V for Victory

In the spring of 1941, the BBC called on all listeners across occupied Europe to paint the letter V ('V for Victory!') on walls. It was a way to show their aversion to the Germans. In Dutch, V stood for Vrede (Peace) and Vrijheid (Liberty), in French it meant Victoire (Victory). Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, often gave the V-sign as well, raising and parting the index and middle fingers.

The BBC adopted the letter V as its emblem by starting its broadcasts for occupied Europe with the letter V in Morse code: three short sounds and a long one, dit-dit-dit-dah.

The Nazis tried to turn things around and used the V as a sign that the German battle was going very well. There were banners and posters in the streets with the text: ‘V=Victory because Germany wins for Europe on all fronts.’