![]() It came into effect at 23:01 on 8 May, which was already the following day in Russia. Stalin insisted on a capitulation ceremony in Berlin - at the heart of Nazi Germany - the day after. The Soviet leader's fury increased when he heard that Commander General Eisenhower had accepted the unconditional surrender of all German forces on 7 May in Reims, France. Stalin was angry, not only because of the news of partial capitulation but also because he had seen German forces fighting the Soviets to the bitter end in the east while they surrendered en masse to his Western allies. This is how an initial surrender occurred on, signed by Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery on the Allied side. When Karl Dönitz (who was named head of state after Hitler’s death) offered partial capitulation (in north-west Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands), Churchill immediately accepted. One of the reasons for this was that UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill saw the Soviet army advancing ever westward as an effort to gain more territories - showing a lack of respect for the demarcation lines drawn up during the Yalta conference. Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, was attacking from the east and only wanted to accept an unconditional and immediate total surrender. But the Western allies were less eager to stick to their guns. After Adolf Hitler’s suicide on 30 April, it was clear that the fight wouldn’t last much longer. The reason behind these different dates is politics. It puts on an enormous military parade, symbolising the country’s desire to strengthen bonds within its borders and a show of warning to any potential enemies on the outside. Russia has celebrated Victory Day on 9 May every year except for the very first one, and since then it’s become one of the country’s most important holidays. Poland recently changed the date from 9 May to 8 May, so it's been celebrating National Victory Day since 2015. Before the change, it celebrated like other socialist states and Russia. Parisians march through the Arc de Triomphe as they celebrate the end of World War II on May 8, 1945.
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