--- description: At the news that the war in Europe was over, revelers took to the city streets to mark the occasion title: See Photos of Jubilant V-E Day Celebrations in New York City image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc75f9ee9136699f/6987ed68cd1bba109c6f932a/150428-v-e-day-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Photos of Jubilant V-E Day Celebrations in New York City  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. May 8, 2015 12:00 PM CUT  Caption from LIFE. A "Hitler," who is really Bill Eckert of Merchant Marine with hair over his eyes, is throttled by celebrating passers-by. Caption from LIFE. A "Hitler," who is really Bill Eckert of Merchant Marine with hair over his eyes, is throttled by celebrating passers-by.Tony Linck—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. May 8, 2015 12:00 PM CUT When news came on May 7, 1945, that the Nazis had surrendered and the war in Europe was over, cities across the globe played host to raucous celebrations. The original V-E Day, or Victory in Europe Day—which is commemorated on May 7 in Great Britain and Commonwealth territories and on May 8 in the U.S.—was particularly colorful in New York City. And though the photographs LIFE captured are in black and white, they pulse with the energy of revelry. LIFE described the mood in Manhattan: --- > “” --- The war, of course, would continue in the Pacific until the surrender of Japan that August, following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But for one day, at least, revelers would celebrate this critical milestone. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk "undefined")_._  Caption from LIFE. Some 500,000 celebrants swarm into Times Square the morning of May 7 after the A.P. announcement that Germany had surrendered. Over a public-address system Mayor Laguardia told all to go home or return to their jobs. Herbert Gehr—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. A "Hitler," who is really Bill Eckert of Merchant Marine with hair over his eyes, is throttled by celebrating passers-by. Tony Linck—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. On top of a traffic light another celebrant perches precariously, waving an American flag and a paper telling of Nazi surrender. Tony Linck—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. A Hitler dummy, with dagger in its heart and a Japanese flag on its chest, is exhibited on Eighth Avenue lamppost. Fritz Goro—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Torn paper flutters downward to plaza in Rockefeller center. Tony Linck—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  A celebratory kiss on the cheek during V-E Day celebrations in New York City. Tony Linck—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In Wall Street ticker tape fell on crowds below. All vehicular traffic was shut off outside Stock Exchange. Stocks reacted by closing slightly lower on the day's trading. Andreas Feininger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  People read newspapers telling of Nazi surrender during V-E Day rally. Andreas Feininger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Vendor selling American flags amidst the gathering crowd in Times Square to celebrate news that the war in Europe has ended. Tony Linck—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  V-E Day celebrations in New York City. Andreas Feininger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  V-E Day celebrations in New York City Andreas Feininger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The clean-up. Andreas Feininger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Nighttime crowd in Times Square celebrating end of the war in Europe in front of lighted replica of the Statue of Liberty. Tony Linck—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3839303/v-e-day-celebrations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3839303/v-e-day-celebrations/"},"headline":"See Photos of Jubilant V-E Day Celebrations in New York City","datePublished":"2015-05-08T12:00:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:19.398Z","description":"At the news that the war in Europe was over, revelers swarmed city streets to celebrate","url":"https://time.com/3839303/v-e-day-celebrations/","keywords":["New York","photography","World War II","LIFE Magazine","1945"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc75f9ee9136699f/6987ed68cd1bba109c6f932a/150428-v-e-day-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc75f9ee9136699f/6987ed68cd1bba109c6f932a/150428-v-e-day-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"VE Day celebrations in New York City","caption":"A \"Hitler,\" who is really Bill Eckert of Merchant Marine with hair over his eyes, is throttled by celebrating passers-by.","creditText":"Tony Linck—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3839303/v-e-day-celebrations/","name":"See Photos of Jubilant V-E Day Celebrations in New York City"}}]}] ```