V.E Day/Victory Day

V.E. Day (Victory in Europe Day) is celebrated by the Western Allies in WWII), for ending the war against Germany - May 8, 1945...Victory Day is celebrated by the Russians, for ending their war against Germany May 9, 1945.
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After hundreds of years of general war, Europe was finally saved from itself...It's important to remember, WWII was nothing less than an extension of WWI, which was an extension of the hundreds of wars fought on the continent for thousands of years.

Luckily, since this day Europe has seen the longest period of general peace since the time of the Romans...Which is why this period will go down in history as the Pax Americana - the American Peace.  A peace enforced by the strength of the American military and economy - and it's people's willingness to provide such strength.

To understand what an incredible human undertaking this war was, look at the death statistics from the major players in the European Theatre:

USSR: Over 23 million dead
Germany: Over 7 million dead
Poland: Over 5 million dead
Yugoslavia: Over 1 million dead
Romania: Over 830,000 dead
Hungary: Over 580,000 dead
France: Over 560,000 dead
Italy: Over 450,000 dead
United Kingdom: Over 450,000 dead
United States: Over 410,000 dead
Lithuania: Over 350,000 dead
Czechoslovakia: Over 340,000 dead
Latvia: Over 220,000 dead
The Netherlands: Over 200,000 dead

By far the most destructive war in the history of humankind.
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The Soviets didn’t end the war until May 9^th.

It's almost impossible to explain how much the people of Eastern Europe suffered in WWII - notice most of the war dead listed above are in the Eastern Theatre...Which truly was the "Bloodlands.'

It's, also, almost impossible to explain how close the Nazi's were to defeating the Soviets in 1942.  It's even more impossible to explain what the Nazis had in store for these people had they conquered them.

The war in Eastern Europe was truly a war of extermination – either Nazism or Communism was going to end - and if the Germans had won they planned on ridding the world of most of the people they conquered -not just the Jews…As terrible as Soviet Communism was, we are all lucky Hitler was ignorant enough to insist on fighting the Soviet Union, because the genius of the West combined with the barbarism of the USSR proved overwhelming for the Germans.

If it seems as though I am impressed by the people of the Soviet Union, I am...They not only survived the insane leadership of Stalin, but they found a way to overcome his poor war-leadership and crushed - not defeated, but crushed = the Nazi war machine.

The Western Theatre in Europe was amazing, but for those interested in the most awesome battles in history - Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, and Kursk in particular - I recommend learning more about the Eastern Theatre in WWII.

Sadly for the people of Eastern Europe, Victory Day ended one war, and began another - as Stalin started a one-sided war against the people of the lands he 'liberated' - including his own.
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It should also be noted V.E. and Victory Days didn't end WWII...There was another enemy who needed to be finished off:  The Japanese - who were on the verge of collapse, but the killing in the Pacific Theatre didn't stop for another couple months.