Victory in Europe Day

Alexander Gauland, AfD parliamentary leader addresses the Bundestag in opposition to a petition to make VE Day a public holiday in Germany.

By Carolyn Yeager

On May 8, Europe will once again commemorate Victory in Europe Day. This year will mark the 75th Anniversary and some people in Germany  want it to become a “public holiday.”

A petition by a “Holocaust survivor” Esther Bejarano urges President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel to proclaim May 8th a public holiday because “This is the day of German liberation and the defeat of the NS regime.” The petition has been signed by 80,000 people as of May 6. Germany's population is 80 million people.