germany's very 1st president said as early as 949 he said he called it both of those things and basically since then there has been ever a rising sense that this liberated germans because it freed them from tyranny but they had to become part of that process themselves and this is what the president reminded us of and this confrontation with the past what president. in 1985 looking the truth straight in the eye has been a real harm whole mark for germany of coming to accept this day as something that liberated them and that at the same time was a defeat for the germany of 1945 all right our chief political correspondent linda crane will be talking a little bit more about that confrontation with the past a little bit later in the program thank you for your insights. well you're watching special coverage of germany's commemoration of the end of the

2nd world war we just heard as we said a german president 5 other steinmeyer speaking and in a little bit we'll look at how the day has been marked in france and in the u.k. but 1st here's a look back at the events that led to the deceit of nazi germany. the allied landings in normandy began on the night of june the 5th 1944 the strategy was to trap the german forces by opening up a 2nd front to the west for the allies there was a terrible price to pay. in january 1045 the soviet red army liberated auschwitz concentration camp most of the prisoners had already been deported by the s.s. more than a 1000000 mostly jewish inmates were murdered in the camp. by february soviet troops were engaged in house to house fighting cross train on the

river in poland was the bridgehead for the assault on berlin. early that month allied commanders met in yeltsin on the crimean peninsula stallin roosevelt and churchill sat down to decide how germany would be carved up and the future shape of europe. in mid february british and american bombers dropped 4000 tons of munitions on the german city of dresden setting off a hugely destructive fire storm which killed 25000 people. by mid march the british and americans occupied the whole of the west bank of the rhine. german attempts to destroy the bridge at ramo. going on the east bank would doomed to failure. u.s.

and red army troops converged in late april it took out on the river elbe a symbolic handshake showed the world that germany's eastern and western fronts were broken the end of the 2nd world war was approaching. a sense of the 30th of april 1045 was a historic day fittler committed suicide in his bunker in berlin his body cremated in the garden the bloody battle for berlin was entering its final stage. late that evening soviet troops stormed the german parliament and raised the red flag a symbolic gesture which brought the soviet union's terrible sacrifices to an end. a week later on may the 8th came germany's unconditional surrender the 2nd world war was over europe liberated from the yoke of fascism.

all because of the coronavirus pandemic many commemoration of events have been scaled back or moved entirely online and that is the case in paris as well president in my book and event on the shop and say in paris without the usual parade down the avenue he laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier but only a small group of dignitaries were in attendance. let's bring in our correspondent in paris lisa louis hi lisa as we said there was a a low key commemoration today but how relevant is the marking of the end of the war to french people. well absolutely there were only 20 people present compared to $3.00 to $4000.00 normally there were also other common ration is happening across the country local dignitaries laying down wreaths in villages at town halls but obviously it's still quite important to people here especially

veterans associations people the french have been putting up at the french flag at their windows or balconies have been posting pictures of that on line and veterans as associations are reminding people of the fact that this might be the lats large anniversary of the 75th anniversary of people actually attending all who might have been attending actually hugh saw what happened and who were there 945 and that also during this coronavirus pandemic lots of elderly people about half of the about 25000 deaths here in france so far have been elderly people and care homes and those were some of the last survivors of world war 2 really and he said it is really remarkable you think 75 years later after ve day the relationship between france and germany is so essential it's really a bedrock of the european union as well is there a sense that that relationship will continue to deepen especially with the u.k. leaving the european union. well that's obviously what france and germany will

continue to keep doing and try to they would try to deepen that relationship it's not going to be easy though in my my car the president here in france has been trying to push through market liberal from since he came to power in 2017 but resistance to that has been mounting actually he's been losing support amongst the french now with the coronavirus france as well as as well as other countries in europe and across the world will face a huge economic crisis and it will get more and more complicated to for him to keep carrying out these reforms so it might be more difficult for him to find an understanding with germany that's obviously very linked to and really wants to push through budgetary discipline and lisa coming back to the significance of this day we saw as we said that that solemn ceremony earlier today with the french president a man on my call but how much it is this day celebrated among french people what does this mean to the french people. well there have been people on

social media online obviously who have been saying this is really important we're really happy that did not see germany got defeated in 9045 as i said people have been putting up flags at their balcony at their windows and normally thousands of people keep attending these ceremonies each year so it is an important day in the life of the french all right our correspondent lisa lewis reporting there from france thank you very much.

oh. those are images of a 2 minute silence held in the u.k. to mark the end of the 2nd world war and our correspondent burgomaster standing by for us in london hypergrowth the events are also a bit smaller in the u.k. this year because of the pandemic but how are people marking this day. well exactly sumi not as grand as they would usually be with thousands of people in the city center with veterans walking paused much more small scale and people were encouraged to celebrate at home in my neighborhood this 2 minute silence was observed many of my neighbors came out and i think it was

a moment of really quiet reflection and something that brought the country together in a way we also saw the royal air force fly past and throughout the day there will be smaller moments of calm in the ration boris johnson is going to speak there is going to be a nation's toast with people and courage to raise a glass and think about the veterans do this at home of course and then in the evening there will be a televised address by the queen yes so throughout the day smaller maimane is of commemoration on this really important day in the u.k. says tree it is an important day of birth and if you remember the images of london you know 75 years ago today people celebrating on the streets it is many years later so just how relevant is this memory to people in britain today. a lot of people that i have spoken to have stressed that they're really reflecting on the values that are important today how do we live our lives today so not just

about the victory but it really about cooperation about community the end of the 2nd world war in the u.k. saw the beginning of the welfare state and saw the birth of the national health system that is there for everyone and that just to decide during the coronavirus is really so relevant in many people's lives and people regularly come out to clap for the care as clap for everybody who's helping to defeat the virus so a lot of people really using this day to reflect on how do we live today how do we want to live and also how do we want to live when we come out of the crisis of course you know it moment of great uncertainty but also i think for a lot of people a chance to start something new and to start about how this crisis can change the shape of the country that we live in and what about how people in britain see their place in europe their relationship with european partners now 75 years later.

well yes of course the 2nd world was it really national myth it was a moment of triumph the has a. very deep ingrained part of how britain see itself and and many people have pointed out that it was of course also relevant to the victory of breck's it is a myth that britain can go it alone other people they are stressing that today things are very different under the virus actually brings home the next says city of collaboration that the world is interdependent the search for a vaccine is very international and that the virus knows no borders so people will be using this crisis and this moment in very different ways all right our correspondent reporting from london thank you. well russia marks the anniversary of the victory over nazi germany on the 9th of may and that's because when the articles of surrender were signed late in the evening on may the 8th in

berlin it was already past midnight in moscow now in the run up to the commemoration russia traditionally reburying the remains of red army soldiers who have been recovered from world war 2 battlefields this ceremony took place near the city of rostov more than $26000000.00 soviet citizens died it during the 2nd world war including more than 8 and a half 1000000 military personnel. and let's go right to our correspondent yury were chateau in moscow good to see you so how is russia commemorating this 75th anniversary of the end of world war 2. so for the russians this anniversary is one of the biggest if not the v biggest festivity over the year the children are traditionally told to bowl to the boy in kindergarten already almost every russian family has spiritual memories of what it's called the great path to altie to war here although there are hardly any veterans from that time left many eyewitnesses are still alive and so people tell

very personal stories of their families i personally heard the both of the war from my grandfather who was no along our life and from my mother who was a little girl during the war and remember us what it was like back then of course the people that will celebrate the victory their tone with their families and loved ones tomorrow morning there will be an era shoal with military planes here in moscow as well here you know 75 years later what role does this 2nd world war play and how russia sees itself and its role also with a new look at towards europe today. well the russian traditionalist celebrates the end of world war 2 with the launch military parade on the red square which has been postponed for this year because of the girl no virus and a new date hasn't been sent yet however it's a tradition that goes back to the soviet union above all it shows of military power which of course goes hand in hand with political power russian president let me

putin use this day to shine as if the president of a winning state and the milestone in a verse of this this year should have been one of the most important political events for putin personally we know that the participation in the parade has been boycotted by western states since 232014 x. ational of crimea and so of course putin has hope to the boycott would finally believe that this year for the 75th anniversary but then the coronavirus put a stop to put his grand plans to and russia's political isolation and yuri what's the sickly russia's relationship with germany today. well i think german russian relations are still very good 75 years after the end of the war they had to say heyday in the early 2000 russian economy was booming and trade relations were extremely good between the 2 countries after that came with an extension of crimea by russia into the allegations of russian the feelings in the

us elections the us and the imposed sanctions on russia over the ukraine crisis which has caused a real a shadow on the relations between russia and germany as well as there was never a warmth between president putin intentional chancellor americal but the 2 lead there is have managed to maintain a constructive dialogue despite all of their political differences president putin was hoping for chancellor merkel to be one of the leaders to attend the parade on red square here in moscow because of course russia remains a very important partner not only for germany but for all countries in the e.u. of all when it comes to global security and to the economy but also when it comes to cultural relations russians still have a lot of respect for the germans and the germans are still very interested in russia all right our correspondent yury there from moscow eureka to talk to you. when you are watching our special coverage of the commemorations of the end of the 2nd world war here in germany and across europe

a german president finds that the steinmeyer spoken berlin just a short while ago here is a part of that address here in berlin. we had planned to commemorate this day jointly with others. but we had planned to commemorate the day together with representatives of the allies from east and west who made huge sacrifices to liberate this continent mine's a mint ones and pass together with our partners from every corner of europe that suffered on the german occupation and yet we are willing to seek reconciliation so don't provide one. good minds together with the survivors of german crimes and the descendants of those who perished so many of whom reached out to us in reconciliation wednesday hunt us district. in minds together with everyone around the world who gave this country the chance of a fresh. annoyance of on. how we planned to mark

this late night made an end. however being recovered 19 pandemic has compelled us to commemorate this day alone get separated from those who mean so much to us and to whom we are so grateful doesn't. right back with our chief political correspondent linda crane for more on that speech that we heard earlier you know we've talked about this being seen as a day of liberation and germany that's something that was reflected in the speech from president steinmeyer but do germans actually perceive it as such they seem to do dutch of l a did a poll this week in which more than 3 quarters of the germans who were polled said that they absolutely see it as a day of liberation only 7 percent they see it as a day of defeat or capitulation but interestingly enough if you then break that down by party affiliation you see that over 30 percent around 31 percent of those polled who say that they support the right wing party the alternative for germany

a.f.d. they say it was a day of defeat so when you hear populist politicians especially. one of the leaders of that party calling it a day of defeat and did not mean that it should be celebrated as a holiday as a day of liberation they are absolutely speaking to that 30 percent 30 percent who perhaps cannot easily tolerate what i talked about earlier as the ambivalence of germany's history that was those were comments from alex on a gallon from the f.t. that sparked a lot of controversy this week right indeed because in fact this is a holiday today in berlin but it is not a national holiday and it is not an ongoing holiday this is a one off holiday so to speak for berlin so there has been calls for holocaust survivors but also by political parties in germany to make it a national holiday going forward he absolutely. rejects that and there

are arguments on both sides of this certainly germany's role is complex as i mentioned earlier the very 1st german president saying it was a day on which germany was both annihilated that is to say nazi germany and redeemed so. to mark this day with the holiday requires a very careful construction where certainly it isn't seen as a day of celebration because that kind of a past can hardly be celebrated it can be commemorated we are just seeing these pictures again that we were following a little bit earlier as they were happening live we see german chancellor angela merkel there who we also saw in an interview earlier today with german media saying i absolutely do see this as a day of liberation that's how i perceive it. the president you know we've seen him speak at a number of commemorations over the past year there was the anniversary of the invasion of poland the start of world war 2 the anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz the bombing of dresden holocaust remembrance day has this message really

continued to be the same through all these very important milestones i think it has and what he does very very well is to put this in that historical context and to really make clear that germany has a responsibility as he said here today to carry on the process of remembrance that it never ends that it has an ongoing responsibility to confront its past and to live the lessons that it learned from those and here i think he spoke so movingly about never alone again world war 2 was a completely isolating experience for germany and he made that clear at the start of his speech and we saw visually those 5 people seated so far apart in a way reminding us of what aloneness can look like and feel like and when he talked about never alone again he absolutely paid testimony to tribute to the important role that germany has in europe and the responsibility that it has for ensuring

that the european union can thrive and that is a predatory important responsibility now in this time of the pandemic when many european countries have been hit very very. hard by the economic consequences and where germany will definitely need to put some deeds actions behind those words that we heard from her speak and i speak there and many of the other commemorations you mentioned well because we've seen so many of these important milestone commemorations of the past year or so we've been talking here in germany in particular a lot about memory politics the culture of remembrance what that means and how that should be carried forward and we heard the german president say it's only because we face our past that people trust us now how is that seen among the wider german public because the reality is a lot of the witnesses from these periods that need to be remembered are no longer going to be around in the near future i mean how is that seen among the younger generation for example there's been an enormous effort as part of this process of

confronting the past found going hypes began to go in this complicated german word to bring survivors into the schools to bring into the schools people who can really tell the story and make it personal and german pupils and students learn a great deal at different points in their education about the past now i don't personally believe that when the last survivors do die and many of them are now in their ninety's that that will mark the end of this culture of remembrance i am convinced that it will go forward but there are people on the right side of the political spectrum who sometimes can be heard to say we need to draw a line under our past and both remember i think the statement by a party leader saying those 12 years they were just a little speck of bird poop in the larger picture of german history now that is a minority point of view but it is out there all right well let's take a closer look now at why that remembrance is important with our next report of

simon going off ski only managed to escape the auschwitz concentration camp by sheer luck of the belgian resistance fighter stop the deportation train he and his mother were riding and the 75 years after the end of the 2nd. world war the 88 year old is living through another world war worldwide crisis the coronavirus pandemic now in brussels as holocaust survivor is tapping into his talents to spread joy during this uncertain time. a bit of jazz music drawing people out of their homes. a rather unusual picture in times of covered 19. point because it makes me happy to bring a bit of happiness and hope to the people and to cheer them up. navasky says jazz is his life music helped him to overcome the trauma he

experienced as a jew in belgium during the 2nd world war. as a child i lived through the persecution of the nazis barbarism. you know they killed my mother and my sister in the gas chambers of auschwitz birkenau. my father died in despair just after the war this is in july 945. a. month when i was 11 the nazi secret families the gestapo it took me and threw me in prison measure think gas shoot the nazis put kornacki and his mother on a deportation train more than 1500 people crammed in cattle cars destination i'll shit's concentration camp. but he was lucky 3 belgian resistance

fighters stopped the train his mother told him to flee and he ran into the night she didn't jump because she didn't want to threaten his escape he says. every night i dreamt i was being chased by the gestapo. 2 or 3 times i changed families for security reasons. whenever i arrived somewhere i went to the attic 1st to see how i could escape over the roofs if they came to get me we were even then she after the war returned to brussels and made good on his dream of studying law. but at 23 i was a doctor of law and a lawyer i'm still a lawyer today because i'm far too young to stop i mean. he says he has been

confined twice in his life once during the war and now due to cope with 19 very different experiences but it was always jazz music that helped him to cope. poignant and important message there from the holocaust survivor well a reminder of the top story that we have been following at this hour a chance on the american flag a ceremony marking the end of world war 2 in europe 75 years ago today as she laid a wreath at the country's central memorial of berlin german president fine but this time i held a speech highlighting the importance of remembrance for future generations events were originally planned on a larger scale but they were pared back because of the pandemic. thank you for watching t w news will be back with you in a few minutes. they

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this is g.w. news live from berlin remembering world war 2 in the time of coronavirus chancellor angela merkel leads a ceremony marking the end of the conflict in europe 75 years ago today events are scaled back because of its 19th germany's president highlights the importance of remembrance especially now. also coming up how the corner virus is changing the natural.