European leaders commemorate 60th anniversary of end of WWII

Heads of state and government across Europe on Sunday joined various memorial events marking the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory that ended World War II on the European continent.

In a speech in Margraten, southern Netherlands, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende recalled the determination of European leaders after the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945 to unite to prevent a new war.

They realized, he said, cooperation was the best guarantee of lasting peace.

"European cooperation has brought us 60 years of peace, progress and security," he said. "Time has proved them right."

Swiss President Samuel Schmid paid tribute to the Swiss veterans who were mobilized during the war to combat any possible invasion of the country.

Schmid acknowledged a "difficult" period in Switzerland's history during the War when the country "unfortunately" turned away thousands of refugees, including Jews who were trying to escape Nazi Germany.

The Swiss leaders at that time were "confronting a difficult situation" while Switzerland was entirely surrounded by the German army and its allies, he said.

German President Horst Koehler said in Berlin that Germany must keep alive the memory of the horror of the War brought about by its Nazi leaders.

"We have the responsibility to keep alive the memory of the agony and the its causes, and we must ensure that it never returns. There is no closure," Koehler said in a speech to a special session of the lower house of parliament.

"We Germans remember with horror and shame the Second World War unleashed by Germany and the Holocaust, this breakdown in civilization, for which Germans are responsible, " he said. "We remember the six million Jews who were killed with a fiendish energy."

In London, Prince Charles placed a wreath of blood-red poppies at the Cenotaph memorial in honor of some 260,000 Britons who died fighting Nazi Germany and its allies.

He later joined veterans and serving cavalrymen in a march through Hyde Park.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recalled his personal experiences and the deep scars the War had left on his family.

During an interview with Russia's NTV channel, Putin described how memories of the war shaped his early life, particularly since his grandmother was killed in a shooting incident and an elder brother died of disease.

His mother nearly died of starvation during the 900-day siege of Leningrad, said the president.