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60 Years After | End of World War II
60 Years After World War II
World
Germany
Eight Cities in Pictures
End of World War II

60 years later

World War II
On May 8, 1945, what has officially come to be known as "Victory in Europe" Day, the Allied powers celebrated the defeat of the Germans, who had agreed to an unconditional surrender at Reims, France, the previous day. Their surrender came just six days after Adolf Hitler committed suicide and just under a year after D-Day signaled the launch of a new European offensive.
British historian Sir Ian Kershaw
Not the "Zero Hour"
British professor Sir Ian Kershaw is one of the world's authorities on 20th century German history. He says the war's end was a new start for Germany. more
Holocaust
Teaching History
As Europe observes the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps, Holocaust educators worry about how to keep its lessons alive for the future. more
Chronology
World War II started in Europe when German soldiers invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. A war subsequently developed that involved states and peoples from all continents. By the end of the war, in 1945, 27 million of 110 million soldiers and around 25 million civilians had died. more
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Remembering Germany's "Rubble Women"
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Calling on the International Community
"Shaped the Course of US Diplomacy"
The Killing Machine Turns on Its Own
TO OVERVIEW
Dresden after Allied air raids in 1945
Germany
Some experts say May 8, 1945 is comparable in its importance to the Protestant Reformation, the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution. more
Hiroshima in April 1946: US bomber
Japan
On May 9, 1945, the Japanese government said it would continue to pursue its own war aims in the Pacific even after Germany had been defeated. more
China
Japanese soldiers march into the city and port of Ningbo, southeastern China, on May 14, 1941, during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
In its resistance to Japan, China became one of the four leading powers fighting fascism. Although its role in World War II is often underestimated in the West, the war in the Pacific broke out first and lasted the longest in China, according to several hisorians. more
Paarmann & Gribkowski
Hitler's Footsoldiers
Friedrich Paarmann and Wolfgang Gribkowski fought for Hitler. The fact has forever changed the way they have been allowed to remember the war. more
lipstadt
Confronting Denial
Historian Deborah Lipstadt on the libel case she won against Holocaust denier David Irving. more
Jewish Museum Berlin Director Blumenthal
Auschwitz' Meaning
W. Michael Blumenthal on Auschwitz more
schröder
A Difficult Path
Germany struggles to overcome its past more
Allies Free Camps
The Nazis' murderous system achieved perfection at Auschwitz. At least a million people -- Jews, Roma, Sinti and other persecuted groups -- died in the death factory's gas chambers. At the peak of the Holocaust, in 1944, up to 6,000 people were gassed and cremated daily in the concentration camp. more
As Memory Fades
As the survivors die off, younger novelists have begun publishing second-hand accounts of the Holocaust. Well-known Austrian literary critic Sigrid Löffler examines the shift away from the eyewitnesses' recollections. more
nuria
Interview Berlin
Nuria Grigoriadis says May 8 is a good day more
alex
Interview Volgograd
Alexander Shovgenin reflects on the war more
Halbe
Wasted Lives
Sixty years after the end of World War II, the remains of soldiers are still found in Germany. more
torry
"Never Again War"
DW-WORLD asked the British ambassador to Germany, Sir Peter Torry, three questions about World War II and its consequences. more
The
Issues Unresolved
Children born in France to German soldiers during WWII were stigmatized due to their parents' union, explains author Jean-Paul Picaper. more
Yalta Conference
Yalta's Failure
When DW's Christiane Hoffmann looks to Russia, she sees echoes of Stalin's power grab at the Yalta Conference 60 years ago. more