2-324-091 - www.picturethepast.org.uk/Nottinghamshire County Council /Heritage Images

VE Day party, Dunstan Street, Netherfield, Nottinghamshire, May 1945. VE Day finally arrived on 8th May, 1945 after fierce efforts by the allied forces. The previous year British, Canadian, and US. troops invaded Normandy, and began to drive the Nazis out of France. At the same time, the Soviets were launching their own counter-offensive. They pushed the German army completely out of Europe. Seizing their advantage, the Soviets advanced into Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania. By 1945, the German defences had begun to collapse. The Soviet army occupied the eastern third of Germany. Eventually, the allies surrounded Berlin. On 30th April, Adolf Hitler committed suicide. Nazi Germany surrendered soon after.