On May 8, 1945 - known as Victory in Europe Day or V-E Day - celebrations erupted around the world to mark the end of World War II in Europe. The war had been raging for almost five years when U.S. and Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. The invasion signaled the beginning of the end for Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. In less than a year, Germany would surrender and Hitler would be dead. But in his speech to the nation on V-E Day, President Harry S. Truman c

Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) on May 8, 1945, marked the end of World War II in Europe with Germany’s surrender. However, the war raged on in the Pacific. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan announced its surrender in mid-August. The formal surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945 - almost four months after the end of war in Europe - became known as Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) and brought a complete end to World War II. Music: Zakhar Valaha from Pix

WATCH: World War II Victory in Europe 70th Anniversary Monday at 8 am & 8 pm ET On May 8, dignitaries and veterans marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe with a ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. We’ll show the ceremony, followed by a flyover down the National Mall of dozens of World War II aircraft. The aircraft flew in 15 separate formations representing the major battles of World War II, from Pearl Harbor through the final air assault o