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Ok, I’ve been super-busy today, but I wanted to say something about at least one of the myriad events that mark this day. So I’ll write for a minute or two about the controversy surrounding V-E Day. Yeah, everyone recognizes May 8, 1945 as the end of the war in Europe. But it’s not the only day that could lay claim to this momentous event.
Let’s sift through the facts. First, the commander of the Berlin garrison signed a surrender document on May 2nd…readers of Today’s History Lesson will remember that. Then on May 7, General Alfred Jodl signed a surrender document in France that stated all fighting would cease at 11:01pm on May 8th. But because the British were operating under British Double Summer Time (something they only did during the war…or when the batteries ran out), their clocks were actually two hours ahead of normal (one hour ahead of France rather than one hour behind). For them, the war actually ended at 12:01am on May 9th. Meanwhile, there were still Russians fighting Germans and they didn’t stop until a second surrender document was signed by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst. This document called for the ending of hostilities at 11:01pm on May 8th.
So down through the years the debate has raged. May 2nd or May 8th or May 9th? Books have been written contesting the date on both sides. College classrooms have been filled with the shouts of students (mostly freshmen), defending one day over the other. Historians have gone back and forth (to the point of nausea) over when the anniversary should actually be recognized…
Well, that’s not strictly true. Ok, so I’m lying about the whole “debate” thing…actually, I’m merely bluffing (right, Dad?). There is no great argument over when V-E Day should really be. We traditionally celebrate V-E Day on May 8th, while the Russians do so on the 9th…possibly because their clocks actually showed May 9th when the fighting officially halted. Both days get coverage and either day is fine to be happy that one half the greatest conflict in human history was finished. Concluding the other half would require an additional 3 months.
Today's History Lesson 