Thursday will be the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day. In the run-up to the commemorations, most European countries are holding several days of solemn remembrances and self-congratulatory displays of patriotism.
In the Netherlands, the celebrations climaxed today with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of that country on May 5, 1945. Speaking at that commemoration, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk gave a passionate address calling for unity between Europe and the U.S.
“The experience gained 80 years ago tells us that only when (we) stand together can we overcome,” Tusk said.
He added, "In the face of the threat posed by (President Vladimir) Putin’s Russia, we need to deepen our European and transatlantic life, and we need genuine solidarity.”
Even 80 years ago, there were serious divisions between the U.S., the British, the Russians, and the French, who each had their own ideas on how to end the war and, just as importantly, who would get credit for winning it.
In fact, the treaty ending the war was delayed more than 24 hours when Russia balked because it didn't feel it had received enough recognition for its "patriotic dead." Eventually, they agreed to end the war even though the conflict may not have even started without the Soviet Union's treachery in signing the Nazi-Soviet Pact on August 23, 1939. Stalin was Hitler's faithful ally until the Nazis invaded Russia on June 22, 1941.
That inconvenient truth won't be mentioned in Moscow during these celebrations.
In the Netherlands, everyone was all smiles as the nonagenarians who fought and won a war against the most powerful military machine of the age were honored.
Like Tusk, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans used the occasion to call for renewed efforts to nurture peace.
“War and aggression are back in Europe and it is up to us to protect peace,” he said.
Events across Europe marking the end of the 1939-45 war come as the traditional friendly links with the United States, whose forces helped liberate the Netherlands and much of the continent, are fraying. The European Union and the administration of President Donald Trump are now embroiled in a trade war.
The festivities seem muted. The politicians are making all the right noises about unity, but they ring hollow when you consider how far they must go to reach a point where they can defend themselves.
In World War II, Great Britain fought alone for more than two years. It goes without saying that the spirit that animated their grandfathers and great-grandfathers to defend the nation from an existential threat is absent today. The spirit that defined that generation of Europeans is gone because they've lost the belief in the goodness and righteousness of their civilization.
No one dares say that their civilization is superior to others, even if, by most historical measures, it is. The left has done its work well in draining the Europeans of any measure of pride. If invaded today, would many European nations even put up a fight?
I'm sure there are sizable numbers of British, French, and Dutch who would fight and fight hard today. But when you grow up being told how evil you are, it takes something out of society that is nearly impossible to get back: self-confidence.
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