When news broke on May 7, 1945, that the Nazis had surrendered and the war in Europe was over, cities worldwide erupted in jubilant celebrations.
The original V-E Day, or Victory in Europe Day, is celebrated on May 7 in Great Britain and Commonwealth territories and on May 8 in the United States.
The war continued in the Pacific until Japan’s surrender that August, following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, for one day, revelers celebrated this pivotal milestone.
01) A “Hitler,” actually Bill Eckert of the Merchant Marine with hair over his eyes, is playfully throttled by celebrating passersby.
02) A top a traffic light, another reveler perches precariously, waving an American flag and a newspaper announcing the Nazi surrender.
03) A dummy of Hitler, with a dagger in its heart and a Japanese flag on its chest, is displayed on a lamppost on Eighth Avenue.
04) Torn paper flutters downward to plaza in Rockefeller center.
05) In Wall Street, ticker tape rained down on the crowds below. All vehicular traffic was halted outside the Stock Exchange, and stocks closed slightly lower in the day’s trading.
06) People read newspapers telling of Nazi surrender during V-E Day rally.
07) A vendor sells American flags to the gathering crowd in Times Square, celebrating the news that the war in Europe has ended.
08) V-E Day celebrations in New York City.
09) The clean-up.
10) A nighttime crowd in Times Square celebrates the end of the war in Europe in front of an illuminated replica of the Statue of Liberty.
