V-E Day and V-J Day: The End of World War II in Toronto, 1945
V-E Day celebrations, Bay Street May 7, 1945 Photographer: John H. Boyd City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1266, Item 96241
They danced, kissed strangers, waved flags and threw streamers. They crowded outside newspaper offices to hear the latest news, flocked to City Hall, and formed jubilant parades on Bay and Yonge streets. They all celebrated, in their own way, the end of the war.
V-E (Victory in Europe) Day, the end of the conflict with Hitler’s Germany, came first. Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, and in Toronto and all cities in Allied countries, people streamed out of workplaces and schools to start the party. May 8, 1945 was declared the official day of celebration, with the City of Toronto organizing concerts, parades, religious services, and fireworks in the parks.
Three months later came V-J (Victory over Japan) Day, the end of the Pacific conflict with Japan. The news came in the evening of August 14, 1945. Across the city, but particularly in Chinatown, the revelry began again—this time celebrating the final end of six long years of war.
Years later, we remember the war and commemorate its end with this exhibit, featuring images and other materials from the City of Toronto Archives.
V-E Day celebrations May 8, 1945 City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1257, Series 1056, Item 195
V-E Day celebrations, King and Bay streets May 8, 1945 Photographer: E.R. White City of Toronto Archives Series 377, Item (negative) 4636
V-E Day celebrations May 8, 1945 City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1257, Series 1056, Item 197
V-E Day celebrations, Yonge Street north of Queen Street May 7 or 8, 1945 City of Toronto Archives Series 340, Subseries 8, File 50
V-E Day celebrations, looking east on King Street from Bay Street May 8, 1945 Photographer: E.R. White City of Toronto Archives Series 377, Item (negative) 4641
P.C. Harry Carroll at V-E Day celebrations, looking north on Bay Street towards Queen Street May 8, 1945 Photographer: John H. Boyd City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1266, Item 96213
Children celebrating V-E Day May 8, 1945 City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1257, Series 1056, Item 214
V-E Day celebration bonfire, Clinton Street May 7, 1945 Photographer: John H. Boyd City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1266, Item 96253
V-E Day celebrations, Bay Street May 7, 1945 Photographer: John H. Boyd City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1266, Item 96214
V-E Day celebrations, looking north on Bay Street to Queen Street May 8, 1945 Photographer: E.R. White City of Toronto Archives Series 377, Item (negative) 4639
Paper debris from V-E Day celebrations, looking north on Bay Street to Queen Street May 7, 1945 Photographer: John H. Boyd City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1266, Item 96215
Corporal E.B. Jamieson and Private Allan R. Brown bury Hitler in effigy on a front lawn on Gwynne Avenue May 7, 1945 Photographer: John H. Boyd City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1266, Item 96257