The Times Square Kiss, 1945

“V-J Day in Times Square”, New York, August 1945.

© Alfred Eisenstaedt / Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images.

New York, August 14, 1945. Americans celebrate the surrender of Japan, which marks the end of World War II. A young sailor shows his happiness by vigorously kissing a stranger. Alfred Eisenstaedt immortalized this strong moment, not as romantic as one might imagine.

This passionate kiss, in broad daylight, in the middle of a crowd, in the heart of Manhattan! Too much? On August 14, 1945, in Times Square, where the announcement of the surrender of Japan was announced, it was time for enthusiasm. New York's most popular gathering place draws two million people to celebrate the victory, and this embrace will become considered as a wildly romantic image of the end of WWII.

When the photo was published in “Life” in 1945, the identity of the couple was unknown. Over the years, many suitors have come forward, but the mystery will not be fully resolved until 2012, with a book that identifies George Mendonsa and Greta Zimmer Friedman as the two lovebirds. The sailor on leave first toured the bars with his future wife, Rita - who appears in the photo behind him. Tipsy from all the alcohol, he hugs all the women he meets. George does not know Greta Friedman, who is not a nurse like many thought, but a dental assistant. He finds her beautiful, throws himself on her and kisses her greedily.

“I didn't choose to be kissed,” she said. The guy came over and he squeezed me" She added that she did not desire the embrace, but had tolerated it, coming from a soldier celebrating the news of the end of the war. Rita, George's wife, said in more than half a century of marriage, her husband had never kissed her like this.

So the kiss of victory that has touched us all had in reality been imposed, stolen. In fact, there is nothing romantic about it. It would even amount to sexual assault today.