VE Day 80

VE Day in 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Thursday 8 May is Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) – the day the German forces surrendered to the Allied powers. SuperStock have put together a selection of powerful and evocative images and clips that capture the joy of this historic day.
93 items in this collection sampler
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Ve Day Celebrations in London, 8 May 1945 A truck of revellers passing through the Strand, London
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London May 1945. Crowd celebrates VE day marking the German surrender in World war two
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Ve Day in London, 8 May 1945 Two small girls waving their flags in the rubble of Battersea, snapped by an anonymous American photographer.
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Ve Day Celebrations in London, England, UK, 8 May 1945 A number 3 double-decker bus slowly pushes its way through the huge crowds gathered in Whitehall to hear Churchill's Victory speech and celebrate Victory in Europe Day. The crowd is a mix of service personnel, civilians and children. Behind the bus, people line the balconies of the buildings along the street, and in the background, Westminster Abbey can be seen. : 8 1945
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VE - Victory in Europe - Day was 40 years ago on Wednesday. Andrew Casey in London, Susan Anthony in New York, Bill Mellor in Bonn and Nancy Berryman asked various people what that day meant to them. October 05, 1945.
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VE Day - Soldiers hold up the Stars and Stripes newspaper in celebration of the end of WWII in Europe May 8, 1945.
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The P.M. and a section of the huge crowd.Ve day Prime Minister addresses Whitehall crowd. From a balcony in the ministry of health building in Whitehall Mr.Churchill addresses a huge crowd. members of the Cabinet were with him on the balcony. June 04, 1945. (Photo by Sport & General Press Agency Limited).
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Baby Rides In Duck -- Born in married quarters at London's Wellington Barracks, eighteen-month-old Geoffrey Aylen is an Army man through and though. His daddy, Guards R.Q.M.S. Fred Aylen, would have been in yesterday's VE-Day anniversary march through London if he hadn't had to go to Malaya. Naturally, Geoffrey wanted to take his father's place in the march. And it took three stalwart Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to persuade the youngster that his duck was a bit too slow. Now, if it had been a DUKW. May 06, 1949. (Photo by Daily Mirror).
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Mature man holding a newspaper, VE Day, New York, USA
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Crowds to welcome King George VI and Queen Mary as they appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on May 8th 1945 (VE Day). The King and Queen would later be joined on the balcony by Winston Churchill. Date: May 19th 1945
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The photograph shows Winston Churchill and Ernest Bevin on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on VE Day. Date: 8th May 1945
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Children celebrate victory day in Europe by waving the union flag in a bombed out house in South London, May 8th 1945 1945
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Bombers Over Nelson As R.A.F. Prepares For Victory Fly-Plast.Lancaster bombers of the Royal Air Force flying information over Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, as they rehearsed for the fly-past of nearly three hundred warplanes to take place on Victory Day, June 8. June 06, 1946.
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Victory Parade in London -- Navy, Army, and Air Force contingents in the Marching Column entering Trafalgar Square. 1946 - The Victory parade enters Trafalgar Square. June 8, 1946.
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The Red Arrows at the VE Day Anniversary Air Show at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe
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King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) together with their daughters, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) in ATS uniform and Princess Margaret Rose, and Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace waving to crowds on VE Day, 8 May 1945. Date: 1945
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Winston Churchill makes his VE Day Broadcast 8th May 1945
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Field Marshal W. Keitel signs the Document of Surrender at the Soviet Headquarters, Berlin, Germany, May 8, 1945
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V-E Day celebration in Piccadilly Circus, London, May 7, 1945. A jubilant American soldier hugs a motherly English woman celebrating Germany's unconditional surrender. World War 2. (BSLOC_2014_8_105)
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Photograph of children during VE day celebrations, Lambton Quay, Wellington. Dated 1945
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Winston Churchill makes his VE-Day Broadcast Date: 8th May 1945
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World War Two V-E-Day celebrations at Piccadilly Circus in London 1945
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Special edition of the Illustrated London News to celebrate the end of World War II. Date: 1945
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General Dwight Eisenhower returns to the US following his victory in Europe and is greeted by Gen George C. Marshall. June 18, 1945. Photo: Abbie Rowe
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Photograph showing a British soldier adding a message to the walls of the German Reichstag, shortly after the end of the Second World War in Europe, July 1945. Most of the graffiti visible in this picture was created by the victorious Russian soldiers after they had crushed the last Nazi resistance in Berlin. Date: 14/07/1945
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After victory in Europe, the Troops of the 20th Armored Division and units of the 9th Army whoop it up as the SS John Ericsson nears it pier on New York City's Hudson River. August 6, 1945.
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Churchill Hailed On Election Tour -- The Prime Minister stands in the leading car of a long procession passing through densely-crowded/Trinity-street, in blitzed Coventry, where he received a great ovation from the people. Making a ten-speeches-a-day election tour, Mr. Churchill, Conservative leader, ended the first day in the Midlands tired but triumphant, his campaign taking on the appearance of a victory celebration, with men and women of all political parties thronging the route to cheer the leader of the Coalition Government which led Britain to victory in Europe. June 26, 1945.
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King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) together with their daughters, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) in ATS uniform and Princess Margaret Rose on the balcony of Buckingham Palace waving to crowds on VE Day, 8 May 1945. Date: 1945
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The Red Arrows at the VE Day Anniversary Air Show at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe
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Crowds seen cheering and waving outside the gates of Buckingham Palace on May 8th 1945 (VE Day). George V and Queen Mary with Princeses Elizabeth and Margaret can be seen at a distance acknowledging the crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony. They were later joined by Winston Churchill. 19 May 1945
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World War two: Women, with a child in a pram, standing near the government buildings, Wellington, New Zealand, on VE day, May 1945
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High angle view of crowd around a statue, VE Day, New York City, New York, USA
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Front cover from 'Sport & Country' showing the contrast between war time London and victory in 1945. Date: 01/05/1945
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VE Day, LS Lowry, 1945,
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New York, New York: May 7, 1945. An erroneous Associated Press announcement has New Yorkers celebrating VE-Day and dancing on Wall Street. The actual the end of WWII in Europe was not til the next day, May 8th.
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LITERATED AMSTERDAM CELEBRATES VE DAY-The people of Amsterdam, Holland throng the cathedral square to celebrate VE Day. It marks the end of five years of German oppression and they are overjoyed that the war has come to an end.
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VE-Day in New York, 8 May, 1945. From The War in Pictures, Sixth Year.
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Royal Family Tour The East of London During Ve Day Celebrations -- A London Mother and her family talk with her majesty the Queen, during her Ve Day Tour of East London.For over two hours the Royal Family toured the East End of London, talking with men and women who were enjoying their Victory celebrations, yesterday May 9. The jubilant crowds gave they a tremendous reception, waving flags and throwing red white and blue streamers across the Royal car. May 10, 1945. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).
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Ve Day Celebrations in London, England, UK, 8 May 1945 A mounted policeman moves through crowds of people gathered in Whitehall, London, to hear Churchill's Victory speech and to celebrate Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945.
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Ve Day Celebrations in London, 8 May 1945 View of the crowd in front of the Ministry of Health building in Whitehall. The Prime Minister addressed the crowd from the balcony, which, like the roof of the building, is decorated with flags. On the right is the Cenotaph.
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Guards in Army Day March -- A detachment of Welsh Guards marches down fleet street, London during an army day parade today may 5. More than 2,000 troops marched through the city in the biggest military parade since Ve Day. It was mostly a Khaki Parade, but kilts, Bagpipes and Brightly polished brasses brought touches of colour to the ceremony. Most of the soldiers taking part were young men of between 21 and 23, called up since the war. The Lord Mayor London, Sir George Aylwen took the salute of the parade as it passed St. Paul's Cathedral. May 05, 1949. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).
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Ve Day Celebrations in London, England, UK, 8 May 1945 Huge crowds of people are gathered in Whitehall to listen to Churchill's Victory speech and to celebrate Victory in Europe Day. The crowd is a mix of service personnel, civilians and children. Behind them can be seen the Cenotaph. People line the balconies of the buildings on the right hand side of the road. This photograph was taken from the Parliament Square end of Whitehall, looking past the Cenotaph towards Trafalgar Square.
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London crowds gather outside Buckingham Palace for VE Day celebrations in May 1945 to mark the end of World War Two in Europe.