Berlin’s streets were quiet this morning, the usual bustle muted under a gray May sky. Eighty years ago, the city was rubble, and the world celebrated the Nazi surrender on Victory in Europe Day—May 8, 1945, for most of the West, May 9 for Russia. Today, as Europe gathered to honor that hard-won peace, the mood wasn’t just solemn. It was uneasy. Donald Trump, three months into his second term, loomed over the ceremonies like a storm cloud nobody could ignore.
In Paris, wreaths were laid at the Arc de Triomphe. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of unity, his voice steady but his words pointed: Europe must “never again let division triumph.” Across the Channel, London’s cenotaph saw a smaller crowd than usual, veterans in polished medals standing shoulder-to-shoulder with MPs. Prime Minister Keir Starmer didn’t mention Trump by name, but his call for “unwavering commitment to NATO” wasn’t subtle. In Warsaw, Polish leaders were blunter. President Andrzej Duda, flanked by military brass, warned that “global stability hangs by a thread” and urged Europe to bolster its defenses.
Why the tension? Trump’s first 100 days have rattled the continent. On February 25, he and Vice President JD Vance held a televised White House press conference that left jaws on the floor. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, standing awkwardly at the podium, faced a barrage of questions from Trump about Kyiv’s reliance on U.S. aid. Vance smirked; Zelensky didn’t. The moment crystallized fears that America’s commitment to Europe—forged in the fires of World War II—might be fraying. A YouGov poll in March showed 78% of Britons, 74% of Germans, and 75% of Spaniards now see the White House as a threat to European peace. That’s not a typo. Three-quarters of Western Europe is spooked.
The numbers tell a story, but so do the whispers in Brussels and Berlin. Trump’s repeated gripes about Europe “free-loading” on U.S. military might have sunk in. On April 16, Germany’s defense minister announced a €19 billion boost to its military budget, the biggest since the Cold War. France and Poland aren’t far behind, with both governments fast-tracking plans to modernize their armies. NATO’s headquarters, usually a bureaucratic maze, has been buzzing with urgent meetings. A senior diplomat, speaking off the record, described this week’s VE Day events as “more like a funeral than a celebration.”
History hangs heavy. VE Day marks the Allied triumph over Nazi Germany, a victory sealed in Reims on May 8, 1945, when Western powers accepted Germany’s surrender. The Soviets, insisting on their own ceremony, signed a separate capitulation in Berlin a day later—hence Russia’s May 9 commemoration. That old East-West split feels eerily relevant now. Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on, and Trump’s ambiguous stance—praising Putin one day, dodging questions about NATO the next—has Europe on edge. If the U.S. steps back, leaders fear they’ll face Moscow alone for the first time since 1945.
In Moscow, VE Day was marked with predictable pomp. President Vladimir Putin, standing in Red Square, called the Allied victory “a shared heritage” but spent more time railing against “Western hegemony.” His words barely registered in Europe, where leaders were too busy parsing Trump’s latest moves. On May 2, the White House announced a review of U.S. troop deployments in Europe, sending shudders through NATO’s eastern flank. No decisions have been made, but the message was clear: America’s priorities might be shifting.
Back in Berlin, a small crowd gathered at the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park. An old man, hands stuffed in his coat, muttered about “new wars brewing.” He wasn’t alone in his worry. From Lisbon to Tallinn, Europe marked VE Day with parades and prayers, but the ghosts of 1945 weren’t the only ones stirring. Across the Atlantic, a familiar figure in a red tie was setting the agenda—and Europe couldn’t look away.
The ceremonies ended as dusk fell. In Brussels, NATO flags stayed at full mast. Germany’s new defense funds were approved on May 3. Poland’s military modernization plan, unveiled April 20, aims to double its tank fleet by 2030. France’s €413 billion defense budget, locked in last month, prioritizes cyberwarfare and drones. The YouGov poll was conducted March 10-15, sampling 12,000 adults across six European nations.