Victory Day (9 May)

Victory Day
Victory Day
Marshal Georgy Zhukov and Marshal Rokossovsky during the Victory Parade
Official name Russian: День Победы, Den' Pobedy
Observed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Republika Srpska, Serbia, Georgia, Germany, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Date May 9

Naval warfare

Baltic Sea - Black Sea - Arctic - (Arctic Convoys - Rösselsprung - Wunderland)

1941

Barbarossa - (Białystok and Minsk - Smolensk - Uman - Leningrad - 1st Kiev - Sevastopol - Rostov - Moscow) - Finland - Chechnya

1942

Battles of Rzhev - (Toropets and Kholm - Demyansk - Velikiye Luki - Mars) - 2nd Kharkov - Case Blue - Stalingrad - (Uranus - Winter Storm)

1943

3rd Kharkov - Kursk - 2nd Smolensk - Lower Dnieper - 2nd Kiev

1944

Dnieper and Carpathian - Leningrad and Novgorod - Narva - Hube's Pocket - Crimea - Jassy-Kishinev - Karelia - Bagration - Lvov and Sandomierz - 2nd Jassy-Kishinev - Baltics - Debrecen - Petsamo and Kirkenes - Hungary

1945

Vistula and Oder - East Prussia - East Pomerania - Solstice - Silesia - Vienna - Berlin - Czechoslovakia - German capitulation - Manchuria
Marshal Zhukov reading the German capitulation. Seated on his right is Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder.
Soviet Order of Victory

The Soviet Victory Day[1] or May 9 marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War (also known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and some post-Soviet states). It was first inaugurated in the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union, following the signing of the surrender document late in the evening on 8 May 1945 (9 May by Moscow Time). It happened after the original capitulation that Germany earlier agreed to the joint Allied forces of the Western Front. The Soviet government announced the victory early on 9 May after the signing ceremony in Berlin.[2] Though the official inauguration happened in 1945 (which means it has been celebrated since 1946), the holiday became a non-labour day only in 1965 and only in some of the countries.

In communist East Germany, a Soviet-style "Victory Day" on May 9th was an official holiday from 1975 until the end of the republic in 1990. Prior to that, "Liberation Day" was celebrated on May 8th, between 1950 and 1966, and again on the 40th anniversary in 1985. Since 2002, the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has observed a commemoration day known as the "Day of Liberation from National Socialism, and the End of the 2nd World War".[3]

In 1988, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Victory Day ceased to be observed in Uzbekistan, but was partially restored in 1999 as Memorial/Remembrance Day.[4] After their separation from the Soviet Union, the Baltic countries now commemorate the end of WWII on May 8, the Victory in Europe Day.[5]

Contents

History

Field-Marshal Keitel signing the ratified surrender terms for the German military

Two separate capitulation events took place at the time. First, the capitulation to the Allied nations in Reims was signed on 7 May 1945, effective 23:01 CET 8 May. This date is commonly referred to as the V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day) in most western European countries. The other World War II victory day, the V-J day (Victory in Japan Day) is commemorated in August, and is of considerably lesser significance in Europe.

However, the Soviet Union's only representative in Reims was General Ivan Susloparov, the Military Liaison Mission Commander. General Susloparov's scope of authority was not entirely clear, and he had no means of immediate contact with the Kremlin, but nevertheless decided to sign for the Soviet side. Susloparov was caught off guard; he had no instructions from Moscow. But if he did not sign, he risked a German surrender without Soviet participation. However, he noted that it could be replaced with a new version in the future. Joseph Stalin was later displeased by these events, believing that the German surrender should have been accepted only by the envoy of the USSR Supreme command and signed only in Berlin and insisted the Reims protocol be considered preliminary, with the main ceremony to be held in Berlin, where Marshal Zhukov was at the time, as the latter recounts in his memoirs:[6]

“ [Quoting Stalin:] Today, in Reims, Germans signed the preliminary act on an unconditional surrender. The main contribution, however, was done by Soviet people and not by the Allies, therefore the capitulation must be signed in front of the Supreme Command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, and not only in front of the Supreme Command of Allied Forces. Moreover, I disagree that the surrender was not signed in Berlin, which was the center of Nazi aggression. We agreed with the Allies to consider the Reims protocol as preliminary. ”

Therefore, another ceremony was organized in a surviving manor in the outskirts of Berlin late on 8 May, when it was already May 9 in Moscow due to the difference in time zones. Field-Marshal Wilhelm Keitel submitted the capitulation of the Wehrmacht to Marshal Georgy Zhukov in the Soviet Army headquarters in Berlin-Karlshorst. To commemorate the victory in the war, the ceremonial Moscow Victory Parade was held in the Soviet capital on 24 June 1945 (four years and two days after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa - the invasion of the Soviet Union).

Celebration

During the Soviet Union's existence, May 9 was celebrated throughout the USSR and in the countries of the Eastern Bloc. Though the holiday was introduced in many Soviet republics approximately between 1946 and 1950, it only became a non-labour day in Ukrainian (1963) and Russian (1965) SSRs. In the latter one, a weekday off (usually a Monday) was given starting 1966 if 9 May was to fall on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday).

After the fall of the communism in Central and Eastern Europe, most former USSR countries retained the celebration as a national holiday even though it was not openly celebrated by some of them. Today and traditionally, ceremonial military parades are held on the day, such as the one in Moscow on the Red Square.

Countries in which May 9 is celebrated

Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, 9 May 2005
"Victory Banner #5", raised on the roof of the Reichstag building

Russophone populations in many world countries celebrate the holiday regardless of its local status. Many Russian communities in United States and Canada, also for example in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania [9] organize public gatherings and even parades on this day.[10] In Europe, some multilanguage broadcasting television chains translate the "Victory speech" of the Russian president and the parade on Red Square.[11]

Soviet and post-Soviet symbols associated with the Victory Day

The ribbon of Saint George. This is worn in a manner to celebrate the holiday
George's Ribbon attached to car antenna

During the Victory Day parade 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev and many other VIPs were seen wearing the commemorative ribbon on the lapel of their jackets.

Soviet Union

Order of Victory
 Order of Victory
Medal For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945
 Medal For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945
Medal For the Capture of Berlin
 Medal For the Capture of Berlin
Medal For the Twentieth Anniversary of the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945
 Medal for the 20th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945
Юбилейная медаль «Тридцать лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.»
 Medal for the 30th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945
Юбилейная медаль «Сорок лет победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.»
 Medal for the 40th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945

Russia

Медаль «50 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.»
 Medal for the 50th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945
Медаль 60 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.
 Medal for the 60th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945

Ukraine

Медаль 60 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.
 Medal for the 60th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945

Kazakhstan

Медаль 60 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг. (Казахстан)
 Medal for the 60th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945

See also

Stamp of USSR, 1945

References

  1. ↑ (Russian: День Победы, Den' Pobedy; Ukrainian: День Перемоги, Den' Peremohy; Belarusian: Дзень Перамогі, Dzień Pieramohi; Kazakh: Жеңіс Күні, Jeñis Küni; Lithuanian: Pergalės diena; Moldovan: Зиуа Викторией, Ziua Victoriei; Latvian: Uzvaras diena; Tajik: Рӯзи Ғалаба; Estonian: Võidupäev; Tatar Cyrillic: Җиңү көне, Latin: Ciñü köne)
  2. ↑ Ziemke Further readingCHAPTER XV:The Victory Sealed Page 258 last 2 paragraphs
  3. ↑ Gesetz über Sonn- und Feiertage des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Their memory lives on"
  5. ↑ "8 May: Memorial Day for the victims of World War II". Estonian Embassy in Washington. http://www.estemb.org/estonia/history/aid-776. Retrieved 7 August 2009. 
  6. ↑ Zhukov, Georgy (2002) (in Russian). Memoirs. Olma-Press. pp. 329. 
  7. ↑ http://www.bih-rss.net/article_republi%E8ki_praznik_9_maj__1780043.htm
  8. ↑ http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/1079513
  9. ↑ " Estonia: Local Russians Celebrate End Of World War II", Radio Liberty, 9 May 2007
  10. ↑ "Russian Orthodox Church in Toronto celebrates 9 May 2005"
  11. ↑ "May 9 parade TV-event from Israel"

External links

Annual Moscow Victory Parade
Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 By year

1945 · 1965 · 1985 · 1990 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010

 Emblem of the 65th anniversary of the Victory Day
Features

Victory Banner · Flag of Russia · Anthem of Russia · Ribbon of Saint George · Red Square · Russian Army · Russian Navy · Russian Air Force · Russian Knights · Strizhi
Related

Victory Day (9 May) · Eastern Front · Great Patriotic War