Prishtina, 8 May 2025
A reception was organized today at the Government Building to mark Victory Day in Europe, on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, on the eve of Europe Day. The caretaker Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, together with the government cabinet, welcomed ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions in our country.
“On the historic occasion of Victory Day eighty years ago, the celebrations marking the end of the fighting spread not only across the continent but around the world. The joy and relief of millions of soldiers and ordinary citizens was understandable, given the staggering human cost of the war. To this day, it remains the deadliest conflict in human history, with around 70–85 million lives lost, over 60% of whom were civilians. In the Holocaust alone, six million Jews and millions of others were killed”, the Prime Minister said at the beginning of his speech.
The Prime Minister said that every attempt to find hope in that catastrophe must focus primarily on the post-war efforts to prevent such a thing from ever happening again.
“Amid the moral ruins of the war, the seeds of peace were sown. The decades following the Second World War saw the founding of major international institutions for human rights, democracy, peace and cooperation”, said Prime Minister Kurti.
He went on to emphasize that, eighty years after the end of the Second World War in Europe, there are signs that we must double our efforts to strengthen and expand these essential institutions by including other democratic states, such as Kosovo. He added that Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine is a continuing threat to peace on our continent, and unlike the Second World War, the threat of aggression now comes from outside our continent rather than from within.
“I have no doubt that we can overcome these threats together. Europe has the resources for defense and the ideas for progress. All that is needed is the will to cooperate and a sense of solidarity. Therefore, on this eightieth anniversary of Victory Day, we are urged not only to remember the past but also to defend the future”, Prime Minister Kurti concluded.
Full speech of Prime Minister Kurti:
His Excellency Ambassador Aivo Orav, Head of the European Union Office in Kosova,
Honorable Ambassadors, Heads of Missions, Chargé d’Affaires, deputy Heads of Missions and representatives of Embassies,
Members of the Government and Parliament of our Republic,
Honorable ladies and gentlemen,
On May 8th, 1945 — nine days after Hitler’s suicide — Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signed the German Instrument of Surrender, bringing an end to World War II in Europe. We are gathered here to commemorate the 80th anniversary of that day, commonly known as Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day, and to express our gratitude to all those who gave their lives to make that victory possible.
On the historic occasion of V-E Day eighty years ago, celebrations marking the end of the fighting spread not only across the continent, but around the world. The joy and relief of millions of soldiers and ordinary citizens was understandable, in light of the war’s staggering human toll. To this day, it remains the deadliest conflict in human history, with an estimated 70–85 million lives lost, over 60% of whom were civilians. In the Holocaust alone, six million Jews, and millions of others, were murdered.
The American philosopher and World War II veteran, John Rawls, understood how difficult it was to make sense of the conflict, and especially the Holocaust. Drawing a sharp contrast with the American Civil War, he remarked: “When Lincoln interprets the Civil War as God’s punishment for the sin of slavery, deserved equally by North and South, God is seen as acting justly. But the Holocaust can’t be interpreted in that way.” The depth and the scale of human evil displayed in World War II was simply too great to be understood in any other way than as an unmitigated moral catastrophe.
Any attempt to find some silver lining in that catastrophe must focus primarily on the postwar efforts to prevent something like it from ever happening again. Amidst the moral ruins of war, the seeds of peace were planted. The decades following World War II witnessed the founding of the major transnational institutions for human rights, democracy, peace, and cooperation. It is especially fitting that the day after V-E Day, on May 9th, we celebrate Europe Day, because some of the most important of these postwar institutions are concentrated on our continent, including the Council of Europe, the European Union, and NATO. Kosova in particular is the perfect setting to celebrate these vital international organizations, all of which we aspire to join. Europe is our continent, Europe is our destiny. Even our national anthem is called “Europe.”
And yet, eighty years after the end of World War II in Europe, there are signs that we must redouble our efforts to reinforce and expand these essential institutions to include other strongly democratic states, like Kosova. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine — a constant menace to peace on our continent — has now entered its fourth year. Unlike in World War II, the threat of aggression comes from outside our continent, not from within. Indeed, the celebration in Moscow today — which Serbia’s president has obediently joined, assuming he doesn’t fall ill again — displays not the pride of victory over Nazism and fascism, nor sympathy for World War II’s victims; rather, it reflects Russia’s nostalgia for marching its army westward into Europe. Relatedly, right-wing extremists pose a growing threat even to Europe’s most established democratic societies. It is no accident that many of these extremists are apologists for Russia and its war crimes in Ukraine. The ideology of neofascism has a natural kinship with the preposterous aggression of today’s Russian Federation.
I have no doubt that we can overcome these threats together. Europe has both resources for protection and ideas for progress. All it takes is the will for cooperation and feeling of solidarity.
And so, on this eightieth anniversary of V-E Day, we are called upon not only to commemorate the past, but to defend the future. For this reason, it has been a priority of the Government I lead, to serve as a beacon and a bulwark of democracy in our region and beyond. Now more than ever, we must all do our part to uphold our common values, both at home and abroad.
Let us therefore raise a glass — in honor of all those who contributed to victory in Europe in 1945, and with shared determination and anticipation of many victories to come.
Thank you!
Last modified: May 15, 2025