A million and-a-half Jews fought in the Allied armies during World War II, including those of the Soviet Union, the United States, Poland and Britain.
Israel's President Shimon Peres attended the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow
Here in Jerusalem at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial Defense minister Ehud Barak spoke of his respect for the soldiers that had given their life in the battle to free the world of a Nazi ideology.
"Here at Yad Vashem, at the foot of the monument honoring the fighters and Partisans, we stand tall, with our heads held high, but with an aching heart," Barak said. "A heart that remembers and will not forget the heavy price, the blood of the many thousands and the countless Jewish fighters that flowed in the battlefields until the Nazis were
defeated."
Addressing WWII veterans, Barak went on to say that "the victory over Nazi Germany was a victory in the fateful battle for the future of humanity itself. Without you, Hitler would not have been defeated, and the State of Israel would not have been established."
"You have showed endurance, bravery and courage," he continued. "Your adherence to the task, your hope and spirit are the ones who were victorious. It was your finest hour. In your fighting, you wrote a glorious chapter in the book of Jewish history."
"We all say to you," he said, "the last of the fighters and the Partisans, good for you, and thank you."
