8th May, 1945. Celebrations erupt across the world as the war ends in Europe. It is VE Day: Victory in Europe Day. But it has been a long, hard race to get here…and war is still raging
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8th May, 1945. Celebrations erupt across the world as the war ends in Europe. It is VE Day: Victory in Europe Day. But it has been a long, hard race to get here…and war is still raging in the Pacific.
In 1938, British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, was determined to keep the peace in Europe. By signing the Munich Agreement with Adolf Hitler, he believed he would prevent war with Germany and bring “peace in our time”. The peace Chamberlain thought he’d guaranteed, however, was shattered by Hitler’s invasion of Poland on 1st September, 1939. Over the next eight months, the Nazi’s continued to sweep across Europe, with Norway, Holland, Belgium and France falling under Hitler’s control.
Chamberlain declared war on Germany on 3rd September. His agreement had not saved Europe from the Nazi’s. As Europe fell, country after country, so did Chamberlain’s popularity causing a vote of no confidence and his resignation. At the outbreak of war Chamberlain had invited Winston Churchill to join the war cabinet as the First Lord of the Admiralty. Could this be the man to lead Britain to victory in the Second World War?
