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German Surrender Act

Who signed the German Surrender Act?

Germany's act of surrender ended World War II in Europe. The final text was signed in Karlshorst (Berlin area) on the night of May 8, 1945 by representatives of the three types of troops of the High Command of the German Armed Forces on the one hand and the Allied Expeditionary Forces, together with the Supreme Commander of the Red Army, on the other. Representatives of France and the United States signed the document as witnesses. More early version The text was signed during a ceremony in Reims in the early hours of May 7, 1945. In the West, May 8 is known as Victory Day in Europe, and in the post-Soviet states, Victory Day is celebrated on May 9, since the final signing took place after midnight Moscow time.

There were three versions of the document of surrender in different languages. Only Russian and English versions are authentic.

Preparation of the text of the Act of Surrender of Germany

The preparation of the text of the Act of Surrender was started by the representatives of the three allied powers: the USA, the USSR and the United Kingdom - in the European Consultative Commission (EAC) during 1944. By January 3, 1944, the EAC Security Committee proposed that Germany's defeat be recorded in a single document of unconditional surrender. In addition, the Committee proposed that the Instrument of Surrender be signed by representatives of the German High Command. The reason for this recommendation was the desire to prevent the situation with the "legend of a stab in the back", created in Germany after the defeat in the First World War. Since the Instrument of Surrender in November 1918 was only signed by representatives of the German civilian government, military leaders subsequently argued that High Command The German army did not bear any responsibility for this document.

Not everyone agreed with the Committee's predictions regarding the end of the war. Ambassador William Strang, British Representative to the EAC, argued the following:

At the present time it is impossible to foresee under what circumstances hostilities with Germany might finally be stopped. Therefore, we cannot say which regimen of the procedure will be the most suitable. Would a full and detailed truce be considered optimal, for example, or would a shorter truce granting basic powers be preferred, or perhaps not a general truce but a succession of local capitulations by enemy commanders.

The terms of Germany's surrender were first brought up for discussion at the first meeting of the EAC on January 14, 1944. The final text was agreed on July 28, 1944. After it was accepted by the three allied powers.

The agreed text consisted of three parts. The first part contained a brief preamble: "The Government and High Command of Germany, accepting and recognizing the total defeat of the German armed forces on land, sea and air, hereby announce the unconditional surrender of Germany."

The Act of Surrender itself consisted of fourteen articles. The second part (Articles 1 to 5) concerned the military surrender on behalf of the high command of all forces on land, sea and air, the surrender of weapons and the evacuation of the military from all territories outside the German borders at the time of December 31, 1937, as well as the procedure for surrender in captivity. The third part (Articles 6 to 12) was related to the transfer by the German government of almost all of its powers and authority to Allied representatives, the release and repatriation of prisoners and forced laborers, the cessation of radio broadcasting, the provision of intelligence and other information, the non-destruction of weapons and infrastructure, the responsibility of Nazi leaders for war crimes, as well as with the right granted to Allied representatives to issue proclamations, orders, directives and instructions covering "additional political, administrative, economic, financial, military and other demands arising from the total defeat of Germany". The key article in the third part was article 12, which implies that the German government and German command will fully obey any orders, orders and instructions of accredited Allied representatives. In the understanding of the Allies, this gave unlimited possibilities for imposing measures to ensure restitution and compensation for war losses. Articles 13 and 14 determined the date of surrender and the languages ​​in which the final text was recorded.

The Yalta Conference in February 1945 led to the further development of the terms of surrender. It was decided that post-war Germany would be divided into four occupation zones for administration: British, French, United States and Soviet respectively. In addition, separately at Yalta, it was agreed that in July 1944 an additional clause 12a would be added, providing that the representatives of the Allies "may take measures that they consider necessary to ensure future peace and security, including complete disarmament, demilitarization and dismemberment Germany". France, however, did not participate in the Yalta Agreement, which created a diplomatic problem, since the formal inclusion of an additional clause in the text of the EAC would inevitably require France to be equally represented in any dismemberment decisions. Until this issue was resolved, there were actually two versions of the text of the EAC: one that included a clause on dismemberment, and the second without it. In addition, by the end of March 1945, the British government began to doubt that when Germany was completely defeated (which was necessary condition to agree on the Act of Surrender), it will retain some institution civil authority capable of signing the instrument of surrender and complying with its provisions. It has therefore been suggested that the text of the EAC be reworked into a unilateral declaration by the Allied Powers of victory over Germany, assuming supreme power allies over the former German state. It was in this form that the text agreed to by the EAC was finally enshrined as the Declaration of Defeat for Germany.

At the same time, the Allied Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed in August 1944 on general recommendations for local military formations to be followed upon surrender. Surrender was to be unconditional and concerned only military aspects, no agreements were to be made with the enemy. Moreover, the partial surrender was not to be in conflict with any subsequent instrument of surrender which might subsequently be concluded by the three Allied Powers in respect of Germany. These principles formed the basis of a series of partial capitulations. German troops to the Western Allies in April and May 1945.

The text compiled by the EAC was not used when the Germans signed the acts of surrender in Reims and Berlin. Instead, a simplified version was used, relating only to military operations, based on the wording of documents on the partial surrender of German troops in Italy, signed in Caserta. The reasons for this substitution are still a matter of dispute. It could be due both to the doubt that the German signatories would agree to the provisions of the full text, and the ongoing uncertainty associated with the discussion of the provisions for the dismemberment of the country. But this meant that the text signed in Reims was not agreed in advance with the Soviet command.

Surrender of German troops

On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in the bunker of the Berlin Chancellery, having previously made a will, according to which Admiral Karl Dönitz was appointed Hitler's successor as head of state and received the title of President of the Reich. But with the fall of Berlin two days later, when American and Soviet forces united at Torgau on the Elbe, the German territory hitherto under German military control was divided in two. In addition, the speed of progress allied forces in March 1945 - along with Hitler's insistent orders to fight to the last - led the surviving German military to remain in isolated pockets in the occupied territories, mostly outside of pre-Nazi Germany. Dönitz tried to form a government near the Danish border at Flensburg. There, on May 2, 1945, he was joined by the Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht, Wilhelm Keitel, who had previously moved to Krampnitz (near Potsdam) during the Battle of Berlin, and then to Rheinsberg.

By the time of Hitler's death, the German armed forces remained in the following territories:

the Atlantic pockets of La Rochelle, St. Nazaire, Lorient, Dunkirk and the Channel Islands; the Greek islands of Crete, Rhodes and Dodecanese; southern Norway, Denmark, western Holland, northern Croatia and Italy; Austria; Bohemia and Moravia; the Courland peninsula in Latvia and Hel in Poland; and also in German territory: to the northwest, towards Hamburg, next to the British and Canadian forces; in Mecklenburg, Pomerania and the besieged city of Breslau, next to the Soviet troops; in southern Bavaria towards Berchtesgaden, next to the American and French forces.

How Nazi Germany Surrendered

German troops in Italy and Western Austria

German military leaders in Italy were in secret negotiations for a partial surrender. The agreements were signed at Caserta on 29 April 1945 and were to come into force on 2 May. Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, commander-in-chief of Army Group South, initially refused to surrender, but once Hitler's death was confirmed, he agreed to it.

German troops in northwestern Germany, Holland and Denmark

On May 4, 1945, German troops, acting on instructions from the Dönitz government, in the face of the British and Canadian 21st Army Group, signed the act of surrender at Lüneburg. The act came into force on May 5.

German troops in Bavaria and southern Germany

On May 5, 1945, all German forces in Bavaria and Southwest Germany signed an act of surrender to the Americans at Haar near Munich. The act came into force on May 6.

Reasons for surrender in Caserta were formed within the German military command. But from May 2, 1945, the Dönitz government took control of the process, pursuing a deliberate policy of successive partial capitulations in the west. This was done in order to gain time and relocate more military formations in westbound to rescue them from Soviet or Yugoslav captivity and allow them to surrender to the British and Americans. In addition, Dönitz hoped to continue to evacuate soldiers and civilians by sea from the Hel Peninsula and its adjacent Baltic coastal regions. Dönitz and Keitel were strongly opposed to any orders for surrender to the Soviets. This was due both to unrelenting anti-Bolshevism and the fact that they could not be sure of providing legal protection for prisoners of war.

After a series of partial capitulations at the front remained following groups armies (except those that were closed on the islands and in the fortress ports): the Ostmark army group, which opposed the Soviet troops in the eastern part of Austria and Western Bohemia; Army Group E, which faced Yugoslav forces in Croatia; the remnants of the Vistula Army Group, which opposed the Soviet troops in Mecklenburg; and Army Group Center, which opposed Soviet forces in eastern Bohemia and Moravia. From 5 May Army Group Center was also involved in the brutal suppression of the Prague uprising. The occupying German army, consisting of about 400,000 well-equipped soldiers, remained in Norway under the command of General Franz Böhme. In the early morning of May 6, the general in Sweden was contacted by a German minister to determine whether the occupying army should go for a partial surrender, requesting the role of mediator from neutral Sweden, but the general was unwilling to carry out any order other than a general surrender order from the German High Command. In the West, on almost all fronts, it was possible to stop hostilities between the Western Allies and German troops. At the same time, in its radio orders, the Dönitz government continued to oppose German surrender Soviet troops in Courland, Bohemia and Mecklenburg. trying, moreover, to cancel the ongoing surrender negotiations in Berlin and Breslau. German troops in the east were ordered to retake the path to the west. Knowing that if this continues, Soviet command suspect the Western allies of wanting to conclude separate peace(however, this was Dönitz's intention), Eisenhower decided that the Allies would no longer agree on any partial surrenders, and instructed the Dönitz government to send representatives to the headquarters of the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Reims to agree on the terms of the general surrender of all German troops simultaneously to all the Allied Powers.

Act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany

Dönitz's spokesman, Admiral Friedeburg, informed him on May 6 that Eisenhower now insisted on "immediate, simultaneous and unconditional surrender on all fronts." General Jodl was sent to Reims to try to convince Eisenhower, but he did not go to any discussions and at 9.00 pm on May 6 announced that if complete surrender was not carried out, he would close the British and American front and resume the bombardment of held German positions and cities. Jodl telegraphed this message to Dönitz. He responded by allowing Jodl to sign the act of unconditional surrender, subject to negotiations on a 48-hour delay in the entry into force of the act, apparently in order to have time to bring the surrender order to the attention of the German military units on the outskirts.

Consequently, the first Instrument of Surrender was signed at Reims on 7 May 1945 at 02:41 CET. The signing took place in the red brick building of the Technical College of Reims, which served as the headquarters of the Supreme Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. It was due to enter into force on 8 May at 23:01 CET (one minute after midnight BST), 48 hours after the start of final negotiations.

The document on the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces by the Supreme High Command was signed by Jodl. On behalf of the Supreme High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Force, the document was signed by Walter Bedel Smith, and on behalf of the Soviet command, Ivan Susloparov. Major General Francois Sevez signed the act as an official witness.

Eisenhower continued negotiations with General Headquarters of the USSR Supreme High Command Alexei Antonov. By order of Antonov, General Susloparov was seconded to the headquarters of the High Command of the Expeditionary Forces to represent in the surrender negotiations Soviet Union. The text of the Act of Surrender was telegraphed to General Antonov in the early hours of May 7, but by the time of the surrender ceremony, the Soviet Union had not agreed on the text of the Act and did not officially authorize General Susloparov to sign the Act as a representative of the Soviet command. Therefore, Eisenhower agreed with Susloparov that the German emissaries should sign a separate document stating that authorized representatives of each of the German armed forces would be present at the official ratification of the act of surrender at a time and place to be appointed by the Allied High Command.

Commitments made by German emissaries to the Allied High Command

The German emissaries signed an agreement that the following German officers would arrive on site at a time appointed by the Supreme Command of the Allied Expeditionary Force and the Soviet Command, ready and authorized to sign on behalf of the German Command the formal ratification of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the German Armed Forces.

Supreme Commander; Commander-in-Chief of the Army; Commander-in-Chief of the Navy; Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force.

Signed:

Approximately six hours after the signing of the Act in Reims, a response was received from the Soviet command that the Act of Surrender could not be adopted, firstly, because its text differed from the agreed EAC, and secondly, because Susloparov did not have the authority to sign it. These objections were, however, only pretexts: the main demand of the Soviet command was that the adoption of the Act of Surrender should become a unique, one of a kind historical event that would fully reflect the main contribution to final victory made by the Soviet people. The Soviet Union argued that the signing should not take place on liberated territory, which suffered from German aggression, and in the seat of the government that spread the aggressive ideology: in Berlin. In addition, the Soviet Union noted that although the terms of surrender fixed at Reims required the German armed forces to cease all hostilities and remain in their current positions, they did not contain an explicit requirement to lay down their arms and surrender. "What must happen here is the surrender of the German troops and their surrender." Eisenhower immediately agreed, acknowledging that the Reims Surrender Act should be regarded as "a brief document of unconditional military surrender." He undertook to take part in the "more formal signing" of the text, with the necessary amendments made to it, which was to take place in Berlin on May 8 with the participation of correctly accredited representatives of the German high command and under the chairmanship of Marshal Zhukov. In addition, Eisenhower clarified his position by stating that German troops who continue to fight against the USSR after the deadline "will lose their status as military personnel, which means that, in the event of being captured by the Americans or the British, they will be immediately transferred to Soviet captivity."

The consequences of the signing of the Reims Act were limited to consolidating the current ceasefire between German and Allied forces. In the east, however, the fighting continued unabated, especially as the German forces at the time intensified their air and ground attacks on the rebels in Prague. At the same time, the naval evacuation of German troops through the Baltic continued. Dönitz gave new orders to continue resisting the Soviet troops, taking advantage of the 48-hour pause before the surrender took effect, to redouble his efforts to attempt to save German military units from Soviet captivity. It soon became clear that he had sanctioned the signing of the general surrender at Reims, without any good faith intentions towards the signed one, and that, consequently, neither the Soviet command nor the German troops would accept the Reims surrender as a reason for a real cessation of hostilities towards each other. General Schörner, commander of Army Group Center, broadcast a message to his troops on May 8, 1945, condemning the "false rumors" that the German high command had capitulated to the Soviet and allied commands: "The struggle in the West is over. But there can be no question of capitulation to the Bolsheviks."

Eisenhower further secured the personal presence of the commanders-in-chief of each of the three branches of the German armed forces. They flew from Flensburg to Berlin early on May 8th, where they waited until 10:00 p.m. for the arrival of the allied delegation, after which they were presented with the amended text of the Instrument of Surrender. The final version of the Act of Military Surrender was dated May 8, as it was supposed to be signed before midnight at the headquarters of the Soviet military administration in Karlshorst, a district of Berlin (now the territory of the German-Russian Museum "Berlin-Karlshorst"). Since Eisenhower's status as Supreme Commander Allied NATO in Western Europe formally surpassed the status of Marshal Zhukov, on behalf of the Western Allies, the Act was to be signed by Deputy Eisenhower Air Chief Marshal Tedder. The amendments proposed by the Soviet Union to the Reims text were easily accepted by the Western Allies, but the identification and appointment of Allied signatories proved more problematic. French troops acted under the control of the High Command of the Allied Forces, but General de Gaulle demanded that General de Tassigny sign the document on behalf of the French High Command. But in this case, the absence of an American signature on the document would be politically unacceptable. And the Soviet Union wanted to see no more than three allies among the signatories of the final Act of Surrender, one of which was supposed to be Zhukov. After repeated revisions, each requiring reprinting and translation, it was finally agreed that the French and Americans would sign the document as witnesses. Due to revisions, the final versions were not ready for signing even after midnight, and the actual signing dragged on until almost 1 am on 9 May CET. The date was then changed to 8 May to bring the document into line with the Reims agreement as well as the public announcements of surrender already made by Western leaders.

The final Act of Military Surrender differed from the one signed at Reims mainly in regard to the requirement that, along with the German High Command, three German signatories representing the full extent of the three branches of the armed forces be present. Otherwise, the amended text of the Act provided, according to the expanded Article 2, the disarmament of the German troops and the surrender of weapons to the Allied commanders on the ground. This section was intended to ensure not only the cessation of hostilities by the German armed forces against regular Allied troops, but also the disarmament of the troops, their disbandment and surrender. Field Marshal Keitel initially ignored the changes in the text and suggested that the German troops be granted an additional grace period of 12 hours before they were subjected to punitive measures for non-compliance with Article 5. In reality, he had to be content with Zhukov's verbal promise.

• We, the undersigned, acting on behalf of the German High Command, hereby consent to the unconditional surrender of all our armed forces on land, sea and air, as well as all forces now under German command, to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and at the same time Soviet High Command.

• German High Command immediately issue orders to all German commanders of land, sea and air force and all forces under German command to cease hostilities at 23:00 and one minute Central European Time on May 8, 1945, to remain in positions occupied by that time and to disarm completely, handing over all weapons and equipment to the Allied commanders in the field or officers appointed by representatives of the High Command of the Allied Forces. No ship, vessel or aircraft shall be destroyed and no damage shall be caused to its hull, engines or equipment.

• The German High Command will immediately assign appropriate commanders and ensure that all further orders issued by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and the Soviet High Command are carried out.

• This act of military surrender shall not preclude its replacement by another general instrument of surrender, drawn up by or on behalf of the United Nations, applicable to Germany and the German armed forces as a whole.

• In the event that the German High Command or any armed forces under its command fail to act in accordance with this Instrument of Surrender, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, as well as the Soviet High Command, will take such punitive measures or other actions as they deem necessary.

• This act is drawn up in English, Russian and German. Only the English and Russian versions are authentic.

Signed:

• From the side of the Soviet Union: Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov on behalf of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army.
• From the British side: Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur William Tedder, Deputy Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force.
• For the United States as a witness: General Carl Spaatz, Commander of the US Strategic Air Force.
• From the French side as a witness: General Jean de Latre de Tassigny, commander of the French First Army.
• From the German side:
• Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of the General Staff of the German Armed Forces and Army Representative.
• Admiral General Friedeburg, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.
• Colonel General Stumpf, representative of the air force.

The signing of the Instrument of Surrender in Berlin, for the most part, worked as expected: the bulk of the troops, including German military units in Courland and outposts in the Atlantic, surrendered on May 9 during an unofficial 12-hour grace period. Surrender to the Soviets in Bohemia and Moravia took longer, as some German troops in Bohemia continued to try to break through to the American front. Nevertheless, the general surrender took place, and units that sought to break through to the west were forced to surrender to the Soviets. The exception was Army Group E in Croatia, which for several days tried to force Marshal Tito to flee from the partisans. Many soldiers from these units managed to surrender to General Alexander in Italy. They included a significant number of Chetniks who fought in the collaborationist forces, who were subsequently returned to Yugoslavia and quickly executed without trial.

Why is Victory Day celebrated on May 9th?

The signing ceremony in Reims was attended by a significant number of reporters who were bound by an obligation not to disclose information about the surrender for 36 hours. Once it became clear that a second document would be required for the Instrument of Surrender to come into force, Eisenhower agreed to the need for a temporary suppression of this information. It was assumed that all Allied Powers would be able to celebrate victory in Europe together on May 9, 1945. However, Edward Kennedy, spokesman for the Associated Press in Paris, violated the ban on May 7, causing the German surrender to become headline news in the Western media on May 8. As it became politically impossible to stick to the original schedule, it was decided that the Western Allies would celebrate Victory in Europe Day on May 8, but that Western leaders would not make a formal declaration of Victory until the evening (when the Berlin signing ceremony was to take place). The Soviet government made no announcement of the signing of the Reims Surrender Act (because it did not recognize it) and, adhering to the original dates, celebrated May 9, 1945, Victory Day.

Declaration of the Defeat of Germany

Although the German military, which signed the Act of Surrender in May 1945, acted on the instructions of Admiral Dönitz, none of the allied governments recognized that the current Flensburg government exercised competent civilian power. Therefore, the Allies insisted that the signatories from the German side should explicitly represent only the German military command. On May 23, 1945, the Flensburg government was dissolved and its members arrested.

End of Nazi Germany

During 1944 and 1945, countries that were previously neutral towards Germany, as well as supporting it, joined the Allies and declared war on Germany. German embassies in these countries were closed, in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, their property and archives were transferred to the custody of the so-called protecting powers (usually Switzerland or Sweden), similar actions were taken against the embassies of the former allied countries in Berlin. The US State Department prepared for the post-war diplomatic consequences based on the assumption that Germany's unconditional surrender would be declared in accordance with a document agreed to by the EAC. AT last days April 1945, the US State Department notified the Protecting Powers and other remaining neutral countries (for example, Ireland) that after the impending surrender of Germany, the German state would be divided among four allied countries, which would immediately recall all German diplomatic personnel, take control of state property, liquidate all power functions of the armed forces and require the transfer of all archives and records to one or another embassy of the Western Allies. On May 8, 1945, these measures were put into effect in full, despite the fact that only the German military command signed the Act of Surrender on the German side. The Western Allies presumed that the functioning of the German state had already ceased, and therefore the surrender of the German armed forces marked the end of Nazi Germany. Since the Protecting Powers have fully complied with the requirements allied states, May 8, 1945, the German state ceased to exist as a diplomatic entity ( Imperial Japan, the only one of the Axis countries remaining at war, by that time had already condemned the surrender of Germany and seized the German embassy in Tokyo).

Berlin Declaration 1945

However, since the Instrument of Surrender of 8 May 1945 was only signed by German military representatives, the civil provisions for Germany's unconditional surrender remained without a clear formal basis. Subsequently, the EAC document on the unconditional surrender of Germany, reworked into a declaration with an extended explanatory preamble, was unilaterally adopted by the four Allied Powers as the Declaration of the Defeat of Germany of June 5, 1945. This explained the position of the Allies, who believed that, as a result of their complete defeat, Germany did not have its own government or central government, and also that the vacant positions at the head of the civilian government in Germany were to be filled exclusively by representatives of the Allied Powers (USA, USSR, United Kingdom and the French Republic) on behalf of the Allied governments as a whole. Stalin, however, withdrew his support for the idea of ​​the dismemberment of Germany, publicly rejecting the policy of dismemberment in his Victory over Germany speech addressed to the Soviet people on May 8, 1945. As a result, the article on the dismemberment of Germany was not included in the Berlin text of the declaration.

Act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces (English: German Instrument of Surrender, fr. : Actes de capitulation de l'Allemagne Nazie, German : Bedingungslose Kapitulation der Wehrmacht) - a legal document that established a truce on the fronts of World War II directed against Germany, obliging the German military to cease resistance, surrender personnel and transfer the materiel of the armed forces to the enemy, which actually marked Germany's exit from the war. It was signed by representatives of the High Command of the Wehrmacht, the High Command of the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.

The idea of ​​unconditional surrender and the preparation of the text of the act

The idea of ​​Germany's unconditional surrender was first announced by President Roosevelt on January 13, 1943 at the Casablanca conference and has since become the official position of the United Nations. The draft text of the surrender was developed by the European Consultative Commission from January 1944; the text (called the "Terms of Surrender of Germany") was agreed at the end of July and approved by the heads of the allied governments. This extensive document was sent, in particular, to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (S.H.A.E.F), where, however, it was perceived not as a mandatory instruction, but as a recommendation. Therefore, when on May 4-5, 1945, the question of Germany's surrender practically arose, the allied headquarters did not use the existing document (perhaps fearing that disputes over the political articles contained in it would complicate negotiations with the Germans), but developed their own short, purely military document which was eventually signed. The text was drafted by a group of American officers close to Allied Commander-in-Chief Dwight Eisenhower; the primary writer of the text was Colonel Filimor of the 3rd (Operational) Division of SHAEF. In order not to contradict the draft of the European Commission, at the suggestion of the British diplomat Ambassador Wynand, Article 4 was introduced into the text of the document, suggesting the possibility of replacing this act with “another general instrument of surrender concluded by or on behalf of the United Nations” (some Russian sources, however, they attribute the idea of ​​this article to the Soviet representative under the command of the Allies, Susloparov).

Partial surrenders

On the same day, a meeting was held at the new head of the German government, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz. Assessing the military situation as hopeless, the meeting participants decided to concentrate their main efforts on saving the possible more Germans from the Red Army, avoiding military operations in the West and continuing operations against the Anglo-Americans only to the extent that they would hinder the attempts of the German troops to evade the Red Army. Since, in view of the agreements between the USSR and the Western allies, it is difficult to achieve surrender only in the West, a policy of private surrenders at the level of army groups and below should be pursued. .

First act

The school building in Reims, where the surrender was signed.

Having signed the act of surrender of German troops in the north on May 4 in Lüneburg, Admiral Friedeburg went to Eisenhower's headquarters, located in Reims, in order, on behalf of Dönitz, to put before him the question of the surrender of German troops in Western front. Since, due to bad weather, he was forced to travel from Brussels to Reims by car, the German delegation arrived in Reims only by 17:00 on May 5. Meanwhile, Eisenhower told his chief of staff, Walter Bedell Smith, that there would be no bargaining with the Germans, and he did not intend to see the Germans until they signed the terms of surrender. The negotiations were entrusted to Generals W. B. Smith and Carl Strong (the latter participated in the negotiations for the surrender of Italy in 1943).

The signing of the surrender in Reims. Back: Hans Friedeburg, Alfred Jodl, Wilhelm Oxenius. Face: Sir F.E. Morgan, Francois Sevez, Harold Burrow, Harry S. Batchell, W.B. Smith, Conrad Strong, Ivan Chernyaev, Ivan Susloparov, Carl Spaats, John Robb, Ivan Zenkovich (side)

The negotiations took place in the premises of the operational department of the allied headquarters (this headquarters was located in a building that was called the "red school building", in fact - in the building of a technical college). In order to demonstrate to Friedeburg the futility of the German position, Smith ordered the walls to be hung with maps indicating the situation on the fronts, as well as maps indicating strikes allegedly being prepared by the Allies. These maps made a great impression on Friedeburg. Friedeburg offered Smith the surrender of the remaining German forces on the Western Front; Smith replied that Eisenhower refused to continue negotiations unless the offer of surrender also applied to the Eastern Front; only a general surrender is possible, with the troops in the West and East must remain in their places. Friedeburg replied to this that he did not have the authority to sign a general surrender. Having studied the text of the act of surrender presented to him, Friedeburg telegraphed Doenitz, asking permission to sign a general surrender or send Keitel and the commanders of the air and naval forces for this.

Dönitz found the terms of surrender unacceptable and sent Jodl to Reims, who was known as a categorical opponent of surrender in the East. Jodl had to explain to Eisenhower why a general surrender was impossible. He arrived in Reims on the evening of 6 May. After an hour of discussion with him, Smith and Strong came to the conclusion that the Germans were simply playing for time in order to have time to transport as many troops and refugees to the West as possible, which they reported to Eisenhower. The latter told Smith to tell the Germans that “If they do not stop looking for excuses and stalling for time, I will immediately close the entire Allied front and stop the flow of refugees by force through the location of our troops. I will not tolerate any further delay.". Having received this answer, Jodl realized that his situation was hopeless, and requested from Dönitz the authority for a general surrender. Dönitz called Eisenhower's behavior "a real blackmail", however, also realizing the hopelessness of the situation, shortly after midnight on May 7 instructed Keitel to answer: "Grand Admiral Doenitz grants the full right to sign in accordance with the proposed conditions". The signing ceremony was scheduled for 2:30 am. The act of surrender was to come into force at 23:01 on May 8, i.e. almost two days after the signing - Dönitz hoped to take advantage of this time to move as many troops and refugees to the West as possible.

On May 6, representatives of the allied commands were summoned to SHAEF: members of the Soviet mission, General Susloparov and Colonel Zenkovich, as well as the Deputy Chief of the Supreme National Defense Staff of France, General Sevez (Chief of Staff, General Juyn, was in San Francisco at the founding conference of the UN). Eisenhower did his best to calm the suspicions of the Soviet representatives, who believed that the Anglo-American allies were ready to conspire with the Germans behind their backs. As for the role of Sevez, who signed the act as a witness, it turned out to be insignificant: the general, being a pure military man, did not try to defend the prestigious interests of France and, in particular, did not protest against the absence of the French flag in the room where the capitulation was signed. Eisenhower himself refused to participate in the signing ceremony for protocol reasons, since the German side was represented by the chief of staff, and not by the commander in chief - the ceremony was thus held at the level of chiefs of staff.

At 02:41 on May 7, in the premises of the SHAEF operations department, General Jodl signed the Instrument of Surrender.

Although a group of 17 journalists attended the surrender signing ceremony, the US and Britain agreed to delay the public announcement of the surrender so that the Soviet Union could prepare a second surrender ceremony in Berlin. An oath was taken from the reporters that they would report the surrender only 36 hours later - at exactly 3 pm on May 8, 1945. However, the German radio (from Flensburg) announced the signing of the surrender already on May 7, at 14:41. An hour later, this was reported by the Associated Press, whose reporter Edward Kennedy, after the German report, considered himself free from the promise to keep the event secret. However, Kennedy was fired from the agency, and the silence about surrender continued in the West for another day - only on the afternoon of May 8 was it officially announced. In the Soviet Union, there was an absolute ban on information about the surrender on 7 May.

Second act

The Soviet representative, General Susloparov, signed the act in Reims at his own peril and risk, since by the time appointed for signing, instructions from the Kremlin had not yet arrived. He decided to put his signature with the proviso that this act should not exclude the possibility of signing another act at the request of one of the allied countries. Shortly after signing the act, Susloparov received a telegram from Stalin with a categorical prohibition to sign the surrender.

Stalin was outraged by the signing of the surrender at Reims, in which the Western Allies played a leading role. He refused to recognize this act, demanding a new signing of it in Berlin, taken by the Red Army, and asking the Allies not to make official announcements of victory until the surrender took effect (that is, until May 9).

The latter demand was denied by both Churchill (who noted that parliament would demand information from him about the signing of the surrender) and Truman (who stated that Stalin's request came to him too late and it was no longer possible to cancel the announcement of victory). For his part, Stalin declared: “The treaty signed at Reims cannot be canceled, but it cannot be recognized either. Surrender must be committed as the most important historical act and accepted not on the territory of the winners, but where they came from fascist aggression, - in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by the high command of all countries anti-Hitler coalition". In response, the Allies agreed to hold a second signing ceremony in Berlin. Eisenhower informed Jodl that the German commanders-in-chief of the branches of the armed forces were to appear for the final official procedure at a time and place to be indicated by the Soviet and Allied commands.

Zhukov read out the act of surrender in Karlshorst. Next to Zhukov is Arthur Tedder.

Keitel signing the surrender at Karlshorst

The Soviet people learned about this from the message of the Sovinformburo on May 9, 1945 only at 10 pm Moscow time, from the lips of the legendary announcer Yuri Levitan.

Then, by agreement between the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, an agreement was reached to consider the procedure in Reims preliminary. However, in Western historiography, the signing of the surrender of the German armed forces, as a rule, is associated with the procedure in Reims, and the signing of the act of surrender in Berlin is called its "ratification".

Having accepted the surrender, the Soviet Union did not sign peace with Germany, that is, formally remained in a state of war. The decree on ending the state of war was adopted by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on January 25, 1955. However, the Great Patriotic War itself refers only to military operations against Germany until May 9, 1945.

On May 8, 1945, on the outskirts of Berlin, Karshorst, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany and its Armed Forces was signed.

The act of Germany's unconditional surrender was signed twice. On behalf of Dönitz, Hitler's successor after his presumed death, Jodl suggested that the Allies accept Germany's surrender and arrange for the signing of the corresponding act on 10 May. Eisenhower refused to even discuss the postponement and gave Yodl half an hour to decide on the immediate signing of the act, threatening that otherwise the Allies would continue to deliver massive strikes against the German troops. The German representatives had no choice, and after agreement with Dönitz, Jodl agreed to sign the act.

On the part of the command of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe, the act was to be witnessed by General Beddel Smith. Eisenhower proposed with Soviet side to witness the act to Major General I.A. Susloparov, a former representative of the Headquarters of the Allied Command. Susloparov, as soon as he learned about the preparation of the act for signing, reported this to Moscow and handed over the text of the prepared document, requesting instructions on the procedure.

By the time the signing of the act of surrender began (it was tentatively scheduled for 2 hours and 30 minutes), no response was received from Moscow. The situation developed in such a way that the act could not have been signed by the Soviet representative at all, so Susloparov achieved the inclusion of a note in it about the possibility, at the request of one of the allied states, of a new signing of the act, if there were objective reasons for this. Only after that did he agree to put his signature under the act, although he understood that he was extremely risky.

Germany's surrender was signed on May 7 at 2:40 CET. The act provided that unconditional surrender comes into force from 23:00 on May 8. After that, a belated ban on Susloparov from participating in the signing of the act came from Moscow. The Soviet side insisted on signing the act in Berlin with a significant increase in the level of persons who would sign the act and testify to it with their signatures. Stalin instructed Marshal Zhukov to organize a new signing of the act.

Fortunately, the note, which was included at the request of Susloparov in the signed document, allowed this to be done. Sometimes the second signing of the act is called the ratification of what was signed the day before. There are legal grounds for this, since on May 7 G.K. Zhukov received an official order from Moscow: "The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command authorizes you to ratify the protocol on the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces."

To resolve the issue of a new signing of the act, but for more high level, Stalin joined in, turning to Churchill and Truman: “The treaty signed in Reims cannot be canceled, but it cannot be recognized. Surrender must be carried out as the most important historical act and accepted not on the territory of the victors, but where the fascist aggression came from, in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by the supreme command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.

As a result, the United States and England agreed to carry out a new signing of the act, and the document signed in Reims to be considered the "Preliminary Protocol on the Surrender of Germany." At the same time, Churchill and Truman refused to postpone the announcement of the signing of the act for a day, as Stalin asked, arguing that Soviet-German front after all, heavy fighting is going on, and we must wait until the surrender takes effect, that is, until 11 p.m. on May 8. In England and the United States, the signing of the act and the surrender of Germany to the Western Allies was officially announced on May 8, Churchill and Truman did it personally, addressing the people by radio. In the USSR, the text of their appeals was published in newspapers, but for obvious reasons only on May 10th.

It is curious that Churchill, knowing that the end of the war would be announced in the USSR after the signing of a new act, said in his radio address: “Today we will probably think mainly about ourselves. Tomorrow we will give special praise to our Russian comrades, whose valor on the battlefield was one of the great contributions to the common victory.

Opening the ceremony, Marshal Zhukov addressed the audience, declaring: “We, representatives of the Supreme Command of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces ... are authorized by the governments of the anti-Hitler coalition to accept the unconditional surrender of Germany from the German military command.” After that, representatives of the German command entered the hall, presenting a document of authority signed by Dönitz.

The signing of the act ended at 22:43 CET. It was already May 9 in Moscow (0 hours 43 minutes). On the German side, the act was signed by the Chief of Staff of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces of Germany, Field Marshal Wilhelm Bodevin Johann Gustav Keitel, the Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe, Colonel General of Aviation Hans Jurgen Stumpf, and who, after the appointment of Dönitz, Reich President of Germany, became Commander-in-Chief German Navy Admiral General Hans-Georg von Friedeburg. Unconditional surrender was accepted by Marshal Zhukov (from the Soviet side) and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force Marshal Tedder (Eng. Arthur William Tedder) (Great Britain).

General Carl Spaatz (USA) and General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (France) put their signatures as witnesses. By agreement between the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, an agreement was reached to consider the procedure in Reims preliminary. However, in Western historiography, the signing of the surrender of the German armed forces, as a rule, is associated with the procedure in Reims, and the signing of the act of surrender in Berlin is called its "ratification"

Soon, the solemn voice of Yuri Levitan sounded from radios throughout the country: “On May 8, 1945, representatives of the German High Command signed an act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces in Berlin. The Great Patriotic War waged by the Soviet people against Nazi German invaders, victoriously completed.

Germany is completely destroyed. Comrades, Red Army, Red Navy, sergeants, foremen, officers of the army and navy, generals, admirals and marshals, I congratulate you on the victorious end of the Great Patriotic War. Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in the battles for the freedom and independence of our Motherland!”

By order of I. Stalin, a grandiose salute from a thousand guns was given that day in Moscow. Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council The USSR, in commemoration of the victorious end of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders and the historic victories of the Red Army, May 9 was declared Victory Day.

Exactly 70 years ago, on May 8, 1945, on the outskirts of Berlin, Karlshorst, at 22:43 CET (May 9 at 00:43 Moscow time), the final act of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed.

A selection of photographs dedicated to this significant event.

1. German building military engineering school in the suburbs of Berlin - Karlshorst, in which the ceremony of signing the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was held.

2. Representatives of Germany at the table during the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender. In the photo they are sitting from left to right: Colonel General Stumpf from the Air Force, Field Marshal Keitel from ground forces and Admiral General von Friedeburg from the navy. 05/08/1945

3. American General Dwight Eisenhower and British Air Marshal Arthur Tedder at a press conference after the signing of the surrender of Germany in Reims (France) on May 7, 1945.

4. Representatives of the Allied Command after the signing of the surrender of Germany in Reims (Wrance) on May 7, 1945.
In the photo from left to right: Chief of the USSR military mission in France, Major General Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov (1897-1974), Chief of Staff of the Allied Forces in Europe, British Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Morgan Morgan, 1894-1967), American Lieutenant General Bedell Smith, American radio commentator Harry Butcher, American General Dwight Eisenhower, British Air Marshal Arthur Tedder and Chief of Staff british navy Admiral Sir Harold Burro.

5. Colonel-General Alfred Jodl (center) signs the German surrender at the Allied Headquarters in Reims at 02.41 local time on 7 May 1945. Sitting next to Jodl are Grand Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg (right) and Jodl's adjutant Major Wilhelm Oxenius.

The leadership of the USSR was dissatisfied with the signing of the surrender of Germany in Reims, which was not agreed with the USSR and relegated the country that made the greatest contribution to the Victory to the background. At the suggestion of the Soviet government and personally I.V. Stalin and the Allies agreed to consider the procedure in Reims a preliminary surrender. The Allies also agreed that the matter should not be postponed, and appointed the signing of the German Surrender Act in full form in Berlin for May 8, 1945.

6. The signing of the surrender of Germany in Reims on May 7, 1945. In the photo, from right to left: adjutant A. Jodl, Major Wilhelm Oxenius, Colonel General Alfred Jodl and Grand Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg; facing left to right: Chief of Staff of the Allied Forces in Europe, British Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Morgan, French general François Sevet, Chief of Staff of the British Navy Admiral Sir Harold Burro, radio commentator Harry Butcher, American Lieutenant General Bedell Smith, Adjutant I.A. Susloparov Senior Lieutenant Ivan Chernyaev, Chief of the USSR military mission in France, Major General Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov (1897-1974), American General Carl Spaatz, cameraman Henry Bull, Colonel Ivan Zenkovich.

7. Colonel-General Alfred Jodl (center) signs the surrender of Germany at the headquarters of the allied forces in Reims at 02.41 local time on May 7, 1945.

8. Representatives of the German command come to the table to sign the surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945. In the photo from left to right: Adjutant A. Jodl, Major Wilhelm Oxenius, Colonel General Alfred Jodl and Grand Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg.

9. The head of the USSR military mission in France, Major General Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov (1897-1974), shakes hands with the commander of the allied forces in Europe, American General Dwight Eisenhower at the signing of the act of surrender of Germany in Reims on May 7, 1945. To the left of I.A. Susloparov - his adjutant senior lieutenant Ivan Chernyaev.

10. The Chief of Staff of the Allies in Europe, the American Lieutenant General Bedell Smith, signs the act of surrender of Germany in Reims on May 7, 1945. In the photo on the left is Admiral Sir Harold Burro, Chief of Staff of the British Navy, on the right is Major General Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov (1897-1974), head of the USSR military mission in France.

11. The head of the USSR military mission in France, Major General Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov (1897-1974), signs the act of surrender of Germany in Reims on May 7, 1945. In the photo on the far right is American General Carl Spaatz. To the left of I.A. Susloparov - his adjutant senior lieutenant Ivan Chernyaev.

12. Wehrmacht Artillery General Helmut Weidling leaves the bunker during the surrender of the Berlin garrison. May 2, 1945

13. Representative of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army, commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, who signed the Instrument of Surrender from the USSR. In the background is a Soviet cameraman filming the signing ceremony. Berlin. 09/08/1945

17. Representatives after the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender in Berlin-Karlshorst on May 8, 1945. The German act was signed by Field Marshal Keitel (in front to the right, with a marshal's baton) from the ground forces, Admiral General von Friedeburg (to the right behind Keitel) from the navy and Colonel General Stumpf (to the left of Keitel) from the military -but-air force.

18. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, signing the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany from the German side, is served the text of the Act. To the left, second from the viewer, G.K. is sitting at the table. Zhukov, who signed the Act on behalf of the USSR. Berlin. 05/08/1945

19. Chief general staff of the German ground forces, General of the Infantry Krebs (left), who arrived on May 1 at the location Soviet troops in order to involve the High Command in the negotiation process. On the same day, the general shot himself. Berlin. May 1, 1945

20. The Soviet delegation before the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of all German armed forces. Berlin. 05/08/1945 Standing on the right - the representative of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army, the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, standing in the center with his hand raised - Deputy Commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, General of the Army V.D. Sokolovsky.

21. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, who is signing the Act of Germany's unconditional surrender from the German side, is presented with the text of the Act. G.K. is sitting at the table on the left. Zhukov, who signed the Act on behalf of the USSR. Berlin. 05/08/1945

22. Representatives of the German command, headed by Field Marshal Keitel, are sent to sign the Act of Germany's unconditional surrender. May 8, Berlin, Karlhorst.

23. Chief of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces Lieutenant General of the Infantry Hans Krebs at the headquarters of the Soviet troops in Berlin. On May 1, Krebs arrived at the location of the Soviet troops in order to draw the High Command into the negotiation process. On the same day, the general shot himself.

24. The surrender of the Germans on the Frisch-Nerung spit, East Prussia. German and Soviet officers are discussing the terms of surrender and the procedure for surrendering German troops. 05/09/1945

25. Surrender of the Germans on the spit Frisch-Nerung, East Prussia. German and Soviet officers are discussing the terms of surrender and the procedure for surrendering German troops. 05/09/1945

26. Surrender of the Germans on the spit Frisch-Nerung, East Prussia. German officers accept from Soviet officer conditions of surrender and the procedure for surrender. 05/09/1945

27. Surrender of the Germans on the spit Frisch-Nerung, East Prussia. German officers accept from the Soviet officer the terms of surrender and the procedure for surrender. 05/09/1945

28. Surrender of the Germans on the spit Frisch-Nerung, East Prussia. German and Soviet officers are discussing the terms of surrender and the procedure for surrendering German troops. 05/09/1945

29. The surrender of the Germans on the spit Frisch-Nerung, East Prussia.

30. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signs the act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Berlin, May 8, 1945, 22:43 CET (May 9 at 0:43 Moscow time).

31. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel goes to the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Berlin. 05/08/1945

32. Arrival in Berlin for the ceremony of signing the Act of Surrender of Germany of the Air Chief MarshalGreat Britain Tedder A.V. Among those meeting: General of the Army Sokolovsky V.D. and commandant of BerlinColonel General Berzarin N.E. 05/08/1945

33. Arrival in Berlin, Field Marshal W. Keitel, Admiral of the Fleet H. Friedeburg and Colonel General of Aviation G. Stumpf to sign the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Among the escorts is General of the Army Sokolovsky V.D. and Colonel General Berzarin N.E. 05/08/1945

34. First Deputy People's Commissar Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyshinsky A.Ya. andMarshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. heading to the signing ceremonyThe act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Karlshorst. 05/08/1945

35. Air Chief Marshal of Great Britain Sir Tedder A. and Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. looking through the documents on the terms of the surrender of Germany.

36. Signing Field Marshal Keitel W. Act of unconditional surrender of all armed forces in Germany. Berlin. Karlshorst. 05/08/1945

37. Commander of the 1st Belorussian Front Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K.signs the Act of unconditional surrender of all German armed forces.

38. Dinner in honor of the Victory after the signing of the terms of the unconditional surrender of Germany. From left to right: Chief Air Marshal of Great Britain Sir Tedder A., ​​Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. Commander of the US Strategic Air Force General Spaats K. Berlin. 08-09.05.1945

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The photo selection is made on the basis of materials:

Russian state archive film and photo documents.

All photos are clickable.

Photo albums "Great Patriotic War"

The act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces was signed on May 7 at 02:41 in Reims by the head Operational Headquarters High Command German army, Colonel General Alfred Jodl. The document obliged the German military to stop resistance, surrender personnel and transfer the materiel of the armed forces to the enemy, which in fact meant Germany's withdrawal from the war. Soviet leadership did not suit such a signing, therefore, at the request of the government of the USSR and personally Comrade Stalin on May 8 ( May 9, USSR time) the German Surrender Act was signed for the second time, but already in Berlin, and the day of the official announcement of its signing ( May 8 in Europe and America, May 9 in the USSR) began to be celebrated as Victory Day.

The act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces, signed on May 7, 1945

The idea of ​​Germany's unconditional surrender was first announced by President Roosevelt on January 13, 1943 at a conference in Casablanca and has since become the official position of the United Nations.

Representatives of the German command approach the table to sign the surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945

The general surrender of Germany was preceded by a series of partial surrenders of the largest formations remaining in the Third Reich:

• On April 29, 1945, the act of surrender of Army Group C (in Italy) was signed in Caserta by its commander, Colonel General G. Fitingof-Scheel.

On May 2, 1945, the Berlin garrison under the command of Helmut Weidling capitulated to the Red Army.

On May 4, Admiral of the Fleet Hans-Georg Friedeburg, newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, signed the act of surrender of all German armed forces in Holland, Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein and North-West Germany to Field Marshal B. Montgomery's 21st Army Group.

On May 5, Infantry General F. Schultz, who commanded Army Group G, operating in Bavaria and Western Austria, surrendered to the American General D. Devers.

Colonel-General Alfred Jodl (center) signs the German surrender at the Allied Headquarters in Reims at 02.41 local time on 7 May 1945. Sitting next to Jodl are Grand Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg (right) and Jodl's adjutant Major Wilhelm Oxenius.

The leadership of the USSR was dissatisfied with the signing of the surrender of Germany in Reims, which was not agreed with the USSR and relegated the country that made the greatest contribution to the Victory to the background. At Stalin's suggestion, the Allies agreed to regard the Reims procedure as a preliminary capitulation. Although a group of 17 journalists attended the surrender signing ceremony, the US and Britain agreed to delay the public announcement of the surrender so that the Soviet Union could prepare a second surrender ceremony in Berlin, which took place on 8 May.

The signing of the surrender in Reims

The Soviet representative, General Susloparov, signed the act in Reims at his own peril and risk, since by the time scheduled for signing, instructions from the Kremlin had not yet arrived. He decided to put his signature with the proviso (Article 4) that this act should not exclude the possibility of signing another act at the request of one of the allied countries. Shortly after signing the act, Susloparov received a telegram from Stalin with a categorical prohibition to sign the surrender.

After signing the surrender in the front row: Susloparov, Smith, Eisenhower, Air Marshal Royal Air Force Arthur Tedder

For his part, Stalin declared: The Treaty signed at Reims cannot be revoked, but it cannot be recognized either. Surrender must be carried out as the most important historical act and accepted not on the territory of the winners, but where the fascist aggression came from - in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by the supreme command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition».

The Soviet delegation before the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of all German armed forces. Berlin. 05/08/1945 Standing on the right - Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, standing in the center with a raised hand - General of the Army V.D. Sokolovsky.

The building of the German military engineering school in the suburbs of Berlin - Karlshorst, in which the signing ceremony of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was held.

Air Chief Marshal of Great Britain Sir Tedder A. and Marshal of the Soviet Union GK Zhukov are looking through documents on the terms of Germany's surrender.

Zhukov read out the act of surrender in Karlshorst. Next to Zhukov is Arthur Tedder.

On May 8, at 22:43 CET (at 00:43, May 9, Moscow time), in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, in the building of the former canteen of the military engineering school, the final Act of Germany's unconditional surrender was signed.

Keitel signing the surrender at Karlshorst

The changes in the text of the act were as follows:

In the English text, the expression Soviet High Command (Soviet High Command) has been replaced by more exact translation Soviet term: Supreme High Command of the Red Army (Supreme High Command of the Red Army)

The part of Article 2, which deals with the obligation of the Germans to hand over military equipment intact and safe, has been expanded and detailed.

An indication of the act of May 7 was withdrawn: “Only given text on the English language is authoritative” and inserted Article 6, which read: “This act is drawn up in Russian, English and German. Only Russian and English texts are authentic."

Representatives after the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender in Berlin-Karlshorst on May 8, 1945

By agreement between the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, an agreement was reached to consider the procedure in Reims preliminary. This is how it was interpreted in the USSR, where the significance of the act of May 7 was downplayed in every possible way, and the act itself was hushed up, while in the West it is regarded as the actual signing of the capitulation, and the act in Karlshorst as its ratification.

Dinner in honor of the Victory after the signing of the terms of the unconditional surrender of Germany. From left to right: Chief Air Marshal of Great Britain Sir Tedder A., ​​Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. Commander of the US Strategic Air Force General Spaatz K. Berlin.

The surrender of the Germans on the spit Frisch-Nerung, East Prussia. German officers accept from the Soviet officer the terms of surrender and the procedure for surrender. 05/09/1945

Having accepted the surrender, the Soviet Union did not sign peace with Germany, that is, formally remained in a state of war. The decree on ending the state of war was adopted by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR only on January 25, 1955.