Majority of Germans want national holiday to commemorate defeat in World War II

According to a survey by YouGov, the majority of Germans (53%) want a national holiday to commemorate their country's defeat in World War II. They believe that it is appropriate to remember the surrender of the Nazis on May 8, 1945. In recent years, there has been a growing call for a holiday to celebrate the defeat of the Nazi regime. The far-left party Die Linke believes that Germany was not defeated but liberated, and that antifascism should be celebrated, as many other European countries do every year on May 8. The SPD and CDU also tweet about the "Tag der Befreiung" (Day of Liberation). However, not everyone supports the proposal, with 27% finding it "quite" or "very" inappropriate to commemorate the past in this way.

Vor 78 Jahren wurden Deutschland und die Welt von der Gewaltherrschaft des Nationalsozialismus befreit. Dafür bleiben wir immer dankbar. Der #8Mai mahnt uns: Unser demokratischer Rechtsstaat ist keine Selbstverständlichkeit. Wir sollten ihn schützen und verteidigen - jeden Tag.

— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) May 8, 2023

The far-right party Alternative für Deutschland, for example, believes that it cannot be a "happy day for Germany" as it was a day of "absolute defeat," in which Germany lost large parts of its territory and autonomy. German youth are the most enthusiastic about such a holiday, with 61% in favor. The survey involved more than 14,000 adults.