President Harry S. Truman, announcing the surrender of Nazi Germany (May 8, 1945)
THIS IS a solemn but a glorious hour. I only wish that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to
witness this day. General Eisenhower informs me that the forces of Germany have surrendered
to the United Nations. The flags of freedom fly over all Europe.For this victory, we join in offering our thanks to the Providence which has guided and sustained
us through the dark days of adversity.Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have
paid to rid the world of Hitler and his evil band. Let us not forget, my fellow Americans, the
sorrow and the heartache which today abide in the homes of so many of our
neighbors-neighbors whose most priceless possession has been rendered as a sacrifice to
redeem our liberty.
(Source: Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
Read more about Truman and World War II in Don’t Know Much About History and Don’t Know Much About the American Presidents.
