May 8·Every year

Victory in Europe Day

May 8th, 1945, marked the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany — the end of World War II in Europe after nearly six years of conflict. Street celebrations erupted from London to Moscow. In Germany the same date is called Tag der Befreiung, Liberation Day, a reminder that the same event carries different meaning depending on where you stood.

Category: History
Observed in: United KingdomofficialFranceofficialUnited StatesofficialGermanyofficialRussiaofficial

On this day in history →See the calendar Learn more ↗

Also on this day

Full history →

Notable · 2025

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as Pope Leo XIV (pictured), making him the first pope born in the United States, the first to hold either U.S. or Peruvian citizenship, the first from the Order of Saint Augustine, and the second from the Americas after his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis.

2025The 2025 papal conclave elects Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, taking the name Leo XIV as the 267th Pope of the Catholic Church.
2021A car bomb explodes in front of a school in Kabul, capital city of Afghanistan killing at least 55 people and wounding over 150.
2019British 17-year-old Isabelle Holdaway is reported to be the first patient ever to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.