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Home > Conflict and War > Countdown to Victory: The Last Days of War in Europe |
 Countdown to Victory: The Last Days of War in Europe |
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Day by day, the news got better as the Second World War wound down in Europe. Sixty years ago, CBC Radio brought home reports of retreating Germans, freed prisoners of war, captured spies and surrender in Italy. But with the end of hostilities came dark news of hellish concentration camps, starving civilians and a rocky future for U.S.-Soviet relations. CBC Archives counts down the days to victory in Europe. |
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 German soldiers are taken prisoner or left dead after trying to reclaim a Dutch town from advancing Canadians. (Radio; runs 3:59) |
 Dutch civilians are running for their lives after retreating Germans break the Zuider Zee dike in Holland. (Radio; runs 4:46) |
 Liberated Allied prisoners of war talk about the wretched living conditions in German prison camps. (Radio; runs 3:41) |
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 Housewives in blockaded Holland pay exorbitant prices for sugar, bread, coffee and other staples. (Radio; runs 4:26) |
 An RCAF reporter gets a rare glimpse of everyday life in wartime Germany. (Radio; runs 2:36) |
 The CBC's Matthew Halton wonders how Germans can doubt the existence of brutal death camps in their midst. (Radio; runs 9:24) |
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 Guards are on the alert as the enemy attempts sabotage in the dying days of the Second World War. (Radio; runs 2:47) |
 The Allies overtake the German capital but still have to flush out Nazis they believe are hiding in the Alps. (Radio; runs 4:07) |
 CBC reporter Matthew Halton talks to Russian soldiers as they cross a German river to greet their American allies. (Radio; runs 8:56) |
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 Nazis and Allies agree to terms that will feed the people of Holland after years of occupation. (Radio; runs 4:37) |
 Russian and American generals in Germany pledge their countries' friendship amid rumours of Hitler's death. (Radio; runs 4:06) |
 An 18th-century palace is the backdrop as German commanders sign an unconditional surrender, ending the war in Italy. (Radio; runs 9:31) |
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