Commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of May 8, 1945

A very special ceremony is planned this Thursday to commemorate the victory of May 8, 1945, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary. As with all commemorative ceremonies, this one will be held in front of the war memorial opposite the Hôtel de la Collectivité territoriale. It will begin at 11 a.m. with the flying of the colors, followed by the reading of a message from the Union Fédérale des Anciens Combattants by Philippe Laduré, President of the Fédération des Anciens Combattants de Saint-Barthélemy.

Testimony of Philippe Macé
After the reading of the message from the Minister of the Armed Forces (Sébastien Lecornu) and the Minister Delegate in charge of the mémoire et des anciens combattants (Patricia Miralles), the traditional laying of wreaths and a minute's silence, Philippe Macé's testimony will be read. This veteran, a local figure in Saint-Barthélemy and dean of the Federation, shared his memories on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the May 8th victory.
Born in Nancy in 1931 to a Breton father, an organ teacher, and a Lorraine mother, a pianist, the family moved to Paris in 1938. Just before the outbreak of war in July 1939, little Philippe was sent to live with his grandparents in Brittany, before returning to Paris in August 1940. He recounts the years of occupation by the German army, the "bitter cold", the "constant hunger" and the bombings. At the time of the Liberation, he was 13 years old. A long journey followed, taking him to various battlefields (but in the air as a pilot) and then to Saint-Barthélemy. His story will undoubtedly provide a different perspective on the occupation of France by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
The ceremony will conclude with a rendition of the Marseillaise by pupils from the Gustavia school group.
For the record, the surrender of the German army was signed in Reims on Monday May 7, 1945. The following day, another signing took place in Berlin, confirming the surrender of the Third Reich. Japan, Germany's ally, did not officially surrender until September 2, 1945. In France, the law of May 7, 1946 established an annual commemoration on May 8. On March 20, 1953, after years of insistence by veterans' associations, May 8 became a public holiday. In 1959, to promote reconciliation with Germany, President Charles de Gaulle abolished May 8 as a public holiday. In October 1981, President François Mitterrand reinstated May 8 as a public holiday, and incorporated it as such into the French Labor Code.