Allies celebrate Victory Day in Moscow together for the first time in 65 years

65 years after the first Victory Day was celebrated on 9 May 1945, people in the countries of the former Soviet Union, particularly in the formerly occupied republics of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, were out in force enjoying one of their favorite holidays. Traffic disruptions and restricted freedom of movement due to security measures aside, this was particularly true for Moscow, where the main Victory Parade was held, even if Kiev, Minsk and just about every major city traditionally is putting on a parade in its own right.

While the parade on Red Square was an unabashed show of military force and technology for Russia, it at the same time differed in important respects from the usual procedure:

Not only did detachments of honor guards from the former Allies and now NATO members from the United States, the United Kingdom and France march in the Victory Day parade on Red Square for the first time in decades, but they were joined by a further detachment of Polish soldiers. After the plane crash disaster of Smolensk, this is a further significant gesture towards Russian-Polish reconciliation and a recognition of Polish losses during the war and contributions to the Anti-Nazi war effort.

Last but not least, German chancellor Angela Merkel not only attended the Victory Day parade, but also was given a place of honor on Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin's right side. While Russian-German relations have been friendly, constructive and mutually beneficial for years, for Russia to demonstratively stand shoulder to shoulder with the representative of Germany at the Victory Day parade in Moscow is, in historical perspective, perhaps one of the most remarkable achievement of reconciliation conceivable. If one had asked Russians in 1945 about this possibility 65 years in the future, the notion would have seemed laughable or offensive. However, this vision has become a reality through many important steps including the return of the last German POWs in 1955, Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik including his Warsaw genuflection, German society and its government actively and openly dealing with its history and Mikhail Gorbatchev making a peaceful revolution in the GDR and German reunification possible, to name but a few.

If this spirit of unity and reconciliation between the former Allies and Germany can be sustained, it will stand as the truly final victory against fascism and the world war and as a legacy for future generations to uphold.