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How do the Germans and other nations once belonging to the Axis celebrate this day?
Unfortunately, they could not possibly celebrate it with the same degree of passion that we do, for when we celebrate we not only remember, but we thank too. We remember and thank those who laid their lives down for our nation, for the purpose of good to rise above evil. But unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the German veterans... Of course, the former axis nations can still remember for the sake of not forgetting, and can still thank the allies for releasing their nation from the grips of angst and terror, however, there most be a level of personal anguish for these people that they cannot thank their own veterans, just merely remember them as "those poor souls" who were brainwashed to lay down their lives for evil. Surely they cannot view their veterans as heros as we do ours, but by the same token, there must be some sort of emotional conflict if they were to thank our veterans for killing theirs (because, in essence and without frill, that is how the war was won). How must it feel for a German who lost his great-grandfather in the war to thank an allied soldier who possibly killed him? Of course, logic dictates that it was done for the best of all, but surely it cannot hold the same weight in gratitude that we do when we thank our veterans...