Surrender
of Germany |
General Zhukov reads the
German capitulation act.
Also seen is Arthur Tedder,
Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Berlin: May 8, 1945
Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel,
signing the ratified surrender terms for the German Army
at Russian Headquarters
in Berlin-Karlshorst.
National Archives
| By mid-April of 1945, the armies
of Russia in the East and the United States, England and France in the
West were moving toward Berlin. Confronting certain defeat, Hitler committed
suicide on April 30. On May 2 the Soviets entered Berlin, and German forces
in Italy surrendered.
The First Act of Military Surrender - Rheims: May 7, 1945 Eisenhower insisted that the Germans surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviets at the same time. Gen. Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff of the German Army, signed the unconditional surrender of the German Third Reich on May 7, 1945 (which would come to be known as V-E Day, short for Victory in Europe Day), at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), in Rheims, France. At the same time, Jodi signed three other surrender documents, one each for Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Lt. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith, SHAEF chief of staff, led the Allied delegation as the representative of General Eisenhower, who refused to meet with the Germans until after the surrender. The Second Act of Military Surrender - Berlin: May 8, 1945 The Soviet Union's only representative in Rheims was General Ivan Susloparov, the Military Liaison Mission Commander. General Susloparov's scope of authority was not entirely clear, and he had no means of immediate contact with Kremlin, but nevertheless decided to risk signing for the Soviet side. However, he noted that it could be replaced with a new version in the future. Stalin was indeed displeased by these events. He believed that the German surrender should have been accepted only by the envoy of the USSR Supreme command, and insisted the Rheims protocol be considered preliminary, with the main ceremony to be held in Berlin, where Marshal Zhukov was at the time. The second Act of Military Surrender was signed, shortly before midnight, on May 8 in one the outskirts of Berlin. The representatives of the USSR, Great Britain, France and the United States arrived shortly before midnight. After Zhukov opened the ceremony, the German command representatives headed by Wilhelm Keitel were invited into the room, where they signed the final German Act of Unconditional Surrender entering into force at 23:01 Central European Time. The Soviets insisted that the official Act of Military Surrender be signed at Berlin on the following day, and the Americans, based on a prior agreement, participated in that ceremony as well. The documents that the Germans signed in Rheims and Berlin, both of which called for unconditional surrender, ended the war in Europe. |
The First Act of Military Surrender - Rheims: May 7, 1945
ACT OF MILITARY SURRENDER We the undersigned, acting by authority of the German High Command, hereby surrender unconditionally to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command all forces on land, sea and in the air who are at this date under German control.
The German High Command will at once issue orders to all German military, naval and air authorities and to all forces under German control to cease active operations at 2301 hours Central European time on 8 May and to remain in the positions occupied at that time. No ship, vessel, or aircraft is to be scuttled, or any damage done to their hull, machinery or equipment.
The German High Command will at once issue to the appropriate commander, and ensure the carrying out of any further orders issued by the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and by the Soviet High Command.
This act of military surrender is without prejudice to, and will be superseded by any general instrument of surrender imposed by, or on behalf of the United Nations and applicable to GERMANY and the German armed forces as a whole.
In the event of the German High Command or any of the forces under their control failing to act in accordance with this Act of Surrender, the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and the Soviet High Command will take such punitive or other action as they deem appropriate.
Signed at Rheims at 0241 on the 7th day of May, 1945.
FranceOn behalf of the German High Command.
Jodl
In the Presence of
On behalf of the Supreme Commander On behalf of the Soviet
Allied Expeditionary Force High CommandW. B. Smith Sousloparov
F Sevez
Major General, French Army
(Witness)