VE Day 2025

The last few days have seen an extended commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2 in Europe, with street parties, military parades, and gala concerts. We’ve noted previously that, as the conflict has all but passed out of living memory, these acts of remembrance can seem to say more about the preoccupations of the present moment than the actual historical events, but the mood around the country this week has been generally somber and reflective. I guess that, with the world the way it is, it’s hardly surprising that the nation might wish to look back on a time when the Americans and the Russians were our allies in the fight to defeat fascism and build a new world.