The representative of the German High Command and government signed the act of unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces in Europe.

The 8th of May, 1945, was a day of rejoicing in Britain, the United States and many other countries.

Germany had surrendered, and for Europe at least, World War II was over.

Here in London, people celebrated with bunting, bonfires and street parties.

Yet it was not a day of joy for everyone. For the vanquished Germans, May 1945, marked the end of bombings and of Nazi rule,

but it was also a time of deprivation and chaos, fear and soul-searching. Millions of ethnic Germans

from areas now in Poland and Russia had fled from the advancing Soviet forces, the Red Army.

I'm Laura Wolfson, and this is the documentary from the BBC World Service.

I relate closely to the time we're talking about here.

My own German father was 15 when the war ended. In a last-ditch effort of the regime,

he was due to be sent to the front in February 1945. But he contracted a severe knee infection

during a winter boot camp and was laid up for weeks. That infection probably saved his life.

Over the next hour, I'll be hearing the stories of six people

who lived through the end of the war in Germany.

Ordinary people from different walks of life.

Children and adults, men and women, a Nazi and a Jew.

80 years on, only one of the children now over 90 years old is still alive.

All the other voices have fallen silent.

I'll be bringing them to life through readings taken from their autobiographies,

diaries and eyewitness accounts. With one exception,

these have never been published in English before. A boy with a soft, round, childish face,

held himself rigid when the officer I was with asked him if he was in pain.

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