Crowds gathered in Times Square, and thousands marched down Fifth Avenue, with confetti raining down on them.Įven before the official declaration of victory, New York officials knew what was coming - and they were prepared. New York was the site of the largest V-E Day celebration, by far, within the United States. While there may have been few organized events, Americans broke out into spontaneous celebrations. (© AP Images)īut, Gerber says, many Americans ignored Truman’s request. Roosevelt’s casket to its burial site in Hyde Park, New York, on April 15, 1945. An armed guard of honor lines the route of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was cautious because fighting was still underway with Japan. Truman, who had taken office just weeks earlier upon the sudden death of his predecessor, Franklin D. Gerber, in her essay in the Historical Dictionary of the 1940s. Truman asked Americans “to refrain from celebrating in order to focus on the task ahead in the Pacific,” recalls historian Judith B. One of them was President Harry Truman.Īs he announced the Nazi surrender, Truman said: “Our victory is only half over,” reminding Americans that many of their neighbors were mourning the combat deaths of husbands, sons and brothers. But because the war with Japan in Asia and the Pacific was still going on, some leaders struck a cautionary note.
Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets of London and Paris, singing, dancing and lighting bonfires. The occasion sparked unbridled, emotional public celebrations on May 8, 1945, in much of Europe, North America and elsewhere. Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, when the Allied countries of World War II accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany, was celebrated as a festive holiday in many parts of the world.