Defeat, Liberation or Victory?

Perspectives on May 8, 1945 in the Suspicious learning module

On May 8, 1985, the President of West Germany Richard von Weizsäcker gave a speech in the Bundestag in Bonn. It was 40 years to the day since the surrender of Germany’s armed forces, so since the end of the Second World War in Europe. He is the first German President to state: “May 8 was a day of liberation.” The speech won widespread praise. Only since then has the term “the Day of Liberation from National Socialism” been used in the FRG.

This wasn’t always the case. After the War, many people in West Germany describe May 8, 1945, as a day of “defeat” and “collapse.” They emphasize the suffering of the German population and the German cities that were bombed during the War. Only very rarely are the victims of the German occupation and the Holocaust even mentioned or the fact that Germany had started the war.

May 8 was a day of liberation. It liberated all of us from the inhumanity and tyranny of the National Socialist regime. Nobody will, because of that liberation, forget the grave suffering that only started for many people on May 8. But we must not regard the end of the war as the cause of flight, expulsion and deprivation of freedom. The cause goes back to the start of the tyranny that brought about war. We must not separate May 8, 1945 from January 30, 1933.

Richard von Weizsäcker, May 8, 1985, quoted from: Office of the Federal President, Speech by Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker during the Ceremony Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the End of War in Europe and of National-Socialist Tyranny on May 8, 1985 at the Bundestag, Bonn, www.bundespräsident.de

This quote is from the speech Richard von Weizsäcker gives in Bonn in 1985 in which he speaks of the “Day of Liberation” rather than the “Day of Defeat.” He states that all Germans were liberated from Nazi tyranny. But in doing so, he limits responsibility for Nazi crimes to a small number of National Socialists, excusing much of the population. He also mentions the suffering Germans endured after the war, but clearly identifies the cause – the election of Hitler as Reich Chancellor by the German people in 1933. At another point in the speech, he pays tribute to the suffering of the victims of Nazi persecution. So he manages to combine different perspectives on May 8.

The day of liberation from fascism

In the GDR, the state has a different approach to May 8, 1945: here, May 8 is soon celebrated as the “Day of Liberation from Fascism” and is often marked by military parades. Some of the communists who experienced persecution under National Socialism go on to become leading politicians in the German Democratic Republic. For them, the end of the War means freedom from persecution and liberation from concentration camps. They impose their perspective on the entire population of East Germany, even though it does not apply to everyone. After all, some East Germans were also ardent supporters of National Socialism.

Remembrance of May 8, 1945 outside the FRG and the GDR

How is May 8, 1945, commemorated in other countries? A large billboard is also put up at Piccadilly Circus in London in 2020. It shows a photo taken in London at the celebrations marking the end of the War in 1945.

“Victory in Europe Day” is celebrated on May 8 in the UK and the USA. Italy celebrates the country’s liberation from German occupation on April 25. In the Netherlands, Bevrijdingsdag (Liberation Day) is celebrated on May 5. The Soviet Union celebrated “Victory Day” on May 9 with large military parades, and this tradition continues in Russia today.

And today?

The 2022 Russian attack on Ukraine has sparked renewed debates in Germany about the end of the War in 1945: Many people of Ukrainian and Russian descent who live in Berlin traditionally visit Soviet memorials on May 9. They go there to commemorate the Soviet soldiers who died in the Second World War. The police bans Russian flags in 2023 and prohibits Ukrainian flags as well to avoid conflicts with Russian visitors. Faced with numerous complaints, the Administrative Court (VG/Verwaltungsgericht) ultimately allows Ukrainian flags.

Suspicious – A Landscape of Crime

Young learners can explore three themed tours on a digital map as part of the “Suspicious” learning module. Among other things, they investigate the end of the War from different perspectives and the controversial remembrance after 1945.
Users are also invited to learn more about how Nazi crimes permeated the everyday lives of German citizens: What happened in Ohrdruf Concentration Camp and in other – largely unknown – Buchenwald sub-camps? What questions does this raise in regard to the present day? Four 360° views of the current site of the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp complex – most of which is closed to the public – provide an opportunity to discover traces of the Nazi past. Users are accompanied by Vicky, a young presenter who introduces the topics from a youthful perspective and invites them to explore what they mean.
“Suspicious” provides a low-threshold introduction and a critical look at stories and images about the Nazi era. The learning module is suitable for history or politics lessons, but also for other subjects, for project days or substitute teacher lessons. Like the entire arolsen school educational platform, it is without charge and freely accessible.

A long road to liberation

The liberation of Germany from the Nazi regime was more than just a single date – it was a long, dramatic process that lasted many months. It began with the landing of Allied troops in Normandy and continued with fierce battles, while a steady stream of reports revealed the horrors of the concentration camps. As the Allies advanced, the Nazis tried to cover up their crimes – they destroyed files, cleared camps, dispatched prisoners on death marches and committed the cruelest acts of violence right up to the very end. At the end of the war, there were around 11 million displaced persons in Germany, i.e. people who had been deported by the National Socialists from their home countries for forced labor or imprisonment in concentration camps. Criminal prosecution began in the midst of this scenario. Tens of thousands of accused war criminals were tried in international, national and military courts. At the same time, numerous perpetrators of the Nazi regime sought and found ways to evade accountability.

Perspectives on liberation

Our dossier marking 80 years of liberation presents a range of perspectives on the end of Nazi rule and its aftermath.

Forgotten helpers

After liberation, large numbers of displaced persons were not just survivors – they became witnesses, activists and organizers. Many campaigned for documentation, education and justice – often on their own initiative and almost always under extremely difficult circumstances.

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Facing the guilt

How did Germans perceive the suffering endured by concentration camp prisoners? Civilians – children and adults alike – were confronted with the horrors of the Nazi regime not only during its rule, but also in the days following liberation.

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„It was a hunger march“

Coercion, violence and exhaustion: the death marches mark the last gruesomechapter of Nazi crimes. Petro Mishchuk survived 13 camps in total and was sent on grueling marches. He survived those as well. We summarize his story and provide a link to an interview with him as a contemporary witness.

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Beyond the limits of imagination

What did the Allied soldiers find when they reached the camps and liberated the victims of Nazi terror? The soldiers were not prepared for the horrific scenes that awaited them, and the images haunted them for the rest of their lives.

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After liberation: Nazi perpetrators on the run

With the collapse of the Nazi regime, many perpetrators fled – and many evaded accountability. Guilt was systematically concealed, prosecution avoided and trials prevented.

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