Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations.
Most former Soviet countries, and some others, celebrate on 9 May, as Germany's unconditional surrender entered into force at 23:01 on 8 May Central European Summer Time; this corresponded with 00:01 on 9 May in Moscow Time.
The Monument to the Women of World War II is a British national war memorial situated on Whitehall in London next to the Cenotaph at the end of Downing Street. The sculpture represents the wartime contributions of over seven million women, including 650,000 who joined military services. It is a 6.7-metre (22 ft) tall hollow bronze resembling a coat rack representing Winston Churchill's call 'Let the Women Come Forward', the idea being that women left their normal lives to fight for survival in any role necessary.The monument was sculpted by John W. Mills, himself a wartime evacuee when his mother joined the fire service.
The bronze was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in July 2005, the 60th anniversary of VE Day. The Queen was a teenage mechanic and driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women's army service.Fundraising was conducted by the Memorial to Women of WWII charitable trust, the patron of which was the Speaker of the House of Commons Baroness Boothroyd. Anne, Princess Royal was a vice-patron, as was wartime singer Dame Vera Lynn. The National Heritage Memorial Fund paid for most of the project. Boothroyd also raised money and public support on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Only two of the original charitable trustees are still living. Journalist Peri Langdale followed the campaign for eight years, making two programmes for ITV Tyne Tees about the project.
The occupation of Greece by the Axis powers (Greek: Η Κατοχή, romanized: I Katochi) began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Italy, in their ongoing war that was initiated in October 1940, having encountered major strategical difficulties. Following the conquest of Crete, the entirety of Greece was occupied starting in June 1941. The occupation of the mainland lasted until Germany and its ally Bulgaria withdrew under Allied pressure in early October 1944, with Crete and some other Aegean Islands being surrendered to the Allies by German garrisons in May and June 1945, after the end of World War II in Europe.
The term Katochi in Greek means to possess or to have control over goods. It is used to refer to the occupation of Greece by Germany and the Axis Powers. This terminology reflects not only the military occupation but also the economic exploitation of Greece by Germany during that period. The use of "Katochi" underscores the notion of domination and control, highlighting how Greece was subjected to both military and financial subjugation under Axis occupation.