Well, maybe “celebrating” is a little over the top, since the end of the Nazi regime was neither caused by German resistance nor has it been the end of National Socialist structures or fascism in general.
First and foremost we use this day to commemorate the victims of this reign of violence, the politics of war, occupation and extinction: Jews, Romani and Sinte people, people with disabilities, homosexuals, forced workers, dissidents, prisoners of war and many more. In this context “liberation” does not mean the liberation of some dreamed up “poor German people”, but rather the liberation of those who still had been imprisoned in concentration and labor camps, all political persecutees as well as the people in the attacked regions…
Despite our wish for a non-violent and anti-militaristic world, it is also a day to remember the allied forces (although fighting fascism and anti-semitism might not have been their only goal…), antifascist partisans, resistance fighters in concentration camps and ghettos, underground activists etc., who caused German surrender.
As implied above, Nazis have not vanished into thin air after 1945, but rather still live amongst us, not only as participants of rightist and right-wing populist parties but also as pre-school teachers in the kindergarten round the corner. In doing so they can rely on resentments of the so-called “center of society”…
In case you want to show your antifascist attitude, we have a few antifa-products on sale today. Needless to say, this cannot replace a dedicated social analysis and criticism.