The Silence That Ended World War II
Let Out a Long Breath at Once
"And suddenly all the tension in the room dissipates. It disappears as if everyone had been holding
his breath for a long time and then at the same moment finally let it flow out of their lungs. A general sigh of relief and exhaustion fills the room.
The surrender is confirmed, the war over." That was the moment. Not a cheer. Not an announcement. A sigh.
A room full of generals, diplomats, press, and witnesses — all breathing out at the same moment. Six years of war.
27 million Soviet dead. 6 million Jews murdered. 70 million people killed globally. A thousand-year Reich that lasted 12 years.
Two atomic bombs still coming. And when it was over — when Germany's
Field Marshal put down his pen — the room's response was a collective exhale.
As if the world had been holding its breath since 1939. And finally, in a former schoolroom in Berlin, just after midnight — let it go.
"And suddenly all the tension in the room dissipates. It disappears as if everyone had been holding
his breath for a long time and then at the same moment finally let it flow out of their lungs. A general sigh of relief and exhaustion fills the room.
The surrender is confirmed, the war over." That was the moment. Not a cheer. Not an announcement. A sigh.
A room full of generals, diplomats, press, and witnesses — all breathing out at the same moment. Six years of war.
27 million Soviet dead. 6 million Jews murdered. 70 million people killed globally. A thousand-year Reich that lasted 12 years.
Two atomic bombs still coming. And when it was over — when Germany's
Field Marshal put down his pen — the room's response was a collective exhale.
As if the world had been holding its breath since 1939. And finally, in a former schoolroom in Berlin, just after midnight — let it go.
