VE Day was delayed to keep Stalin happy

by

VE Day was delayed to keep Stalin happy and WWII could have ended 24 hours earlier as papers reveal that Winston Churchill was stopped from sharing news of Germany’s surrender

  • US President Harry Truman wanted to ‘save snarl from Uncle Joe (Stalin)’ 
  • Truman was careful not to ‘rock the boat’ with the USSR during the war 
  • The three leaders instead agreed to announce the win together on 8 May  

By Jim Norton and Ryan Fahey For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

VE Day was delayed to keep Russian dictator Joseph Stalin happy and WWII could have ended a whole day earlier, according to a set of once-secret notes from a war cabinet meeting.  

The notes reveal that Winston Churchill was moments away from delivering the news of Germany’s unconditional surrender to the British people on May 7, but was scuppered by US President Harry Truman, who refused at the last minute ‘to save snarl from Uncle Joe (Stalin).’ 

Instead, the pair waited and agreed with Stalin to declare victory at the same time the following day.   

Pictured: UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill (left), US President Harry Truman (centre), and Joseph Stalin (right) at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, two months after the end of WWII in Europe

This way, none would lose face by being last to announce the landmark event. 

‘Few people are aware how much Truman’s desire to not rock the boat with the USSR played a part in the shifting of the date,’ said Christopher Day of the National Archives, which holds the papers.

Nazi General Alfred Jodl unconditionally surrendered to the Allies Supreme Commander in Europe Dwight D Eisenhower on behalf of the German High Command around 2am on 7 May 1945, ending WWII in Europe. 

WWII as a whole continued until August with military action from the US and the Soviet Union against Imperial Japan. After the Atomic Bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered in August of 1945.    

At first, the leaders of the UK, US and Soviet Union agreed to broadcast the news simultaneously on May 8 – at 3pm in London, 9am in Washington, and 4pm in Moscow. This careful choreography was thrown off course when German high command began broadcasting news of the surrender.

View of revellers, including local young men and women along with soldiers and sailors from Britain's armed forces, celebrating on top of a lorry as it makes its way through Parliament Square in London on VE Day (Victory In Europe Day), 8 May 1945

View of revellers, including local young men and women along with soldiers and sailors from Britain’s armed forces, celebrating on top of a lorry as it makes its way through Parliament Square in London on VE Day (Victory In Europe Day), 8 May 1945

In a telegram, Churchill warned Truman it was ‘hopeless’ to try to keep the news secret for another day and urged him to bring it forward to May 7. The prime minister also wired Stalin, pleading with him to agree. His appeal was dismissed just as he was ready to make the announcement.

In the end, Stalin did not believe the surrender met his requirements and asked his allies to delay by a further 24 hours to May 9, which is still when Russia continues to celebrate victory.

Celebrations this Friday, which has been made a special bank holiday, have been heavily scaled back due to the lockdown.

But the public is still being encouraged to celebrate in their homes and front gardens or at socially-distanced street parties. A two-minute silence will be held at 11am, with the BBC later broadcasting Churchill’s victory speech.

The Red Arrows will perform a flypast over Buckingham Palace, while the Daily Mail has organised for a Spitfire to take to the skies.

And at 9pm, the Queen is set to deliver a message to the nation at the same time that her father gave his address back in 1945.