![]() Areas in the city centre were placed under martial law, and 850,000 "citizen guards" were deployed to ensure security within the city. On the day of the parade, hospitals restricted most of their activities beyond emergencies, the stock markets were closed. Line 1, Beijing Subway, which passes underneath Chang'an Avenue, was shut down 256 bus-lines in Beijing were placed under tight transport restrictions from 2–4 September. Bloomberg reported that the central government once again intervened in the stock market to ensure stability ahead of the anniversary there were traffic curfews and closures of public facilities including seven parks and some hospitals. ![]() ![]() National leadership placed considerable importance on being able to put the best foot forward and do away with distractions. Xi Jinping had attended the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade in May as the guest-of-honour of Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Putin returned the favour at this parade. The prevailing theme was to be "peace and victory". The 70th anniversary parade was also the first major parade since Xi Jinping took power as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (China's paramount leader) in 2012. The most prominent renditions of the parade were held in 1959, 1984, 1999, and 2009, presided over respectively by then leaders Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao. Since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, China held parades primarily on 1 October, the country's national day. Visiting the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC ensures that while their presence may be soon lost, their legacy will remain.The 70th Anniversary of V-day parade marked the first time that China held a military parade other than the National Day, and the first to celebrate the end of World War II. During anniversary observances, fewer and fewer of those who witnessed it are with us. The last bas-relief depicts the overwhelming excitement of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and civilians alike on V-J day, but it easily translates to the emotions felt and expressed on V-E Day. Cities, towns, whole communities were lost overnight.Īt the World War II Memorial, 24 bas-relief sculptures recount the progress of United States war effort. Millions of people would lose their lives. However, for two more years battles raged on land, sea, and in the air. With the Nazi war machine checked, there was light at the end of the tunnel. The tide had changed in favor of the Allies after the Soviets held back the German army at Stalingrad, in a bitter five month campaign in 1942-43. It would be another four months before Japan would surrender to the Allies in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, known as “Victory over Japan (V-J) Day.” V-E Day was by no means the end of the war. The following day, May 8, citizens around the world celebrated the news of “Victory in Europe (V-E) Day.” It was the first hurdle on the path to ending World War II. ![]() ![]() The Allied forces of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union had forced the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Mollie Panter-Downes, wrote these words from London on May 7, 1945. “It was like no other day.it had a flavour of its own, an extemporaneousness which gave it something of the quality of a vast, happy village fete as people wandered about, sat, sang, and slept against a summer background of trees, grass, flowers, and water.They were a liberated people.young enough to outlive the past and look forward to an unspoilt future.” The World War II bas-relief panel number 24 depicts the emotions of V-J Day, but it easily translates to the emotions felt and expressed on V-E Day. ![]()
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