Victory in Europe Day commemorates the end of World War II in Europe. The Evening Sun came out with an extra edition on Monday, May 7, 1945...
SURRENDER FLASH - Reims, France, May 7 (AP) - Germany surrrendered unconditionally to the western Allies and Russia at 2.41 A.M. French time today.
The surrender took place in a little red schoolhouse which was the headquarters of General Dwight Eisenhower. Price Day, a Sunpapers' war correspondent, was the only staff correspondent of an individual newspaper in the world to witness the surrender. His dispatch would appear on the front page of the Morning Sun on May 9, because his story first had to go through military censors.
Here are some excerpts from Sun coverage of the surrender:
Jubilation Here Intense But Short - Confetti Showered From Buildings And Streets Fill As Nazis Quit.
Baltimoreans jubilation at yesterday's announcement of the final and unconditional surrender of Germany was intense but shortlived. As the news of the end of the War in Europe spread rapidly through the city in the late morning, clouds of confetti billowed forth from the upper floors of downtown buildings and happy, laughing office workers streamed out on the streets. By mid-afternoon, the streets were normal again.
On May 8, 1945, President Harry S Truman in a 9 a.m. broadcast said, "Much remains to be done. The victory won in the West must now be won in the East. The whole world must be cleansed of the evil from which half the world has been freed."
Other news reports noted that many Baltimoreans observed V-E Day by attending churches and synagogues for special prayer services. Although state and city offices closed for the afternoon, war plants continued to operate with minimum absenteeism. A heavy downpour drenched the city, but shortly after noon a bright sun and a brisk wind cleared away the gloom. Hundreds of high school students and citzens gathered at Sun Square (the site of the photo at the top of this post), watching the Trans-Lux news flashes for any important developments in the world situation.