Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War
A/RES/59/26
A/RES/59/26
This authority record treats the observance as a fixed annual date. The same month and day can be reused unless a stronger source changes the rule. Public-holiday or government status is never inferred from the observance name alone.
Overview
The Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War is observed on 8 and 9 May. The United Nations invites people and institutions to observe either one or both days in memory of all victims of the Second World War.
The observance is deliberately broad. It recognizes that Member States may maintain their own days of victory, liberation and commemoration while providing an international time for remembrance and reconciliation.
Why it matters
The purpose is not to collapse different wartime experiences into one national narrative. It creates a shared international frame for remembering loss while acknowledging that countries and communities have distinct histories of occupation, resistance, liberation, military service and civilian suffering.
A strong observance keeps remembrance connected to the post-war international order: the General Assembly resolution explicitly links the end of the war with the conditions that led to the creation of the United Nations and its peace-and-security mandate.
History
On 22 November 2004, the United Nations General Assembly adopted A/RES/59/26 on the commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
The resolution declared 8 and 9 May a time of remembrance and reconciliation and invited Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations and individuals to observe annually either one or both days.
The resolution also called for a special solemn General Assembly meeting in May 2005 to commemorate all victims of the war and emphasized that the end of the conflict created the conditions for the establishment of the United Nations.
How the observance developed
This timeline is assembled only from verified provenance fields. Missing stages are omitted rather than inferred.
Cross-regional sponsors of draft A/59/L.28/Rev.2
The United Nations Digital Library identifies Armenia, Belarus, Cambodia, Chile, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Yemen as authors of the revised draft that led to A/RES/59/26.
United Nations General Assembly
A/RES/59/26
What the evidence establishes
Verified institutional roles and milestones are shown first. Fields that the reviewed sources do not establish remain fail-closed and are available below without competing with the confirmed record.
4 fields not established in reviewed sources
Also known as
Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for those who Lost their Lives during WWII
Ways to observe
Use a museum, archive, oral-history project or national memorial source to learn how the war affected civilians as well as combatants.
Compare how different countries mark victory, liberation, surrender or remembrance and explain why their national commemorative dates may differ from the UN’s 8–9 May framework.
Document one local wartime story with source attribution, avoiding unverified family anecdotes when presenting historical claims as fact.
Connect remembrance with the founding purposes of the United Nations by reading the Charter preamble and discussing why the post-war generation emphasized collective security and peaceful settlement of disputes.
Useful facts
The UN Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation is observed on 8 and 9 May.
The General Assembly established the annual observance through A/RES/59/26.
A/RES/59/26 was adopted on 22 November 2004.
The resolution allows Member States to retain their own victory, liberation and commemoration days.
The reviewed sources do not explicitly label a first annual observance date, so that provenance field remains fail-closed.
Topic and context
What this page does not assume
- Keep the source-defined country, community, organizer or institutional scope; do not silently broaden it.
- Do not treat the title alone as proof of government recognition or public-holiday status.
- Do not add a creator, founding story or origin claim unless the supporting evidence establishes it.
- Remembrance Civic Context Care.
Evidence & sources
Repeated links from the authority record, institutional provenance and editorial guide research are consolidated here. Badges show how each source is used; a contextual source is never treated as proof of establishment on its own.
United Nations Digital Library — A/59/L.28/Rev.2 (opens in a new tab)
United Nations Digital Library — A/RES/59/26 (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — List of International Days and Weeks (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — Observances: who chooses them and how (opens in a new tab)
Understand it, compare it, then explore further
Start with the most common factual questions, then use reviewed distinctions and related authority records to understand where this observance fits.
Frequently asked questions
When is Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War?
8 May The stored recurrence guidance is: 8 May.
Does Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War fall on the same date every year?
The authority record classifies it as fixed annual, so its month and day are reusable unless stronger evidence changes the rule.
Is Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War an official public holiday?
The authority record verifies it within this scope: United Nations / international observance. That recognition does not by itself make it a statutory public holiday; the site only makes public-holiday claims when the supporting authority record explicitly does so.
Who established or recognizes Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War?
The reviewed provenance layer identifies United Nations General Assembly as the proclaiming or establishing body. The proposer or originator is recorded separately as Cross-regional sponsors of draft A/59/L.28/Rev.2.
Is Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War international or country-specific?
The record has international or global institutional scope: United Nations / international observance. That does not mean every country treats the date as a public holiday or observes it in the same way.
How is this page verified?
The factual layer is source-backed and keeps its date rule, scope, provenance and editorial guardrails attached to the authority record. This record was checked on 2026-09-05.
When is the UN Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Second World War victims?
The United Nations designates 8 and 9 May, and invites observance of either one or both days.
When did the United Nations establish the observance?
The General Assembly adopted A/RES/59/26 on 22 November 2004.
Does the UN observance replace national victory or liberation days?
No. The establishing resolution explicitly recognizes that Member States may have their own days of victory, liberation and commemoration.
Other observances on May 8
These records also resolve to May 8, 2027 under the current authority data.
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The CdLS Foundation says International CdLS Awareness Day is observed on the second Saturday in May each year and lists the 2026 edition for 9 May.
National Coconut Cream Pie Day
Independent observance calendars identify May 8 as National Coconut Cream Pie Day.
National Dog Mom’s Day
Current pet calendars consistently place National Dog Mom’s Day on the second Saturday in May; the observance is traced to a 2018 launch associated with Dig.
National Give Someone a Cupcake Day
National Today gives National Give Someone a Cupcake Day a fixed May 8 recurrence, and EventGuide independently lists it as an every-May-8 observance.
National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day
A Hesch Firm-issued PRWeb release states the day is celebrated May 8 and says Joel D. Hesch formed the observance in 2018.
National Student Nurses Day
The American Nurses Association states that in 1997 its Board, at the request of the National Student Nurses Association, designated May 8 as National Student Nurses Day.