V. E. Day 77th Anniversary

World War 2 began on September 1, 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland and ending four years later on May 8, 1945 when Germany unconditionally surrendered its military forces to the Allies, thus ending the war in Europe. It would be another five months, in August, before the war in the Pacific ended with Japan's surrender to the United States. In the U.K. there were street parties, pubs stayed open late and people celebrated.

Victory in Europe or V.E. Day is still commemorated in the U.K., the United States as well as other countries around the world. 77 years on, its hard for us in the 21st century to imagine what four years of war with the hardships, deaths and atrocities endured by millions was like. Indeed most of the people who survived the war are either now dead or very old.

With world events being what they are now, let's hope current generations never have to face this again.

For a more detailed look at what happened in May of 1945 and other aspects of WW2, visit the Imperial War Museum website.