Historical Society, Quincy University to host V-E Day symposium on Saturday

May 7, 2025 | By Muddy River News

After the many deaths during the war in Europe, V-E Day was cause for worldwide celebration. | Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Defense

QUINCY — The Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County and Quincy University are sponsoring “A War Like No Other: The Second World War After 80 Years,” an academic symposium which celebrates V-E Day — the surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied forces on May 8, 1945.

The event is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, in the Quincy University North Campus auditorium, 1901 N. 18th. It will include lectures on various aspects of World War II by six educators. Topics range from the importance of America’s entry into the war to a discussion of the film Oppenheimer which addressed the development of the atomic bomb. The public is invited to attend.

An early bird session will kick off the event at 9 a.m. and include brief presentations by local historians Cleve Barkley, Arlis Dittmer and Beth Young.

Quincy University educators scheduled to speak throughout the day are Justin Coffey, J. Matthew Ward and Wendell Mauter (ret.). Other speakers are Sam Swisher, history department chair at Hannibal-LaGrange University (ret.); Steve Belko, John Wood Community College history and political science professor; and Gregory Carter, instructional assistant professor of history at Illinois State University.

A complimentary lunch will be served. The symposium ends with a panel discussion and a question-and-answer period. There is no charge to attend the event, but registration is requested through the Historical Society Office at 217-222-1835, at givebutter.com/m84Knd or hsqac.org.

Schedule for the day:

9 a.m.-Early Bird Session: Cleve Barkley, In Death’s Dark Shadow; Arlis Dittmer, Lauretta Eno–WWII Nurse; and Beth Young, Camp Ellis
10 a.m.-Justin Coffey: “Why We Do Not Want to Fight: Public Opinion and the American Entry into World War II”
10:45 a.m.-Sam Swisher: “What Made the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor Both Possible and Inevitable”
11:15 a.m-Steve Belko: “The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb”
11:45 a.m.-J. Matthew Ward: “The Shadow of the Bomb: The Film Oppenheimer, World War II and the American Conscience”
1 p.m.-Gregory Carter: “African Perspectives on a Post-Colonial Africa after 1941″
1:30 p.m.-Wendell Mauter: “A New Understanding of the Second World War through Charts, Graphs, Statistics, Pictures and Quotes”
2:15 p.m.-Panel discussion/questions from the audience