Yesterday, May 8, many countries around the world marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) is being commemorated by celebrations and events to honor veterans and remember the end of the war. In the United Kingdom, four days of festivities include a military procession, a flypast over central London, and 2,500 beacons being lit across the country. People are also holding parties in streets, gardens, town halls, clubs and pubs, exactly as happened 80 years ago.
It was on May 8, 1945 that the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany after almost six years of war. Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, had committed suicide a week earlier, on April 30, during the Battle of Berlin, and Germany’s surrender was authorized by his successor, Admiral Karl Donitz. Spontaneous celebrations immediately erupted across much of the world to mark the end of the European part of the war.
As those celebrations are now replicated, 80 years later, there’s an opportunity to make connections with the current geopolitical situation. History frequently grants insights into contemporary issues. What is certain right now is that our rapidly changing and increasingly unstable world is in desperate need of some historical perspective. Looking back to the world of 80 years ago, there are lessons and warnings in abundance for our more sophisticated, more advanced, but equally vulnerable times.
For example, many in the West have been brought up to believe that democracy is a magic bullet that will protect them from the sort of extremism that was rampant in the years leading up to World War II. The reality, of course, is that democracy is what brought Hitler to power.
In the 1932 legislative elections in Germany, the Nazi party attracted 37.3 percent of the electorate, making it the largest party in the Reichstag, though short of an absolute majority. The Social Democrats trailed with 21 percent, the communists had 14 percent, and a range of minority centrist and right-wing political parties filled the remaining seats. Traditionally, the leader of the party with the most seats was appointed as chancellor. Although president Paul von Hindenburg was initially reluctant to follow this tradition because of Hitler’s divisive, hate-filled politics, he ultimately felt obliged to acquiesce and in January 1933 formally appointed Hitler as Germany’s new chancellor. Within 18 months, Hitler had eliminated his political opponents, vested his position of chancellor with emergency powers and, following Hindenburg’s death, merged the chancellery with the presidency, taking on the supreme title of Fuhrer.
This is a salutary lesson for those in the West who may be complacent about the security of their democracies. In Europe, minority or coalition governments abound under proportional representation voting systems and are always vulnerable to the sudden rise of an extremist party. In the UK, the first-past-the-post voting system is equally vulnerable, allowing parties with minority support to gain a disproportionate number of seats. In the 2024 general election, the Labour Party under Sir Keir Starmer won 63.2 percent of the seats in Parliament’s House of Commons, having attracted just 33.7 percent of the votes — a lower percentage than Hitler’s in 1932.
Right-wing populism, now in the ascendancy in much of the West, is undoubtedly reminiscent of some of Hitler’s key characteristics — anti-liberal ideology, targeting minority groups, racial bigotry, and the cult of the strong leader. Clearly, we should never lightly dismiss the ancient Greek philosopher Plato’s assertion that all democracies end in tyranny.
Another lesson from World War II, very much associated with the warning about democracy, is the danger of promoting nationalism rather than internationalism. The clear message of history is that stoking the fires of nationalism doesn’t end well. Both world wars were the result of rampant nationalism. If history tells us anything, it’s that a collaborative, cooperative, internationalist approach to the world’s problems is the only sane way forward.
The 80th anniversary of VE Day is a cause for celebration, but don’t be under any illusion that this victory doesn’t still need to be defended
Free trade, rather than protectionism, is very much a part of this internationalist approach. Although the emphasis in the case for free trade is invariably focused on the economic benefits of cooperation, there is also an important political dimension. Early proponents of free trade in the 19th century firmly believed that it promoted peace. The French economist, Claude-Frederic Bastiat, famously claimed that “if goods don’t cross borders, soldiers will”. This judgment was based on three arguments. First, free trade promotes international goodwill and an exchange of cultures, helping to humanize the people you trade with. As the American economist Julian Adorney put it, “it’s tougher to want to go to war with your human trading partners than with a country you see only as lines on a map”. Second, free trade interconnects economies and gives nations an economic incentive to avoid the disruption of war. Third, free trade prevents the hostility generated by protectionism. As we are now seeing with US tariffs, deliberately hurting other countries’ economies creates hostility, engendering nationalist feelings that markedly increase the chances of a real war.
These arguments in favor of free trade were studiously ignored by Hitler in the 1930s. In his first month as chancellor, in February 1933, he promoted the imposition of tariffs. Three years later, in 1936, he appointed Hermann Goring as minister of economics, charging him with the protectionist task of slashing imports and making Germany self-sufficient. Linked to this were Hitler’s ideas of “Lebensraum”, a policy of expanding German territories eastwards in pursuit of coveted raw materials, including oil and grain.
Lessons can again be learned for our modern times. The economic and political dangers of abandoning free trade, imposing tariffs and coveting the resources of other countries are another focus for reflection on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
As we mark this momentous day, we need to be clear-eyed about its significance. Of course, it’s appropriate to celebrate the end of such a long and brutal war, to honor those who fought against Nazism, and to remember man’s inhumanity to man. It’s also appropriate to mirror the celebratory spirit of the millions of people euphoric that such an all-consuming, destructive war was finally over. However, we shouldn’t for one minute assume that the evils behind the war have been vanquished for good. World War I was described as the war to end all wars. It clearly wasn’t. Equally, World War II was a victory over the evils of Nazism, but it doesn’t mean those evils won’t return.
The current revival in many Western countries of right-wing populism, racial and anti-immigrant bigotry, and the cult of the strong leader are all reminiscent of the 1930s. So too are the resurgence of nationalist rhetoric, the decline of internationalism, and the weakening of free trade. All these factors contributed to the outbreak of World War II. They were all condemned at the end of the war but 80 years later they are making a comeback. The 80th anniversary of VE Day is a cause for celebration, but don’t be under any illusion that this victory doesn’t still need to be defended.
The author is a British historian and former principal of Sha Tin College, an international secondary school in Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
