley signs contract with Congolian monarch

1882 - David Belasco's "La Belle Russe," premieres in NYC

1885 - Sarah Ann Henley survives 76-m jump from Clifton Bridge, Avon, Engl

1886 - Pharmacist Dr. John Styth Pemberton invented and what would later be called "Coca-Cola." in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.

•  China ceded Taiwan to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki on this day in 1895.

1896 - Yorkshire Cricket all out for 887 against Warwickshire

1897 - 22nd Preakness: T Thorpe aboard Paul Kauvar wins in 1:51¼

1898 - The first games of the Italian Football League are played.

1899 - The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin opens.

1900 - 250 grave robbers shot to death

•  Mount Pelee in Martinique erupted, destroying the town of St. Pierre, and killing 40,000 people on this day in 1902.

1904 - U.S. Marines landed in Tangier to protect the Belgian legation.

1906 - Phila A's pitcher Chief Benders plays outfield & hits 2 HRs

1907 - Boston's Big Jeff Pfeffer no-hits Cin Reds, 6-0

1907 - Tommy Burns beats Jack O'Brien in 20 for heavyweight boxing title

1909 - Albert Raines runs world record marathon (2:46:04.6)

1909 - Frederick Barrett runs world record marathon (2:42:31)

1914 - Paramount Pictures is formed.

1914 - The U.S. Congress passed a Joint Resolution that designated the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

1915 - 41st Kentucky Derby: Joe Notter aboard Regret wins in 2:05.4

1915 - H.P. Whitney's Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby.

1916 - German munitions bunker in Fort Douaumont explodes

1919 - The first transatlantic flight took-off by a navy seaplane.

1919 - Appingedam soccer team forms

1919 - Edward George Honey first proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate The Armistice of World War I, which later results in the creation of Remembrance Day.

1920 - 46th Kentucky Derby: Ted Rice aboard Paul Jones wins in 2:09

•  Sweden abolished capital punishment on this day in 1921.

1923 - Hobbs scores his 100th 100, 116* v Somerset at Bath

1924 - Arthur Honegger's "Pacifica 231," premieres

1924 - Memel territories given to Lithuania

1924 - Workers at Werkspoor in Amsterdam strike against 3rd wage cut

1925 - 51st Preakness: Clarence Kummer aboard Coventry wins in 1:59

•  The French colonial army defeated Rifkabylen in Morocco on this day in 1925.

1926 - First flight over North Pole (Bennett & Byrd)

1926 - A Philip Randolph organizes Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

1926 - Fire breaks out in Fenway Park

1929 - Jan Mayen island, 500 km NNE of Iceland, incorporated into Norway

1929 - NY Giant Carl Hubbell no-hits Pirates, 11-0

1931 - Operette "Land of Smiles," premieres in London

A statue of Gandhi, the iconic leader of the Indian independence movement, at Union Square in New York City.

•   On this day in 1933, Mohandas Gandhi began a 21-day fast in protest against British oppression in India.

1935 - Cincinnati Red Ernie Lombardi doubles in 6th, 7th, 8th & 9th beat Phils 15-4

1936 - Jockey Ralph Neves unexpectedly revived after being declared dead after a fall. His wife fainted when he returned to track

1937 - 63rd Kentucky Derby: Charley Kurtsinger on War Admiral wins 2:03.2

•  Stravinsky's "Dumbarton Oaks," premiered in Washington, DC on this day in 1938.

1939 - Clay Puett's electric starting gate was used for the first time.

1941 - German Q-ship Pinguin sinks in Indian Ocean

1942 - Aircraft carrier Lexington sunk by Japanese air attack at Coral Sea

•  In 1942 on this day during World War II, the German summer offensive opened in Crimea.

1942 - First twilight game in 24 years, the Dodgers top Giants 7-6 raising $60,000 for Navy Relief Fund

•  The Germans suppressed a revolt by Polish Jews and destroyed the Warsaw Ghetto on this day in 1943 during World War II..

1943 - 69th Preakness: Johnny Longden aboard Count Fleet wins in 1:57.4

1943 - Adm Cunningham of Brit fleet: "Sink, burn and destroy; let nothing pass"

1944 - 33 communist resistance fighter sentenced to death

1945 - Canadian troops move into Amsterdam

1945 - Chinese counter attack at Tsjangte, supports by 14th air fleet

• Nazi German General Von Keitel surrendered to Soviet General Marshal Zhukov on this day in 1945.

The May 7th, 1945 headline from The Sun reads 'GERMANY SURRENDERS', marking an official end to World War II in Europe.

• On this day in 1945, V-E Day was celebrated among the Western Allied nations after Germany signed an unconditional surrender marking the end of World War II in Europe. American President Harry Truman announced that the European theater of World War II had come to an end. On this day in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine.  The eighth of May spelled the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms: In Prague, Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists, after the latter had lost more than 8,000 soldiers, and the Germans considerably more; in Copenhagen and Oslo; at Karlshorst, near Berlin; in northern Latvia; on the Channel Island of Sark--the German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire. More surrender documents were signed in Berlin and in eastern Germany.  The main concern of many German soldiers was to elude the grasp of Soviet forces, to keep from being taken prisoner. About 1 million Germans attempted a mass exodus to the West when the fighting in Czechoslovakia ended, but were stopped by the Russians and taken captive. The Russians took approximately 2 million prisoners in the period just before and after the German surrender.  Meanwhile, more than 13,000 British POWs were released and sent back to Great Britain.  Pockets of German-Soviet confrontation would continue into the next day. On May 9, the Soviets would lose 600 more soldiers in Silesia before the Germans finally surrendered. Consequently, V-E Day was not celebrated until the ninth in Moscow, with a radio broadcast salute from Stalin himself: "The age-long struggle of the Slav nations...has ended in victory. Your courage has defeated the Nazis. The war is over."

1946 - Red Sox Johnny Pesky scores 6 runs in 1 game

• In 1946 on this day, Estonian school girls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blew up the Soviet memorial that preceded the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn.

1947 - A movement among Card players to protest its 1st meeting with Jackie Robinson & the Dodgers is aborted by a talk from owner Sam Breadon

1948 - Bradman scores 146 Aust v Surrey, 174 mins, 15 fours

• A new West German constitution was approved on this day in 1949.

• Chiang Kai-shek asked the United States for weapons on this day in 1950.

1951 - Dacron men's suits introduced

1951 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak

1952 - "Of Thee I Sing" opens at Ziegfeld Theater NYC for 72 performances

1952 - "Shuffle Along" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 4 performances

1952 - Mad Magazine debuts

1953 - WIPB TV channel 49 in Muncie, IN (PBS) begins broadcasting

1954 - Parry O'Brien became the first to toss a shot put over 60 feet. O'Brien achieved a distance of 60 feet 5 1/4 inches (18.29 m)-Parry O'Brien, Los Angeles, CA

1956 - John Osbornes "Look Back in Anger," premieres in London

1956 - Alfred E. Neuman appeared on the cover of "Mad Magazine" for the first time.

General Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States

•  On this day in 1958, U.S. President Eisenhower ordered the National Guard out of Little Rock as Ernest Green became the first black to graduate from an Arkansas public school.

1958 - VP Nixon is shoved, stoned, booed & spat upon by protesters in Peru

1959 - 3-deck Nile excursion steamer springs a leak panicking passengers who capsized ship. 200 drown just yards from shore

1959 - Mike and Marian Ilitch founded "Little Caesars Pizza Treat".

1960 - Diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union resumed.

1961 - 1st practical sea water conversion plant-Freeport Texas

1961 - New Yorkers selected a new name for their new National League baseball franchise. They chose the Mets.

•  Alan Shepard received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal on this day in 1961 in Washington.

1962 - "Funny Thing Happened" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 965 perfs

1962 - First Atlas Centaur Launch

1962 - London trolley buses go out of service

1963 - "Dr No" premieres in US

1963 - JFK offers Israel assistance against aggression

1965 - 1st shut put over 70' (Randy Matson 70' 7")

1966 - Last game at old Busch stadium, St Louis Card lose 10-5 to SF

1966 - Only HR ever hit out of Baltimore's Memorial Park (Frank Robinson)

•  World boxing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was indicted for refusing induction into the U.S. Army on this day in 1967.

1967 - The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.

1968 - Jim (Catfish) Hunter of Oakland pitches perfect game vs Twins (4-0)

1968 - Pulitzer prize awarded to William Styron (Confessions of Nat Turner)

1969 - Cambodia recognizes German Democratic Republic

1969 - Pope Paul VI publishes constitution Sacra Ritum Congregation

    

•   The Beatles released the "Let it Be" album on this day in 1970.

1970 - Construction workers broke up an anti-war protest on New York City's Wall Street.

1970 - NBA championship: Knicks beat Lakers, 113-99

1971 - "Earl of Ruston" closes at Billy Rose Theater NYC after 5 performances

1972 - Sabena aircraft at Lod Intl, Tel Aviv, captured by Palestinians

1973 - Ernie Banks fills in for Cubs mgr Whitey Lockman who is ejected during the game, thus technically becoming baseball's 1st black manager

1973 - The 10-week occupation of the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee (site of a huge massacre of Indians in the late nineteenth century) ended when members of the American Indian Movement surrendered.

1974 - 50 MPH speed limit in Britain lifted

1974 - Canada government of Trudeau falls

1974 - FC Magdenburg wins 14th Europe Cup II

1976 - "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" closes at Mark Hellinger NYC after 7 perfs

1976 - The rollercoaster Revolution (roller coaster), the first steel coaster with a vertical flip, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain

1977 - David Berkowitz plead guilty in "Son of Sam" 44-caliber shootings, which killied six in New York City

1978 - ABC TV airs "Stars Salute Israel at 30"

1979 - Radio Shack releases TRSDOS 2.3

1980 - Sabres take only 15 shots, Islanders 22, in a playoff game

1980 - World Health Organization announced smallpox had been eradicated

1981 - Ron Davis pitches 10th consecutive strike out, 1 short of record

1982 - Canucks 5-Isles 6 (OT)-Stanley Cup-Isles hold 1-0 lead

1984 - Chicago White Sox beat Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6, in 25 inn (completed 5/9)

1984 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

1984 - Minnesota Twins Kirby Puckett debuts with 4 singles

1984 - Thames Barrier to stop flooding in London officially completed

• On this day in 1984, the Soviet Union announced that they would not participate in the 1984 Summer Olympics Games in Los Angeles. Claiming that its athletes would not be safe from protests and possible physical attacks, the Soviet Union announced that it would not compete in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Despite the Soviet statement, it was obvious that the boycott was a response to the decision of the United States to boycott the 1980 games that were held in Moscow.    Just months before the 1984 Olympic games were to begin in Los Angeles, the Soviet government issued a statement claiming, "It is known from the very first days of preparations for the present Olympics the American administration has sought to set course at using the Games for its political aims. Chauvinistic sentiments and anti-Soviet hysteria are being whipped up in this country." Russian officials went on to claim that protests against the Soviet athletes were likely to break out in Los Angeles and that they doubted whether American officials would try to contain such outbursts. The administration of President Ronald Reagan responded to these charges by declaring that the Soviet boycott was "a blatant political decision for which there was no real justification."    In the days following the Soviet announcement, 13 other communist nations issued similar statements and refused to attend the games. The Soviets, who had been stung by the U.S. refusal to attend the 1980 games in Moscow because of the Russian intervention in Afghanistan in 1979, were turning the tables by boycotting the 1984 games in America. The diplomatic impact of the action was quite small. The impact on the games themselves, however, was immense. Without competition from the Soviet Union, East Germany, and other communist nations, the United States swept to an Olympic record of 83 gold medals.

1985 - 20th Academy of Country Music Awards: Alabama and Judds win

1985 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

1985 - "New Coke" was released to the public on the 99th anniversary of Coca-Cola.

1986 - Reporters were told that 84,000 people had been evacuated from areas near the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Soviet Ukraine.

•  In 1987 on this day, Gary Hart quit the Democratic presidential race due to the relentless allegations regarding his affair with Donna Rice.

1987 - The Loughgall ambush: The SAS kill 8 IRA members and 1 civilian, in Loughgall, Northern Ireland.

1988 - "Oba Oba" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 46 performances

Le Drapeau Tricolore (Tricour Flag) which was a product of the French Revolution, and which remains the national flag of France to this day.

•  French President Francois Mitterrand was elected to a second consecutive term on this day in 1988.

1988 - Mike Tyson crashes his $183,000 Bently on Varick St in NYC

1988 - Amateur referees work NJ Devil-Boston Bruin playoff games, as NHL referees walk-off, due to a restraining order brought by Devils

1989 - Paul McCartney releases "My Brave Face" & remake of "Ferry Cross the Mersey"

1989 - US space shuttle STS-30 lands

1990 - Cuyahoga County voters approve sin tax to build Cleveland Gateway

• This day in 1990 marked the second independence Day for Estonia.

1991 - CIA director William H Webster resigns

1993 - ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Phil Ware

1993 - Lennox Lewis beats Tony Tucker in 12 for heavyweight boxing title

1993 - 16 year old Keron Thomas disguises himself as a motorman & takes NYC subway train & 2,000 passengers on a 3 hour ride

1994 - "Rise & Fall of Little Voice" closes at Neil Simon NYC after 9 perfs

1994 - 500th commentary by Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes

1994 - Colorado Silver Bullets (all-female pro baseball team) first game

1994 - Ernesto Perez Balladares elected president of Panama

1994 - Jose Maria Figueres becomes president of Costa Rica

1994 - Laura Davies wins LPGA Sara Lee Golf Classic

1994 - President Clinton announces US will no longer repatriate boat people

1994 - Erling Kagge becomes the first person to complete the Three Poles Challenge.

1996 - NY Yankee Dwight Gooden wins his 1st AL game beating Tigers 10-3

1996 - South Africa's Constitutional Assembly adopts permanent post-apartheid constitution

1997 - Tea Leoni and David Duchovny wed in Greenwich Village

1997 - Larry King received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1998 - A pipe burst leaving a million residents without water in Malaysia's capital area. This added to four days of shortages that 2 million already faced.

1999 - Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel (military college) in South Carolina.

2005 - The new Canadian War Museum opens, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of V-E Day.

2007 - A new Northern Ireland Executive is formed under the leadership of Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party as First Minister and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin as Deputy First Minister.

2010 - The last piece of Yankee Stadium falls in the Bronx, New York, marking the end of the two year demolition process.

2010 - Barrow AFC won the English FA Trophy at Wembley, this makes them the only team in the world to win it at both the Old and New Wembley stadiums.



Now, the biggest historical event that occurred on this day was surely V-E Day. As such, I figured that it would be good to get as much information on it as possible. Here is an article from BBC:

Victory in Europe Day 

By Dr Gary Sheffield 

Last updated 2011-03-10

Unconditional surrender  

Tuesday 8 May 1945 was 'Victory in Europe' (VE) Day, and it marked the formal end of Hitler's war. With it came the end of six years of misery, suffering, courage and endurance across the world.  

Individuals reacted in very different ways to the end of the nightmare: some celebrated by partying; others spent the day in quiet reflection; and there were those too busy carrying out tasks to do either. Ultimately nothing would be quite the same again.

The end of the World War One on 11 November 1918 had come as a shock to many soldiers and civilians because the collapse of the German army had been so sudden. By contrast, it was clear - since at least the beginning of 1945 - that the end of the World War Two was in sight following a series of capitulations. The German forces in Italy surrendered on 2 May. On the following day a high-ranking German delegation, including a senior admiral and a senior general, appeared at the headquarters of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, located near Lubeck.  

Typically, Montgomery barked, 'Who are these men? What do they want?' They had come to surrender the German forces in Northern Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.  

The final document of unconditional surrender was signed at General Dwight Eisenhower's headquarters in Reims on 7 May. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and King George VI wanted Monday 7 May to be VE Day, but in the event, bowing to American wishes, victory was celebrated on 8 May. The USSR waited an extra day before beginning their formal celebrations.

'I've survived'

The fighting, killing and dying went on up to the very last minute, and even continued into the immediate period of supposed peace. A German U-Boat sank two merchant ships on 7 May off the Scottish coast, and some Germans continued to fight against the Red Army for several days after VE Day.  

A common reaction to the news of peace among soldiers in Europe was 'I've survived'. Stuart Hills, a British officer with an armoured regiment, finished the war deep in Germany. On hearing the news he felt immediate exhilaration and marked the occasion with some 'liberated' champagne. But then 'reaction set in' as he thought of his friends who had been killed, and he no longer felt like celebrating.  

A Scottish battalion let off some flares when the news came through. Later on rum was issued and one platoon held a sing-song. Otherwise, VE Day passed without much incident. For this unit, still in close proximity to German forces that refused to believe the war was over, it was business as usual.

The 8th Hussars (part of 7th Armoured Division), also known as the 'Desert Rats', celebrated VE Day in northern Germany with a church parade followed by rum punch drunk beside bonfires on which swastikas were ceremonially burned.  

Elsewhere there were more riotous celebrations, with men going 'absent without leave' (AWOL) and even some alcohol-fuelled fatalities, but these tended to occur further back from the front line.  

In general terms, the British army remained well disciplined. The fighting might have been over, but surrounded by a near-starving civilian population eking a living in the ruins of Germany's towns and cities, everyone could see that there was still much to do. Moreover, the thought of the Far East was in the back of many minds.

'Burma Looms Ahead'

For the Western Allies, of course, the conflict in Europe was only one half of the world war. At that stage, the atomic bomb was a secret known to a very few, and the end of the war with Japan seemed a very long way off.  

Many soldiers, sailors and airmen in the European theatre anticipated being sent to fight the Japanese in the Far East. The men of the British Liberation Army serving in Germany interpreted the initials 'BLA' as meaning 'Burma Looms Ahead'.  

Not surprisingly, for some troops in action in Burma, or sailors of the British Pacific Fleet fighting alongside the US Navy, the news of victory in Europe seemed somehow unreal. As if to rub home the fact that there was still a war to be fought, the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious was hit by a Japanese kamikaze suicide plane on the day after VE Day.

For Far Eastern troops out of the line, there was an opportunity to celebrate in various ways. Some got hold of alcohol, while the Women's Auxiliary Service (Burma), attached to 26th Indian Division, supplied mugs of tea to a race-meeting held on a beach. A surprising number of soldiers who served in Burma do not even mention VE Day in their memoirs and diaries.  

One group in the Far East who did hear about the news from Europe were prisoners of war from Britain and other parts of the Empire, still held in terrible conditions in Changi Jail, Singapore, who picked up Churchill's victory broadcast on clandestine radios.

VE Day and the Commonwealth

In Australia, the war with Japan was quite literally nearer to home, and Sydney Morning Herald posed the question, 'Since when has it been customary to celebrate victory halfway through a contest?' Subsequent VE Days were often quiet affairs in Australian towns and cities.  

In New Zealand, victory was celebrated on 9 May in an orderly fashion - the government having made detailed plans months in advance - and the population quietly obeyed instructions.

This was in stark contrast to VE Day in the Canadian city of Halifax, where bars were unwisely closed, leading to the widespread looting of alcohol by servicemen, inevitably followed by riotous behaviour and the destruction of property.  

Of course, other Canadians celebrated more decorously. The author's father-in-law, undergoing flying training in Canada, spent VE Day in Moncton, New Brunswick, joining local civilians in driving their trucks around the town in celebration.  

Many sailors of the Royal Navy discovered the news of VE Day through their ships' 'sparks' (radio operator) as they picked up BBC broadcasts. Many ships' captains celebrated the occasion by 'splicing the mainbrace' - a euphemism for issuing a rum ration.  

For some, this was a pleasant interlude in what was otherwise a normal working day. A force of British and Canadian ships spent VE Day sailing to Jersey and Guernsey, occupied since 1940.  

Although in his victory broadcast Churchill had announced that, 'our dear Channel Islands are also to be freed today', it was unclear whether the defenders intended to fight or surrender.  

In the event the liberation was achieved peacefully, with the Bailiff of Jersey leading the crowds in St Helier in a rendition of the National Anthem, which the Germans had banned for the duration of the war.

War-weary Britain

In much of Britain, VE Day was marked by street parties. The people of Britain badly needed to let their hair down. The country was war-weary by May 1945. There had been years of austerity and rationing: five inches of water to a bath, few eggs, no bananas and the motto 'make do and mend'.  

Half a million homes had been destroyed, and many millions of lives disrupted. Although the casualty lists from the battlefields were lower than in World War One, they were still terrible.  

When in 1944 the primitive V1 'doodlebug' missiles and V2 ballistic missiles began to rain down on south-east England, the morale of civilians who had already endured the Blitz of 1940-1 took a knock.

People were already on the streets celebrating on 7 May, and huge crowds gathered in London on the following day. At 3.00pm Churchill made a radio broadcast. In Trafalgar Square, an eye-witness noted, '...there was an extraordinary hush over the assembled multitude', as Churchill's voice was relayed over loudspeakers: '... the evil-doers lay prostrate before us ... Advance Britannia.'  

The King and Queen appeared eight times on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, while the two princesses - Margaret and Elizabeth (the present Queen) - mingled with the crowds. Churchill gave an impromptu speech on the balcony of the Ministry of Health, telling the crowds, 'This is your victory.'

Moving On

All over the country people held fancy dress parades for children, got drunk, made a din, sang and danced in the streets, and went to church to give thanks to God for victory.  

For all too many people, mourning a loved one killed in service or in a German air raid, the moment of victory was bittersweet. For others, after the parties were over, there was a sense of anti-climax.

The tension that had been there for six long years was suddenly relaxed. Some found that they had lost a sense of purpose in their lives, a feeling exacerbated by the austerity to come. The war had been won, but the peace did not promise to be easy.  

If VE Day drew a line under the past, the defeat of Churchill in the July 1945 General Election signalled a new beginning. On 15 August, victory in Japan read the last rites of the Second World War. Compared to VE Day, it was a subdued affair. Britain had already begun to move on.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/veday_germany_01.shtml


Here are the links to the websites that I used to get  most of the information used in this blog entry.

http://www.historyorb.com/day/may/8

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/may08.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history