Since the great depression. The race to find a vaccine, researchers in south africa are trialing a 100yearold formula that could prove a game changer. In new york, the Health Workers shipped in from outside, to relieve the city overwhelmed by the covid crisis. Welcome to the program. Commemorations have been taking place to mark the end of possibilities hostilities in the second world war. On this day, the germany the german nazis accepted unconditional surrender. Celebrations have been scaledback because of the Global Health emergency, but it has been a day of remembrance and high emotions starting in berlin. The bell rang out across berlin to mark the moment. Germanys present president and chancellor maintained a suitable distance from each other at the central memorial to the victims. They said the ministers needed time to trust the country again and this required emotional understanding of the past. Germanys threat past is a fractured past. That breaks our hearts. That is why i say that this country can only be loved with a broken heart. In britain the Royal Air Force famous display team the red arrows flew over londons landmarks. Two minutes of silence was observed across the country. A poem written about the victory 75 years ago was read by Prime Minister boris johnson. Now the great vision which we dared believe through slow and savage years is all our own. That summit which we wield, we now achieve and certainty deposes the unknown. In france, president Emmanuel Macron led a ceremony at the arc de triomphe. France is under a Strict Lockdown until monday. U. S. President donald trump and the first lady visisited the wod war ii memorial in washington, dc. Following the wreathlaying ceremony, he greeted several veterans from a safe distance. Russia celebrates victory on the ninth of may with international of may. An International Parade was scheduled. There will be a parade at a later date. Gerhard the u. S. Perspective on todays anniversary. I am joined by William Hitchcock , a professor from the university of virginia. May 8 marks the end of the war in world war ii. How is this perceived in the u. S. . It is terribly sololdiers s figg in europe and fighting for democracy through one crucial thing americans understood as the war came to an end, this was a struggle for a way of life. It would not end on may 8 8 through ththe war would conontie in thehe pacific and it would carry on for four or five years until democracy was established. For amamericans itit is known tn and now as the triumph of democracy over fascism. Gerhard it is known now isnt the significance of world war ii and what the u. S. Contributed to it starting to fade from public consciousness because the people who have fought is dying out . Over time, we have lost alalmost all the generation of soldieiers who fought in the second world war. Ththat is bouound to happen. There is a cultural remembrance in the United States about the greatest generation, the privileged generation that was asked to give greatly and crossed the atlantic and fought against tyrannyny. I thinknk whilele we dont havee people around t to tell usus the stories, america h has committtd itself to memorialize the second world war. Museums are arouound the united stes greatat my students, 18 and 19 years old, are fafascinated y it. They wanant to know more about. They are curious abo t the climate of tt time, the politicscs. How americans gave up so much to struggle for othther peoples freedom and libiberation. Therere is a genereration with interest in it and honors sacrifices that were made. Gerhard the u. S. Not only helped defeat the nazis but to build up western germany after the end of the war. You get the feeling this part of history doesnt have much impact on transatlantic relations, if you look at the current administration. We are living in p peculiar times. The waysys in which history is memorized memorialilized and use will vary usedd will vay from generations to generation. Today trump spoke with the russian leader. That is an important recognition of the americansoviet alliance, but then there were 45 years of cold war. It is kind of interesting and tense to reacacout to thehe russian leader. At the same time the world war could not have come to an end without the soviet union fighting against the germans. Every iteration will have its own take generation will have its own takes on these moments of history. I think at balance youou understand what was at stake was freedom and democracy and americans gave up a great deal to fight for it. Gerhard you mentioned every generation has a different take. Right now populist and flirting with dictatorships around the world. Are there any new lessons to be learned from the anniversary . What will they be . There are three the generation of the 30s and 40s and 195950s, americans and europeans, when the Atlantic Alliance was strongest in the 1950s and 1960s, they understood democracy w was frage. It was not automatic and inevitable. A quick collapse and go away. They have seen i it threatenened challenged. They hadad seen fascism gobbleep states in europe and the devastatation of the second word war anand the posost war was enorormous success. The gradual growth of all l f thatat c could go away. That is the crucial lesson. Think about on the day, week ve day, we have to continue to struggle. Gerhard thank you very much for joining us. A pleasure, thank you. Gerhard unemployment in the United States has gone to its highest level since the great depression. More than 20 million americans lost their jobs last month as lockdowns froze the economy. Employment fell in all sectors. Hospitality and leisure were among the hardest hit. Reporter jobhunting during a pandemic. In florida local authorities have set up a drivethrough Unemployment Office to keep up with demand. Lines like this are part of the new normal for more than 20 million americans out of work. The hospitality sector has been especially hardhit, leaving many wondering if they will have jobs to go back to. I thought i it was like a joe or this will last a week and they will l be l like, everythis settling down. I had nono idea it would be two months and still we e have no oa when we will be able to open. Donald trump remains confident about the u. S. s chances of pouncing back. T the number will bouncncg back. The Third Quarter will be very importatant because it is a tranansition. I think you can almost say in transition into greatness. Companies are country are coming under increasing pressure. Jcpenney is consisidering bankruptcy. Lines are growing at food banks like at this one in las vegas as unemployment numbers go to levels not seen since the great depression. Gerhard time for a quick look at the other stories making headlines today. Boeing will restart production of the 737 passenger jet before the end of this month. They had been grounded since march last year after being involved in two crashes which left 346 people dead. Questions over safety have been affecting their bottom line before the business was hit by the impact of the coronavirus. More than 260 people have been killed in Eastern Africa by heavy rain. Kenya, somalia and ethiopia have been it. In india 15 people have died after a train plowed into a group of Migrant Workers who had fallen asleep on the railway tracks. They had stopped to rest while trying to make their way home on foot after losing their jobs because of indias coronavirus lockdown. An outbreak at a Meat Processing plant has turned one spot in germany into a coronavirus hotspot,t, delaying plans to eae restrictions. 150 workers have tested positive, most of them contract workers from Eastern Europe housed in shared flats. This hasas been shut down now. Germany began relaxing lockdown restrictions at the end of april, announcing more steps to open earlier this week. We are now joined by our Political Correspondent who has more information on that story. This is not the only outbreak linked to a Meat Processing plant in germany require these hotspots . In germany. Why are these hotspots . The close living quarters and working quarters these workers are in will have played a role in how the slaughterhouses have indeed become hotspots of the covid 19 virus. And in westphalia that sort of slaughterhouse has been closed. We are expecting to see checks on hygiene standards at the slaughterhouse and accommodation for the workers in the coming days. In the meantime there will be widespread testing in north wind westphalia. That is where this lies. There will be several thousand workers currently working in the slaughterhouses across that state. Gerhard the district has delayed the loosening of restrictions in line with emergency brake grade a grade earlier this week. How does this emergency brake work . This is something that was agreed upon earlier this week between chancellor Angela Merkel and the 16 state premiers when they met to discuss relaxing the restrictions. The rule works on a threshold. It was decided if a district in germany reports more than 50 new cases of covid19 perer 100,000 inhabitants over the past seven days, the stage in which the district lies will be responsible for stepping up restrictions again and tightening. That is what we will see in this district. They were planning on relaxing and easing measures on things like restaurants and shops may 11. Those ezines or relaxations have now been pushed back another week. What we are seeing and the slaughterhouses is a reminder covid19 is still very much among us and that is something Angela Merkel has repeated time and time again. Until there is a vaccine, the coronavirus will be something germany has to live with. That underlines exactly what she was saying earlier this week in which she encouraged germans and people in germany to be cautious as they attempt in the coming days to go back to some sense of normalcy now that these restrictions are going to start being eased. Gerhard our correspondent kate brady. The race to find a vaccine against covid19 is gaining pace in south africa. Hundreds of Health Workers are given a century old tumor does this vaccine to see if it can protect against coronavirus trials. Also underway in other places. This could be a vital weapon against the virus. It is just a small puncture, but it could make a huge impact on tackling the covid19 pandemic. That is thee hope of researcrchs who began a vaccination trial in cape town. The team leader wants to investigate whether the tuberculosis vaccine bcg can reduce t severity y of coronarurus related symptoms. Researchers have experienced positive socalled nonspecific effects of bcg in the past. Babies, adolescents, elderly, there have been a reduction in the number of respiratory trtrat infections in individuals who receive this bcg vaccine versus those who dont. There is a very interesting nonspecific effect. In order to investigate this further, 500 Health Care Workers will receiveve a shot in the comiming weeksks. Half will be given the actual vaccine and the other half, a placebo. Through folollowup phohone cal, the researchers will determine the Health Condition of the participants and the back the effect of the vaccine. It is funded and backed by a Clinical Research centerer in ce town. The ceo says the speed of the results depends on several factors. This will depend on the speed of the epidemic. The more cases we have, the faster it will be to prove the protection and the number of cases we can include so more people we can include, the bigger the chance to find a signal early. T the next thing is to secure funding but they are optimistic. It is not because i expect certain results, but i see a positive energy in my team and positive energy in the health care wororkers we want to vaccinate because of the fact we are trying to do something that might actually work. If it works, a lot of pee could profit area d day dose for 10 people costs little more than two dollars u. S. Lets bring in the school off biochemistry at trinity college, dublin. Months ago you projected this could be the first approved vaccine forr covid19. How did you come to that conclusion . We know it protects against respiratory viruses, it could mysteriously protect. So foror tv which i is a bacter, yet there was evidence againstst the virus. As soon n as covid19 came alon, peopople thought w why not givea go . It has got seven separate trials and we are keen to see the results. Gerhard the World Health Organization says there is no evidence bcg protects against covid19. Hohow hopeful are y you about te trials . Thahat is why the trials are running. We dontt know. We can be cautious for good rereason given thehe previous studies and d the Science Behind it, we are optimistic. It puts up a barrier in your body that bounces off, many germs can bounce off, not jusust tb. The trials have to run. We have got to test it now the proper way. In south africa there are some, in h holland, in australia. Those should give us the answer. Gerhard how dangerous is it if we can our hopes if we pin our h hopes to one sortrt of let field method . There is mamany things beieig tried. We are abobout a year from a vaccine. This couould be a bridge toto te vaccine. The antiviral drugs being tested, this is one of many different approaches. All we have to have happen is one e work and we wi make a difference. This is another shot on gold. D. It i is anototherr go with rease science, but the trials have to be done to see if it will work. Gerhard luke oneill from trinity college, dublin. Thank you rejoining us. Thank you. Gerhard the epicenter of the u. S. Outbreak has been in new york where more than 26,000 have died of covid19 through the virus overwhelmed the citys medical facilities from the start. Large numbers of specialists have been brought in from outside. Jacob is getting ready for his night shift. He grabs a quick coffee, then the ventilation specialist goes back to his hotel to be picked up. He is here because new york could not cope on its own. Out of the entire health care population, we comprise a small percentage grade i could help in a meaeaningful way and i wantedo take full advantage of that to alleviate the situation. 3000 doctors, n nurses and others have come to new york. They work 12 hour shifts without a break. In military fashion they are transported to facilities across the city. He was previously a soldier. He believes it is his duty to serve his country. They are scary in different ways for this is a historic event. I think everybody has to be able to look themselves in the face after they are done and be ok with how they made their way through it. Jacob and others go to queens. They are working in one of the hardest hit facilities, elmhurst hospital. Kind of clearing my head. Going through this can be stressful, but this is worse because there is the added element of going into a hospital in crisis and personal danger. Conditions at the beginning of april were catastrophic. Patients lying and corridors, doctors and nurses without protection gear and out the back refrigerated container for bodies. Things have improved but it is still tough going. He has had a hard night with a high number of people going under ventilators who were already unconscious. Treat them gently as we can pray we tried to talk to them, reassure them. Who is caring for the doctors and nurses . A quarter of them could have been traumatized themselves after seeing so much death and suffering. In his hotel there is a crisis team to help. It is one thing to say i want to help treat it is another thing to say i am great at my job, i know how to save people, then arrive here, and people are dying. They made that mean they were not doing their job effectively. He says he can cope with pressures from working in iraq, but others may not. A lot of times people are ok for a whihile, thenen they show signs of it afterwards great i would encourage anyone who thinks that is happening not to deal with it on their own. They should seek help. A bit of support and comfort comes nonetheless at the end of every shift. Gerhard coronavirus lockdowns have reduced traffic and pollution in most countries. That is helping nature to make a comeback. In thailand rare dolphins and other Sea Creatures are reappearing. Dolphins galore, not far from these islands in thailand. They have surrounded the range. They dont know anything about social distancing or the pandemic, but they are benefiting frorom it. There i is many people and dl of the a activities associated with the people, boat traffic, parties by the beach. When all of this is lifted, the animals carry on. The fisherman recorded the rare pink dolphins. They are around 150 of them living in the gulf of thailand. They very rarely come this close to humans. Nature is making a comeback starting with some of the smallest. These leatherback sea turtles can grow up to 700 kilograms. There are the highest numbers of newborns in over two decades. The largest sea turtles in the world bury their eggs on remote beaches. Go to t the doc area, with their coming up to the shore to lay their eggs. Then thehey move up to the life guarded by the guided by the stars to go to the ocean. This is a group of dugongs. They are huge, shy creatures which flee at the slightest h ht of humankindnd. With no tourists and noise, they like other species are loving the peace and quiet. Gerhard the relaxation of lockton measures in taiwan caused excitement among baseball fans as a sall number could go back to watch the teams play. They have to undergo temperature checks before being admitted while social distancing and wearing masks. The crowds were limited to 1000 people per stadium. Baseball is very popular in taiwan and games have been going on behind closed doors for a number of weeks. Soccer fans desperate to watch live games have been tuning into south koreas k league. It is the first major competition to resume following the lockdown, but there are strict rules, no handshakes and conversations between players and officials are restricted. The coaches have to wear face masks and games are being played behind closed doors. You are watching dw news. You can keep in touch with the news on our what it, dw. Com on our website, dw. Com, and follow us on twitter and instagram. It is dwnews. After a short break, the day. [captioning performed by the nanational captitioning institi, which isis responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org]