75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War: CANCELLED

DUE TO COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS THIS COMMEMORATION HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War - six long years of conflict that claimed the lives of 50 million people and helped shape the world we know today.

This significant anniversary gives New Zealand the opportunity to reflect on the devastating impacts of this war on all who endured it. To acknowledge the experiences of all those who served on the front lines and at home. To recall their hopes for the future. To remember the approximately 12,000 New Zealanders who died in the war and honour those few veterans alive today.

New Zealand will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War on 15 August 2020. This date – historically known as VJ Day (or Victory over Japan Day) – marks the day Japan surrendered and the end of fighting in Asia and the Pacific.

A national commemoration will take place at 1pm on Saturday 15 August at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington. We recommend arriving by 12.45pm.

The commemoration will also be live streamed on the Ministry for Culture and Heritage website, and on the Pukeahu Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pukeahu).

Image: Government Film Studios. World War II serviceman embraces a woman after his return to Wellington on the Wanganella. Alexander Turnbull Library, ref: 1/2-066955-F.