VE Day brings end to European nightmare

Jivan Johal
May 8, 2017
2 min read

It was on this day in history that the second war to terrorize the Europeans came to an end. Hitler's dream for a conquered Europe was over. The war had began in 1939 after Hitler had invaded a number of countries. He had conquered them, threatening the European Continent with war that they were tired of. He'd then take the land, do as he wished, and promise peace and fair negotiation. Hitler's use of this tactic of bully-then-befriend allowed him to take

Czechoslovakia, Austria, and numerous other chunks of land. Finally, Britain put it's foot down over Poland, and when Hitler refused to stop, WWII began. The war at first was very easy for Germany, rolling over France in a matter of weeks by going through Belgium and Luxembourg. With the help of Italy, he took the Balkans and much of northern Africa. The war seemed to be over before it began.

Hitler's downfall began when he failed to learn from the failures of Napoleon. After failing to defeat Britain, Nazi Germany looked to the east to destroy the USSR (which Hitler had previously aligned with to buy time). His initial invasion of Russia was highly successful, but the invasion was halted outside of Leningrad and Stalingrad, and Hitler could not reach Moscow. The brutal Russian winter then set in on the Nazi forces, and the Germans were doomed. The winter was so harsh that ill-prepared Germans froze to death and the ranks slowly died off. Hitler's forces retreated, and from the abandoned posts in the east, the Nazis would be on the retreat. The road to Berlin, which would see the sickle and hammer raised over the Reichstag was opened up at the battle of Seelow Heights (see article). As the Germans ran from the east, the Allies stormed the beaches at Normandy, coming from the west, and the Nazis were finished. Many brave Canadians landed in Holland and Belgium, attempting to liberate these countries (known as "Operation Market Garden").

Market Garden was an overall failure, but would allow the Allies another point to defeat the Germans. From the Boot of Italy, the Russian East, and the French shores came Allied soldiers, dying for freedom. Finally, on this day in history, all the deaths had become worth the loss, for Hitler had killed himself some 9 days earlier, and the war in Europe was over. As Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England said, "never was so much owed by so many to so few", and true it was. 60 million soldiers and civilians had been killed by the actions of one man five years prior.

The very men who thought they could own the world ended up losing it all, and their actions would see the partition of the very nation they sought to put at the helm of an empire. The Nazis dragged millions down their doomed and miserable path, and we must never forget that war is horrible, and must be avoided at all costs.