Victory in Europe celebrations start
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Denmark and the Netherlands marked the 60th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi troops Thursday, kicking off VE-day celebrations around Europe that culminate Monday with world leaders attending a parade at Moscow’s Red Square.
Events scheduled through the weekend include a ceremony in the French city of Reims, where World War II officially ended, and rallies by both far-right and left-wing groups in Germany.
In Copenhagen, Queen Margrethe and Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen took part in ceremonies at a monument to seamen killed in the war. A mass was held at a seamen’s church to remember the 2,000 Danish sailors who died in Allied service.
British troops arrived in the Danish capital on May 5, 1945, to officially end the Nazi occupation.
In the Netherlands, events kicked off in the southern city of Den Bosch.
“For most Netherlanders born after the war, freedom is as ordinary as clean water and dry feet,” said Crown Prince Willem Alexander. “We only notice how vulnerable it is when the water is dirty or the dikes are about to break.”
In France, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin will start the commemorations on Saturday in the northeastern city of Reims.
President Jacques Chirac will mark the anniversary in a ceremony on the Champs-Elysees Sunday to be attended by veterans and top officials. He will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and a military parade will follow along Paris’ most famous boulevard.
In Germany, a memorial service is slated Sunday at St. Hedwig Cathedral in Berlin, followed by a wreath-laying at the Neue Wache memorial in central Berlin.
The far-right National Democratic Party is also expected to march, and left-wing groups will hold counterdemonstrations.
On Sunday, the Prince of Wales, British government representatives, veterans and serving members of the armed forces will lay wreaths at the Cenotaph in central London.
Later in the day, several thousand people are expected to attend a Victory in Europe Day commemoration concert in Trafalgar Square featuring rocker Cliff Richard, British pop-stars and war-time singer Vera Lynn, known as the “Forces Sweetheart” for her special performances for British troops during the war.
Also Sunday, President Bush is to lead a ceremony at the American cemetery in Maastrich, the Netherlands.
The celebrations climax Monday in Moscow, where Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited more than 50 world leaders including Bush, Chirac, Chinese President Hu Jintao, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
The centerpiece will be a Red Square parade featuring World War II veterans and fighter jets. The dignitaries will lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and attend a Kremlin reception.