Victory Day

My godmother's harrowing tale of capitulation day.

On May 8th, Germany, along with the rest of Europe, marked the anniversary of the end of World War II. While Europe celebrates this day as a day of liberation, my god mother, Renate, also celebrates the end of incredible hardship; she simply notes the day as "capitulation day.” My godmother has lived in Germany her entire life. We try to FaceTime once a week to catch up on life, food, and whatever’s new. By coincidence, our call that week happened to fall on May 8th. At one point, she leaned toward the screen and asked, “Do you know what I was doing 80 plus years ago today?” I hadn’t really thought about it. Then she launched into a story.