Burgess Library: Victory in Europe at 80: Commemorating Peace and Remembrance: Home

Using this Guide and Introduction to VE Day

This guide includes links to books, videos, maps, and other documents sharing information about VE (Victory in Europe) Day and the events leading up to that event.

Dr. Kithcart, a business professor at Spartanburg Methodist College, has a personal connection to VE Day. Her Grandfather was in the 71^st Division in Patton’s Third Army (in the 609^th Field Artillery Battalion). His name is George Tate Lineberry, Private First Class. For more information about the 71st Division, click on "71st Division Materials" on the left side.

8 May 1945 – VE (Victory in Europe) Day – was one that remained in the memory of all those who witnessed it. It meant an end to nearly six years of a war that had cost the lives of millions; had destroyed homes, families, and cities; and had brought huge suffering and privations to the populations of entire countries.

Millions of people rejoiced in the news that Germany had surrendered, relieved that the intense strain of total war was finally over. In towns and cities across the world, people marked the victory with street parties, dancing and singing.

But it was not the end of the conflict, nor was it an end to the impact the war had on people. The war against Japan did not end until August 1945, and the political, social and economic repercussions of the Second World War were felt long after Germany and Japan surrendered.

For a personal perspective of World War II, read the diary here - https://library.smcsc.edu/WWII

To learn more about the holocaust in WWII, visit https://library.smcsc.edu/holocaust

You need to be a SMC student, faculty, or staff member to view the video below. If you need to login, use your SMC username and password. Contact the library if you run into any technical issues.

Content Warning: This pamphlet contains graphic historical photographs taken during the liberation of Nazi concentration camps in 1945. The images document real atrocities and human suffering.. While these photographs serve as vital historical evidence and teaching materials about the Holocaust, they may be extremely distressing to viewers.

Gunskirchen Lager Liberation pamphlet with Photos
Gunskirchen Lager was established in March 1945, very late in the war, and was primarily used to hold Hungarian Jewish prisoners who had been forced on death marches from other camps. The conditions there were horrific - severe overcrowding, almost no food or water, and rampant disease. When U.S. troops from the 71st Infantry Division liberated the camp on May 4, 1945, they found thousands of severely emaciated survivors and many dead.

The American soldiers who liberated the camp documented the terrible conditions they found, and their photographs and testimonies serve as important historical evidence of the Holocaust. Many of the liberating soldiers later reported that what they witnessed there stayed with them for the rest of their lives.