German surrender ratified in Berlin; Victory Day observed in the USSR

The Red Army launched an offensive that drove German forces west and brought Soviet troops into central Europe. It advanced the defeat of Nazi Germany while extending Soviet military and political...

Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill met to negotiate postwar arrangements, the occupation of Germany, and the United Nations. Decisions about Poland and Eastern Europe exposed tensions between...

Soviet forces launched their final major offensive against Nazi Germany’s capital. The operation caused heavy military and civilian casualties and brought Soviet occupation power into the center of...

The meeting of Soviet and American forces symbolized the collapse of Nazi Germany’s remaining front. The event represented military cooperation while foreshadowing disputes over occupation, borders,...

The surrender ended organized German resistance in Berlin after weeks of combat. Civilians faced destruction, displacement, sexual violence, and shortages, while Soviet authorities began imposing...

The USSR joined the founding states of the new international organization. Its participation reflected wartime alliance diplomacy and expanded global status, while its domestic system remained...

The Allied leaders discussed postwar Germany, borders, reparations, and the war against Japan. The conference exposed deepening disagreements over the political order in Europe and the exercise of...

The Soviet government announced that it would enter the war against Japan on August 9, citing the Allied declaration and wartime commitments. The move reshaped the final campaign in Northeast Asia and...

Soviet and Mongolian troops launched a major offensive into Japanese-occupied Manchuria. The campaign ended Japanese control in the region and created new geopolitical realities for Chinese, Korean,...

Japan signed the instrument of surrender aboard the USS Missouri. The war’s end did not resolve the political futures of Korea, China, and other Asian territories affected by Japanese empire and the...