Unity replacing victory: Ukraine's new holidays on May 8, 9
Alexander Savitsky
May 9, 2023
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany on May 8, following European tradition, instead of on May 9, following Soviet tradition. Most Ukrainians support the move.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Kyiv, where people offer flowers to commemorate the official end of World War II in EuropeImage: Kyodo/picture alliance
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"It is on May 8th that most nations of the world commemorate the great victory over Nazism," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently stated as he proposed a bill to parliament that would make this the date Ukraine celebrated the defeat of Nazism in World War II.
Since 2015, Ukraine has marked May 8 as the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation and May 9 as Victory Day, following Soviet tradition.
Now, Zelenskyy wants to decree May 9 as Europe Day instead, following the annual date the European Union (EU) celebrates peace and unity in Europe. Tuesday marks the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, which proposed a new form of political cooperation in Europe that would make war between European nations unthinkable.
Ukraine will follow European tradition and celebrate Europe Day on May 9Image: Andreas Franke/picture alliance
"We will commemorate our historical unity, the unity of all European peoples who destroyed Nazism and will defeat ruscism," Zelenskyy said. The term "ruscism" is a portmanteau, or blend, of the words "Russia" and "fascism," and is used to describe the totalitarian ideology employed by Russian President Putin. As such, it can be understood as a symbiosis between fascism and Stalinism. The term is often employed when speaking of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
No mass gatherings
Like in 2022, due to Russia's full-scale attack, there won't be any massive events to celebrate the day in Ukraine's capital city, Kyiv. Citing security concerns, authorities have asked citizens to avoid crowds. Law enforcement is patrolling streets, parks, and plazas, devoting particular attention to places where flowers are customarily laid down in remembrance. The Ukrainian government has also warned of possible provocations and likely Russian attacks on May 9.
DW asked passersby on the streets near Kyiv's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier what they thought of Zelenskyy's new proposal. Most held neutral or positive attitudes. Artur, 35, said he was thrilled when he heard that May's remembrance days would be changed. "To me, this Russian 'Victory Day' on May 9 seems to be the most cynical of all holidays. What are they even celebrating?" he asked.
"The defeat of Nazism cost Ukraine 10 million lives — that's what we should be remembering. Instead of celebrating, we should be commemorating the victims," Artur added.
"Who can stop us from celebrating May 9th the way we are accustomed to? We will celebrate May 8th and May 9th," said Tatiana, a middle-aged woman.
The pensioner Mykola Trokhymovych was a bit more skeptical. "I am 84 years old, and I collect welfare just like all 'war children' do," he said. "May 9 used to be a grand holiday, but now, everything is changing. We have yet to see if it will work out."
Russia traditionally celebrates Victory Day with a parade in the Red SquareImage: Mikhail Metzel/TASS/imago images
A new kind of remembrance
"Many nations celebrate Victory Day on May 8 because it is a historical truth," Anton Drobovych, the head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, told DW. He said it was the political will of the leadership of the Soviet Union and the countries under its influence that May 9 be marked as Victory Day, which displaced factual accounts of historical events. Now, Dobrovych concluded, "historical justice is being restored" in Ukraine.
He added that each year, the percentage of Ukrainians who observed May 8 as the Day of Remembrance and Reconcilliation has steadily risen.
"Since 2015, this European tradition has been recommended, discussed, and gradually introduced into the historical context in Ukraine. Every year, we prepare training material for young people and tell them about it," the director said. "But we are a democratic country and nobody is prohibiting people from continuing to lay down flowers at Soviet memorials on May 9. But at a state level, it makes no sense to defend propagandistic and historically false dates."
World War II memorials around the globe
Countless memorials and monuments around the world commemorate the heroes and victims of the Second World War, which ended in Europe on May 8, 1945 with the victory of the Allied forces against Nazi Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/T. Uhlemann
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Russia
Newly married couples come here with flowers, and state guests lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on the Kremlin wall. In Russia — because of the time difference — May 9 is celebrated as Victory Day, usually with a big military parade on Red Square. It is however postponed this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Kumm
Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, Russia
The Soviet Union lost 25 million people in the Second World War, more than any other country. It also has some of the world's largest war memorials: "The Motherland calls" is the name of this statue. Visible from afar, it is 85 meters (279 feet) high and commemorates the Battle of Stalingrad, which raged from August 25, 1942 to February 2, 1943 — one of the bloodiest battles in human history.
Image: picture-alliance/U. Zucchi
Cenotaph in London, United Kingdom
An empty tomb as a monument: Five years ago, on the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, heads of state and veterans gathered at the Cenotaph. With the COVID-19 pandemic, such a meeting is not possible this year. The memorial on London's Whitehall government mile was originally erected for the victims of the First World War. Since 1946 it has also been a memorial to the fallen from 1939 to 1945.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/D. Cliff
RAF Bomber Command Memorial in London, UK
The sculpture depicts a Bomber Command crew and is dedicated to the 55,573 Allied aircrew killed in World War II. When this monument was inaugurated in 2012, it caused controversy, since the Royal Air Force's bombing destroyed many German cities right up to the last days of the war and claimed 600,000 lives among the civilian population.
Image: picture-alliance/prisma
Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France
Under the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It commemorates the victims of both world wars. On May 8, French President Emmanuel Macron and high-ranking military officers will lay a wreath, but this year without an audience.
Image: picture-alliance/imagebroker/J. Tzu-chao Lin
American military cemetery at Omaha Beach, France
Just as significant as the day of the German surrender is another important date in France: June 6, 1944. On D-Day, 150,000 Allied soldiers landed in Normandy and opened the Western Front. Numerous memorials, museums and military cemeteries along the coast commemorate one of the most important battles of World War II, which claimed 68,000 lives.
National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, USA
The monument was only inaugurated in 2004 and commemorates the 16 million Americans who fought in the Second World War. Leading to the monumental complex is the Peace Wall with 4,048 gilded stars — one star for 100 fallen. In the US, May 8 is "Victory in Europe Day". The final end of the war is celebrated on August 14, the day of the armistice with Japan.
Image: picture-alliance/imageBROKER/M. Weber
Unconditional Surrender statue in San Diego, USA
It is said to have been on this very day, August 14, 1945, that in celebration of Japan's surrender a US sailor spontaneously kissed a nurse he apparently didn't know on Times Square. The photo published in "Life" magazine became world-famous and served as a model for the "Unconditional Surrender" sculptures, one of them standing in the harbor of San Diego. It sparked a #MeToo debate in 2019.
Image: picture-alliance/Photononstop/P. Turpin
Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan
Every year on August 6 at exactly 8:15 a.m. the Peace Bell of Hiroshima, located in what was once the city's busiest commercial and residential district, sounds to mark the time of the world's first nuclear attack. The ruins are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. More than 70 monuments and memorials in the Peace Park commemorate the 146,000 direct and indirect victims of the atom bomb detonation.
Image: Reuters/I. Kato
Yasukini Shrine in Tokyo, Japan
Time and again, high-ranking Japanese politicians visit the Yasukini shrine in Tokyo. Among others, the more than two million fallen Japanese soldiers of the Second World War are honored there. Among them, however, are also 14 convicted and executed war criminals. Countries invaded by Japan, such as South Korea and China, regularly protest against this tribute.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/K. Nogi
Memorial of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, China
On December 13, 1937, Japanese troops conquered the city of Nanjing. This was followed by a massacre that claimed at least 200,000 — according to other estimates, up to 300,000 — Chinese victims within six weeks. The memorial in Nanjing includes a museum with numerous documents, photos and historical film footage as well as a memorial path with footprints of the survivors.
Image: picture-alliance/Dumont/M. Riehle
Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel
"A monument and a name" is the translation of the Hebrew name of the central Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. It is dedicated to the approximately six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis. At the center of the extensive complex is the windowless "Hall of Remembrance," in which an eternal flame burns. The names of the 22 largest death camps are carved into the floor.
In the German capital there are numerous memorials to the Second World War, the most famous being the Holocaust Memorial. Its 2,711 steles commemorate the 6 million murdered Jews in Europe. There was a demand for such a memorial as early as the 1980s, but it was only inaugurated in 2005. By the way, Berlin is the only federal state that has declared May 8 as a public holiday this year.
Image: picture-alliance/Schoening
The Neue Wache (New Guardhouse) in Berlin, Germany
A mother embraces her dead son: the sculpture by Käthe Kollwitz is the focal point in the Neue Wache, Germany's central memorial site for the victims of war and tyranny. All commemoration ceremonies for May 8 have been cancelled, but nevertheless Chancellor Merkel, President Steinmeier and President Schäuble of the Bundestag will lay a wreath here.
Image: picture-alliance/W. Rothermel
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Studies have confirmed that Russia's war in Ukraine has influenced Ukrainian attitudes toward World War II remembrance. In January 2023, a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) found that 62% of Ukrainian respondents preferred to observe May 8 as the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, while only 22% supported commemorating the defeat of Nazism on May 9.
Meanwhile, 85% of the respondents believed the Soviet Union was partially responsible for the outbreak of World War II, and 68% admitted that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had significantly changed the way they viewed their own past and Ukraine's history.
Serhii Plokhii, a professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard University, said he believes Ukraine's reluctance to celebrate Victory Day on May 9 is linked to the way Russia took advantage of this holiday.
"Russian propaganda has exploited, and continues to exploit, this highly politicized myth of the great patriotic war to justify today's war," he told DW.
Lilia Rzheutska and Danilo Bilek contributed to this article.
