On May 7–9, 1945, exultant crowds poured into streets across many Allied nations to celebrate the news of Germany’s surrender and the Allied victory in Europe. For the 75th anniversary of V-E Day, we used Newspapers.com to discover how this landmark moment was covered by papers in the United States. Keep reading to see some of these incredible front pages!
May 7, 1945
News about the end of the European war broke in the U.S. on Monday, the 7th. So in many of the papers from that day, news of the German surrender and the end of the war in Europe were understandably the biggest headlines.
Mon, May 7, 1945 – Page 1 · The Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) · Newspapers.com
Mon, May 7, 1945 – 1 · Monrovia News-Post (Monrovia, California) · Newspapers.com
However, although Americans heard about the surrender on the 7th, V-E Day wouldn’t officially be held be until the next day (the 8th) in order to coordinate with other Allied nations. So stories of President Truman postponing V-E Day were also major news on the 7th.
Mon, May 7, 1945 – 1 · The Dispatch (Moline, Illinois) · Newspapers.com
May 8, 1945
Since the biggest news had broken on the 7th, front pages from the 8th often reiterated victory news and proclaimed that it was V-E Day.
Tue, May 8, 1945 – 1 · Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas) · Newspapers.com
Tue, May 8, 1945 – 1 · The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) · Newspapers.com
Another common headline from the 8th was about President Truman’s V-E Day speech, which emphasized that although Germany had surrendered, the war with Japan was far from over.
Tue, May 8, 1945 – Page 1 · The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, Ohio) · Newspapers.com
Tue, May 8, 1945 – Page 1 · Muncie Evening Press (Muncie, Indiana) · Newspapers.com
Want to see more news about V-E Day in 1945? Visit our V-E Day Topic Page or search Newspapers.com to see how papers across the United States, England, Canada, and Australia covered it!
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