World War II ended in victory and so will the fight against virus

The first tragedy is the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, which is still working its way round the world and also here in Northern Ireland causing deaths and heartbreak in numerous care homes.

The second tragedy is the memory of the Second World War, which was the most destructive conflict in human history. Estimates of the global dead are 50 million or so.

Yesterday, however, it was perhaps the finest point in that war that was remembered: the joy of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany 75 years ago (unfettered joy had to wait until August, when Japan did the same).

That glorious May day was remembered across the UK yesterday. Celebrations did not take the form they would have done, due to the health crisis and social distancing. In this though, the human spirit shone through. Veterans, celebrities, politicians and the public cheerfully adapted to the new dispensation, marking the day by video link or standing well apart in small gatherings.

The News Letter has reported on wars since the very day we launched in 1737, when several European conflicts were ongoing. There has never been a period of such relative peace as the last 75 in our 283 years of publishing.

That is proof of progress, as are the leaps in medicine that have helped many of the war generation still to be alive and well in 2020 and that will defeat the awful Covid-19.

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