Skopje, 9 May 2026 (MIA) - Today the world marks Victory over Fascism Day. On May 9, 1945, with the signing of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, the Second World War officially came to an end. The war involved 61 countries, with a total population of 2.1 billion people, or 96 percent of the world’s population, and claimed more than 50 million lives. 

The unconditional surrender of the Third Reich was signed in devastated Berlin, just minutes after midnight on May 9. Signing on behalf of the German High Command were Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, General Hans‑Jürgen Stumpff, and Admiral Hans‑Georg von Friedeburg. On behalf of the Allies, the agreement was signed by Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov and British General Arthur Tedder. 

Of the more than 50 million victims, 20 million were from the former Soviet Union, and over 30 million were civilians. 

Around 12.5 million people were killed in Nazi camps, including six million Jews. The material damage from the Second World War in Europe alone was estimated at about US$260 billion. 

In the Far East, the war ended only on September 2, 1945, when Japan capitulated following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a then‑unknown weapon – the atomic bomb. 

During the Second World War, Macedonia stood on the side of the anti‑fascist coalition. According to historians’ estimates, 33.000 people lost their lives in Macedonia in the fight against the fascist occupiers, including more than 7.000 Macedonian Jews who were deported to the Treblinka concentration camp. 

On the occasion of May 9 – Victory over Fascism Day, numerous delegations will lay flowers on Saturday at the monument to Skopje’s liberators in the Government’s courtyard and at the partisan cemetery in Butel. 

MIA file photo