![VE Day celebrations in Toronto, Ont., May 1945. Photo by Ronny Jaques. - Photo Credit: National Film Board 12525, CWM Reference Photo Collection](/web/20061029142437im_/http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/newspapers/canadawar/images/VEday_toronto_min.gif)
VE Day celebrations in Toronto, Ont., May 1945.
Photo : National Film Board |
VE Day, 8 May 1945
On April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide. On May 5, German forces
in North-West Europe surrendered. Victory in Europe, or VE, Day was
officially celebrated three days later.
In Germany, where the Canadian fought right to the last day,
soldiers were too relieved to celebrate very much. In Paris and
London, Canadians joined people in the streets in an outpouring of
emotion. In Toronto, thousands danced in the streets while three
Mosquito aircraft dropped overhead.
Most Canadian cities and towns held religious services of
thanksgiving. Frustrations built up after years of wartime controls
and rationing led to riots and looting in some places, but nowhere
else on the scale of those in Halifax ( see The Halifax VE Day Riots ). The war was not yet over - the war with Japan was still
underway - but the major threat of Nazi Germany had ended.
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