There are commemorations today of 75 years since VE Day, the official collapse of the Nazi regime in Europe and end of the Second World War in Europe (albeit that the commemorations are very scaled back from what had been planned). Most people in the country today rely on the stories of over-80s, stories that they heard from people of older generations no longer with us, from the media, or learned in history lessons (!) It was for many a time to celebrate that there would be no more bombing, no more air raids, the beginning of a return to ‘normal’. The post-1945 ‘normal’ was very different from the one that people had known in 1939 – most did not want to go back to the ‘normal’ of the 1930s. They wanted change. There may have been many other feelings and emotions evident that day: those who had lost loved ones, those whose loved ones were prisoners-of-war or missing, those with family still involved in the fighting in the Far East, those wondering how the world could be rebuilt after the horrors of the past 6 years. Maybe we can see some similarities to our situation today, not that we have yet (will ever?) received the total and unconditional surrender of Covid-19
Lord, the Second World War happened a long time ago, though its consequences are still felt. We remember the courage, the determination, the mistakes, the things that were clearer with hindsight. In its aftermath people sought a better world, a world of human rights and a welfare state here. As we look to the future beyond the Covid-19 crisis, give us the vision and determination to create a more just and peaceful country and world