Introduction: VE Day: Countdown to Peace (03:06)

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German radio announces that Adolf Hitler is dead. This video will examine the last six days of World War II with footage recorded from the period.

VE Day: Minus Seven: Tuesday, May 1st, 1945 (06:48)

Goebbels' children are victims of murder by injection. Footage records the last seven days of WWII. The Soviet Army reaches the gates of Berlin; U.S. veterans liberate prisoners at Dachau.

VE Day: Minus Six: Wednesday, May 2nd, 1945 (04:34)

To escape Allied forces, SS commanders order political prisoners on a death march; hundreds die or are murdered. Those aligned with the Nazi Party commit suicide to avoid prosecution.

VE Day: Minus Five: Thursday, May 3rd, 1945 (04:52)

Portugal flies its flag at half-mast in recognition of Hitler's death; Ireland expresses condolences via the world press. British warplanes sink the SS Cap Arcona while it carries over 5,000 concentration camp victims and prisoners of war. A survivor describes the attack and rescue.

VE Day: Minus Four: Friday, May 4th, 1945 (07:02)

German forces in Holland, Denmark, and Bavaria surrender to Allied Forces. Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders end of war celebration planning. Allied troops force Nazi soldiers to view the atrocities at concentration camps. Soviet troops discover survivors.

VE Day: Minus Three: Saturday May 5th, 1945 (06:07)

German forces surrender in Norway. Officials announce a liberation assault on Prague; a riot occurs at a celebration in Amsterdam. At the Yalta Conference, President Roosevelt, Churchill, and Joseph Stalin agree to divide Europe.

VE Day: Minus Two: Sunday, May 6th, 1945 (06:15)

George Patton's platoon captures southern Czechoslovakia, including Plzen. America lifts curfews and welcomes home troops.

VE Day: Minus One: Sunday, May 7th, 1945 (03:24)

Alfred Jodl signs a declaration of unconditional surrender. Spain severs diplomatic relations with Germany. In Estoril, Prime Minister Antonio de Oliveira Salazar announces he is glad the war is over. Nazi officials are prosecuted for war crimes.

Victory in Europe Day: Monday, May 8th, 1945 (02:12)

Officials announce the declaration of unconditional surrender. London celebrates the end of World War II. Interned Holocaust survivors establish the new state of Israel; East and West Germany are unified in 1990.

Credits: VE Day: Countdown to Peace (01:25)

Credits: VE Day: Countdown to Peace