When the war ended: 80 years ago, the USSR defeated Nazism in Europe
80 years ago, this concept of Victory Day entered our speech. The bloodiest war in history has ended, when it came to whether humanity should be or not. It ended with the victory of the Red Army and its allies. As it was, Izvestia recalls.
The Spring of Victory
Victory banners were already flying over Berlin. Autographs of Soviet soldiers from all over our country were already emblazoned on the walls of the Reichstag in Berlin. Almost every day in Moscow, fireworks lit up the evening sky in honor of the liberating heroes of Europe. The possessed leaders of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, as well as the last chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht, General Hans Krebs, have already committed suicide. The Red Army, having broken the desperate resistance of the enemy, occupied Berlin. But people were waiting for the most important message — the surrender of Germany, the end of the war.
Soviet soldiers on the streets of defeated Berlin
And now it's the night of May 8-9. The meeting in Berlin's Karlhorst district ended at 00:50 Moscow time. The act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed by the head of the Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht, Wilhelm Keitel. And on behalf of the allies, Marshal Georgy Zhukov, British General Arthur Tedder, Commander of the US Strategic Air Forces Carl Spaats and Commander—in-Chief of the French army Jean de Latre de Tassigny.
The Soviet people learned this great news at the very beginning of May 9, in the dead of night, at 02:10. But many people didn't sleep that night. The fact is that as early as midnight, announcer Yuri Levitan mysteriously announced that an important government message would be transmitted in the near future. And here is the first night message about the Victory: "Moscow speaks! All radio stations of the Soviet Union are working! The war is over! Fascist Germany has been completely defeated!" Levitan recalled that when he uttered these words, it was all he could do not to scream. The day was declared non-working.
"On this day, regardless of the hierarchy, ordinary soldiers sat at the same table with the generals. "It is impossible to describe the enthusiasm of the soldiers. The shooting doesn't stop. Both ours and our allies are firing all kinds of weapons. They shoot into the air, pouring out their joy. At night we enter the city where our headquarters is located. And suddenly the streets were illuminated with a bright light. Lanterns and windows of houses flashed on. It was so unexpected that I was taken aback. It took me a while to realize that this was the end of the blackout. The war is over!" recalled Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, who met the Victory in Western Pomerania.
Solemn meeting on the occasion of the arrival of the main "Victory train" in Moscow
Already at night, a spontaneous celebration began on the streets of Soviet cities — and the police did not restrain people. Everyone understood that there couldn't be a happier day. And it was really "joy with tears in my eyes." These are tears of happiness, and memories of those who did not come back from the war, who were considered missing, who suffered from severe wounds in hospitals... And about those millions of peaceful Soviet people whom the Nazis exterminated without trial, starved to death, and gassed in concentration camps... In the evening, concerts began in squares in all major cities of the country. In Moscow, not far from Red Square, Leonid Utesov's beloved jazz performed with trucks, who that day sang more inspiringly than ever: "Berlin Street leads us to victory..."
More than 150 thousand people gathered on the Palace Square in Leningrad! There was music and speeches. Nearby, on the facade of the Mariinsky Palace, a huge screen was installed on which front-line films were shown: "At 6 p.m. after the War," "Antosha Rybkin," "Air Cabman." And colorful fireworks exploded in the sky over the Neva River. The festivities (as well as theatrical performances and concerts) were interrupted only when Joseph Stalin's performance began at 21:00.
"Eternal glory to the fallen"
This speech summed up the results of the war: "The great victory day over Germany has arrived. Fascist Germany, brought to its knees by the Red Army and the troops of our allies, declared itself defeated and declared unconditional surrender... The Great Patriotic War ended with our complete victory. The war period in Europe is over. A period of peaceful development has begun. Happy victory to you, my dear compatriots and fellow countrymen! Glory to our heroic Red Army, which defended the independence of our Motherland and won victory over the enemy! Glory to our great people, the victorious people! Eternal glory to the heroes who fell fighting the enemy and gave their lives for the freedom and happiness of our people!"
Soviet soldiers pay their last respects to their fallen comrades
It is very important that at the end of his speech Stalin remembered the fallen. After this speech, the whole country fell silent for a moment — in memory of those who died the death of the brave. The general joy should not have overshadowed this. Alexander Tvardovsky has the lines:
The day the war ended
And all the barrels were fired at the expense of the fireworks,
I was alone at the celebration at that hour.
A special moment for our souls.
At the end of the road, in the far side,
Under the thunder of gunfire, we said goodbye for the first time
With all those who died in the war,
How the living say goodbye to the dead.
These great poems, perhaps more accurately than any words and even chronicle videos, convey the feeling of Victory Day in 1945. This is how a national holiday was born, which will always evoke feelings of pride, gratitude, and jubilation. And there will always be a minute of silence on this day in memory of those who died, who did not live to see a happy day.
The Battle for History
The results of the Second World War had a profound impact on the fate of the world, which was saved from the brown plague and the criminal Nazi ideology. We are still feeling the consequences of that great war today. That is why the history of the Second World War is being falsified in the West and in some former republics of the Soviet Union. The role of the USSR and the Red Army in defeating Nazism and liberating Europe is downplayed, and the war crimes of the Nazis are underestimated.
Prisoners of Auschwitz in the first minutes after the liberation of the camp by the Soviet Army
In the Baltic States, Ukraine, and Canada, a campaign has been underway for decades to justify collaborators and accomplices of Nazism. Against this background, it is especially important to fight for the historical truth. Objective books, documentaries and feature films, and publications, including on the Internet— should be used to remind ourselves and the whole world of the feat of the Soviet soldier-liberator.
Open archives of Soviet intelligence and the Ministry of Defense are available on the Internet today. It is necessary that they be read not only in our country. Attempts to misrepresent the history of the Second World War — from its early days to the last — have never been harmless. Their goal is to discredit our country, tarnish its history and, ultimately, infringe on the rights of modern Russia. Something else is even more dangerous. Justifying Nazism in theory leads to a repetition of its crimes in practice. You can't accept that.
Back then, in the spring of 1945, no one had any doubts that the Soviet soldier had saved the world, and the empire created by Hitler to conquer the world had been defeated in the battle with the Soviet Union. "Apart from the Russian army, there was no such force that could break the back of Hitler's military machine," wrote British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was not at all a friend to either Russia or the Soviet Union.
The artillery crew of the troops of the Separate Primorsky Army of the Southern Front is firing at German positions
The poster "We won!", which was created by the artist Viktor Ivanov in those days, very accurately conveys the spirit of the greatest event in history. After all, the main character of this poster is a soldier, one of the victorious millions of people. Let's remember: we are the descendants of these heroes. And lies, even politically sophisticated ones, will still remain lies.
The Tread of History
The significance of this holiday will never fade or fade into the background. For each of us, too much is connected with the Victory, with the tragic and great pages of the Great Patriotic War. This is perhaps the only historical date in which the destinies of the world, our country and every Russian family are closely intertwined. There is no such house where the relics of that war would not be kept. And it is no coincidence that new traditions associated with the great holiday have already developed in the 21st century. Both the St. George ribbon and the Immortal Regiment. After all, people are not on orders from above, they are not walking around with portraits of veterans on this day, they are creating pages dedicated to them on the Internet. It's a need that lives in us. We feel continuity with these people. With their great achievement, Victory. They teach us valor, patience, modesty, humanity, and love of life. And, of course, you can feel what devotion to the Motherland is only by listening to the historical footsteps of 1945.
Students of Moscow colleges in military and civilian clothes from the Great Patriotic War, during the patriotic dance action "Victory Waltz"
In recent years, we have come to understand and realize with renewed vigor what military valor is, how important it is for our present and for the future. And for the current defenders of the Fatherland, there is no higher holiday than May 9th. And the heroes of the Great Patriotic War became models for them, who seemed to have taken a step out of history textbooks — and again turned into living people, whom we look up to both in the ranks and in the most peaceful field. Victory is the highest word, the essence of which can be comprehended all your life.
Happy holidays!
The author is the deputy editor—in-chief of the magazine "Historian"
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
