LONDON (AP) — Even if the end of World War II in Europe spawned one of the most joyous days the continent ever lived, Thursday’s 80th anniversary of V-E Day is haunted as much by the specter of current-day conflict as it celebrates the defeat of ultimate evil.

Hitler’s Nazi Germany had finally surrendered after a half-decade of invading other European powers and propagating racial hatred that led to genocide, the Holocaust and the murdering of millions.

That surrender and the explosion of hope for a better life was celebrated with parades in London and Paris and towns across Europe while even the leaders of erstwhile mortal enemies are bonding again.

Germany itself again expressed gratitude for the change that May 8, 1945, brought — to the world and to itself.

"It was Germans who unleashed this criminal war and dragged all of Europe with them into the abyss,” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told parliament. "Today, 80 years later, our profound thanks still go to the Allied soldiers and the European resistance movements who mustered all their strength and endured great losses in order to defeat the Nazi regime.”