Post by Administrator on Jun 12, 2010 22:09:49 GMT
If Blood was the price
In 1945 VE Day was a time for reflection as well as thanksgiving, at midnight on May 8, 1945, the guns finally fell silent in Europe after more than five-and-a-half years of war, With Hitler dead and Nazi Germany defeated people celebrated in street parties and parades. In London, the following day, the streets were filled with people and street parties. Bands played, flags flew and the air was filled with fireworks. At Buckingham Palace, Prime Minister Winston Churchill appeared with the Royal Family on a balcony overlooking an ecstatic crowd that packed the square below. The city brimmed with unbridled joy.
Later in1945: Allied nations celebrated VJ Day, There was joy and celebration around the world and 15 August was declared Victory in Japan day. The British Prime Minister Clement Atlee confirmed the news in a broadcast saying, "The last of our enemies is laid low."
Thousands braved the rain to watch King George VI and the queen driven down the Mall in an open carriage. Later that night, the King addressed the nation and the Empire in a broadcast from his study at Buckingham Palace.
"Our hearts are full to overflowing, as are your own. Yet there is not one of us who has experienced this terrible war who does not realise that we shall feel its inevitable consequences long after we have all forgotten our rejoicings today.".
Historic buildings all over London were floodlit and throngs of people crowded onto the streets of every town and city shouting, singing, dancing, lighting bonfires and letting off fireworks.
Early in 1945 Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz concentration camp - and uncovered scenes of unimaginable horror. Eleven million people, six million of them Jews, are estimated to have been killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Although the Japanese administration didn't officially sign the surrender until early September, VJ Day marked the final end to World War Two and brought with it feelings of hope for future world peace.
Significant celebrations took place across Britain for the 50th anniversary in 1995 including an open-air concert in Hyde Park while street parties were organised in towns and villages across Britain. VE Day 2010 marked 65 years of remembrance.
2010 MARKS THE 65TH ANIVERSARY OF THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
A million poppies stained the sky red over Buckingham Palace during a fly-past to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of the World War II in 2005. This year 2010 is a Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War and all other conflicts. There is much to reflect and so many to remember.
“If Blood was the price
We had to pay for our freedom
Then the Merchant Ship Sailors
Paid it in full”
(Norman Date / Hon Secretary/ Merchant Navy Association Bristol UK)
“The more people that "push" the MN forward for greater recognition, the better”.
However and who ever you “Remember”, most important is you do.
KG.