On VE Day, remember the war – but can we resolve to honour all who fought in it? | Gary Younge

The 80th anniversary of VE Day promises to commemorate the defeat of the Nazis with all due pomp and ceremony.

But at a moment when fascism is once again a mainstream ideology on the continent, it offers a timely opportunity to reflect on what this victory meant for those who lived not in, but under Europe ; how many of those who fought have been written out of the story; and why it matters now.

As controversial as this sounds now, it was openly stated back then that the freedom these Black and brown soldiers fought for did not apply to them.

In 1941 , Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt produced the Atlantic charter championing “the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they live”.