May 8, act of unconditional surrender. The surrender of Germany: how it happened

Firsov A.

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

Germany's surrender was a foregone conclusion.

On May 4, 1945, a document was signed between the Fuhrer's successor, the new Reich President, Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz and General Montgomery, on the military surrender of northwestern Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands to the Allies and the associated truce.

But this document cannot be called an unconditional surrender of all of Germany. This was the surrender of only certain territories.

The first complete and unconditional surrender of Germany was signed on Allied territory at their headquarters on the night of May 6-7 at 2:41 a.m. in the city of Reims. This act of unconditional surrender of Germany and a complete ceasefire was accepted within 24 hours by the commander of the Allied forces in the west, General Eisenhower. It was signed by representatives of all allied forces.

Here is how Viktor Kostin writes about this capitulation:

“On May 6, 1945, German General Jodl arrived at the American command headquarters in Reims, representing the government of Admiral Doenitz, who became the head of Germany after Hitler’s suicide.

Jodl, on behalf of Doenitz, proposed that Germany's surrender be signed on May 10 by the commanders of the armed forces, that is, the army, air force and navy.

The delay of several days was caused by the fact that, according to him, time was required to find out the location of the units of the German armed forces and bring to their attention the fact of surrender.

In fact, during these few days, the Germans intended to withdraw a large group of their troops from Czechoslovakia, where they were located at that time, and transfer them to the West in order to surrender not to the Soviet army, but to the Americans.

The commander of the Allied forces in the West, General Eisenhower, understood this proposal and rejected it, giving Jodl half an hour to think about it. He said that if they refused, the full might of American and British forces would be unleashed on the German troops.

Jodl was forced to make concessions, and on May 7, at 2:40 a.m. Central European time, Jodl, General Beddel Smith from the allied side and General Susloparov, the Soviet representative to the allied command, accepted the surrender of Germany, which came into force at 23:01 May 8. This date is celebrated in Western countries.

By the time President Truman and British Prime Minister Churchill reported Germany’s surrender to Stalin, he had already scolded Susloparov for being too hasty in signing the act.”

The act of unconditional surrender of Germany on the German side, together with Colonel General Alfred Jodl, was signed by Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg.

The document signed on May 7, 1945 was called: “Act of unconditional surrender of all land, sea and air armed forces located in at this moment under German control."

All that remained until the complete cessation of hostilities and the Second World War was the day allotted to the capitulating side to bring the Act of Unconditional Surrender to every soldier.

Stalin was not satisfied with the fact that:

The signing of unconditional surrender took place on territory occupied by the Allies,

The act was signed primarily by the leadership of the Allies, which to some extent belittled the role of the USSR and Stalin himself in the victory over Nazi Germany,

The act of unconditional surrender was signed not by Stalin or Zhukov, but only by Major General from Artillery Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov.

Referring to the fact that the shooting in certain places had not yet stopped, Stalin gave the command to Zhukov to arrange a re-signing of the unconditional surrender, immediately after the complete ceasefire on May 8, preferably in Berlin and with the participation of Zhukov.

Since there was no suitable (not destroyed) building in Berlin, the signing was held in the Berlin suburb of Karlhorst immediately after the ceasefire by German troops. Eisenhower refused the invitation to participate in the re-signing of the surrender, but informed Jodl that the German commanders-in-chief of the armed forces should appear for the repeat procedure at the time and place indicated by the Soviet command for the signing of a new act with the Soviet command.

Georgy Zhukov came from the Russian troops to sign the second surrender, and Eisenhower sent his deputy, Air Chief Marshal A. Tedder, from the British troops. From the United States, the commander of the strategic air force, General K. Spaats, was present and signed the surrender as a witness; from the French armed forces, the army commander-in-chief, General J. de Lattre de Tassigny, signed the surrender as a witness.

Jodl did not go to re-sign the act, but sent his deputies - the former chief of staff of the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) Field Marshal W. Keitel, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet G. Friedeburg, and Colonel General of Aviation G. Stumpf.

The re-signing of the capitulation brought a smile to all the signers, with the exception of representatives of the Russian side.

Seeing that representatives of France were also participating in the re-signing of the capitulation, Keitel grinned: “What! Have we also lost the war to France?” “Yes, Mr. Field Marshal, and France too,” they answered him from the Russian side.

The repeated surrender, now from three branches of the armed forces, was signed on the German side by three representatives of three branches of the armed forces sent by Jodl - Keitel, Friedeburg and Stumpf.

The second unconditional surrender of Germany was signed on May 8, 1945. The date for signing the surrender is May 8th.

But the celebration of Victory Day on May 8th also did not suit Stalin. This was the day the surrender of May 7th came into effect. And it was clear that this surrender was only a continuation and duplication of an earlier one, which declared May 8th the day of a complete ceasefire.

In order to completely move away from the first unconditional surrender and to emphasize the second unconditional surrender as much as possible, Stalin decided to declare May 9th as Victory Day. The following arguments were used:

A) The actual signing of the act by Keitel, Friedeburg and Stumpf took place on May 8 at 22:43 German (Western European) time, but in Moscow it was already 0:43 on May 9.

B) The entire procedure for signing the act of unconditional surrender ended on May 8 at 22:50 German time. But in Moscow it was already 0 hours 50 minutes on May 9th.

D) The announcement of victory in Russia and the festive fireworks in honor of the victory over Germany took place in Russia on May 9, 1945.

Since Stalin's times in Russia, the date of signing the act of unconditional surrender is usually considered to be May 9, 1945; Berlin is usually named as the place where the act of unconditional surrender was signed, and only Wilhelm Keitel as the signatory on the German side.

As a result of such Stalinist actions, Russians still celebrate May 9th as Victory Day and are surprised when Europeans celebrate the same Victory Day on May 8th or 7th.

The name of General Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov was erased from Soviet history textbooks, and the fact that he signed the act of unconditional surrender of Germany is still being kept silent in Russia.

Third unconditional surrender of Germany

On June 5, 1945, the four victorious countries announced the unconditional state and political surrender of Germany. It was formalized as a declaration by the European Advisory Commission.

The document is entitled: "Declaration of the Defeat of Germany and the Assumption of Supreme Power over Germany by the Governments of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Provisional Government of the French Republic."

The document says:

"The German armed forces on land, on water and in the air are completely defeated and have unconditionally surrendered, and Germany, which bears responsibility for the war, is no longer able to resist the will of the victorious powers. As a consequence, the unconditional surrender of Germany has been achieved, and Germany submits to all demands that will be made to it now or in the future.".

In accordance with the document, the four victorious powers undertake to implement " supreme power in Germany, including all the powers of the German government, the Wehrmacht High Command and the governments, administrations or authorities of states, cities and magistrates. The exercise of power and the listed powers does not entail annexation of Germany".

This unconditional surrender was signed by representatives of four countries without the participation of representatives of Germany.

Stalin introduced similar confusion into Russian textbooks with the dates of the beginning and end of the Second World War. If the whole world considers the date of the beginning of the Second World War to be September 1, 1939, then Russia, since the time of Stalin, continues to “modestly” count the beginning of the war from July 22, 1941, “forgetting” about the successful capture of Poland and the Baltic states and parts of Ukraine in 1939 and about the failure of a similar attempt to capture Finland (1939-1940).

Similar confusion exists with the day the Second World War ended. If Russia celebrates May 9 as the day of the victory of the Allied forces over the German coalition and, in fact, as the day of the end of World War II, then the whole world celebrates the end of World War II on September 2.

On this day in 1945, the “Act of Unconditional Surrender of Japan” was signed aboard the American flagship battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

On the Japanese side, the act was signed by Japanese Foreign Minister M. Shigemitsu and Chief of the General Staff General Y. Umezu. On the Allied side, the act was signed by US Army General D. MacArthur, Soviet Lieutenant General K. Derevianko, and Admiral of the British Fleet B. Fraser.

"Signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany." 1946 Kukryniksy.

On May 8, 1945, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst at 22:43 Central European time (May 9 at 0:43 Moscow time), the final Act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and its armed forces was signed. But historically, the Berlin act of surrender was not the first.

When Soviet troops surrounded Berlin, the military leadership of the Third Reich was faced with the question of preserving the remnants of Germany. This was possible only by avoiding unconditional surrender. Then it was decided to capitulate only to the Anglo-American troops, but to continue fighting against the Red Army.

The Germans sent representatives to the Allies to formally confirm the surrender. On the night of May 7, in the French city of Reims, the act of surrender of Germany was concluded, according to which, from 11 p.m. on May 8, hostilities ceased on all fronts. The protocol stipulated that it was not a comprehensive agreement on the surrender of Germany and its armed forces

However, the Soviet Union put forward a demand for unconditional surrender as the only condition for ending the war. Stalin considered the signing of the act in Reims only a preliminary protocol and was dissatisfied that the act of Germany’s surrender was signed in France, and not in the capital of the aggressor state. Moreover, the fighting on the Soviet-German front was still ongoing.

At the insistence of the leadership of the USSR, representatives of the Allies reconvened in Berlin and, together with the Soviet side, signed another Act of Surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945. The parties agreed that the first act will be called preliminary, and the second – final.

The final Act of unconditional surrender of Germany and its armed forces was signed on behalf of the German Wehrmacht by Field Marshal W. Keitel, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Admiral Von Friedeburg, and Colonel General of Aviation G. Stumpf. The USSR was represented by the Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Soviet Union G. Zhukov, allies - British Air Chief Marshal A. Tedder. U.S. Army General Spaatz and the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, General Tassigny, were present as witnesses.

The ceremonial signing of the act took place under the chairmanship of Marshal Zhukov, and the signing ceremony itself took place in the building of the military engineering school, where a special hall was prepared, decorated state flags USSR, USA, England and France. At the main table were representatives of the Allied powers. The Soviet generals whose troops took Berlin, as well as journalists from many countries, were present in the hall.

After the unconditional surrender of Germany, the Wehrmacht government was dissolved, and German troops on the Soviet-German front began to lay down their arms. In total, from May 9 to May 17, the Red Army captured about 1.5 million enemy soldiers and officers and 101 generals based on the act of surrender. Thus ended the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people.

In the USSR, the surrender of Germany was announced on the night of May 9, 1945, and by order of I. Stalin, a grandiose salute of a thousand guns was given in Moscow on that day. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in commemoration of the victorious completion of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders and the historical victories of the Red Army, May 9 was declared Victory Day.

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USSR USSR,
USA USA,
France France

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) - legal document, which established a truce on the fronts of World War II directed against Germany, obliging the German armed forces to cease hostilities and disarmament to prevent destruction or damage military equipment, which actually meant Germany's exit from the war.

The act was signed by representatives of the Wehrmacht High Command, the Western Allied High Command and the Soviet Union on May 7 at 02:41 p.m. in Reims (France). The surrender of Nazi Germany came into force on May 8 at 23:01 Central European Time (May 9 at 01:01 Moscow Time).

The dates of the official announcement by heads of state of the signing of surrender - May 8 in European countries and May 9 in the USSR - began to be celebrated in the respective countries as Victory Day.

Preparing document text

The idea of unconditional German 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. The draft document of surrender has been developed since January 1944 by the European Advisory Commission (ECC). This extensive document, entitled “Terms of German Surrender,” was agreed upon at the end of July 1944 and approved by the heads of the Allied governments.

The document was sent, in particular, to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), where, however, it was not perceived as mandatory instructions, but as recommendations. Therefore, when on May 4-5, 1945, the question of Germany’s surrender practically arose, SHAEF 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 ultimately became the act of military surrender. The text was developed by a group of American officers from the entourage of Allied Commander-in-Chief Dwight Eisenhower; the main author was Colonel Phillimore ( English Reginald Henry Phillimore) from the 3rd (Operational) Division of SHAEF. In order to ensure that the text of the act of military surrender did not contradict the document of the JCC, at the suggestion of the English diplomat Ambassador Weinand, Article 4 was added to it, which provided for the possibility of replacing this act with “another general instrument of surrender concluded by the United Nations or on their behalf” (some Russian sources, however, attribute the idea of this article to the Soviet representative at the Allied command, Ivan Susloparov).

In turn, the document developed by the EKK became the basis for the declaration of defeat of Germany, which was signed a month after the signing of the acts of military surrender.

Video on the topic

Partial surrenders

In Italy and Western Austria

On April 29, 1945, the act of surrender of Army Group “C” (“C”) was signed in Caserta by its commander, Colonel General G. Fitingof-Scheel, the terms of surrender came into force on May 2 at 12:00. The signing was preceded by secret negotiations between representatives of the United States and Great Britain and representatives of Germany (see Operation Sunrise).

In Berlin

On the northwestern fronts

On May 4, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, Fleet Admiral Hans-Georg Friedeburg, signed the instrument of surrender of all German armed forces in Holland, Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein and North-West Germany to the 21st Army Group of Field Marshal B. Montgomery. The surrender took effect on May 5 at 08:00.

In Bavaria and Western Austria

On May 5, Infantry General F. Schultz, who commanded Army Group G, operating in Bavaria and Western Austria, capitulated to the American General D. Devers. However, in the south the Reich still had a large group of army groups “Center” and “Austria” (formerly “South”) under the command of Field Marshal Albert Kesselring.

First act

The German government is for surrender only in the West

Having signed the act of surrender of German troops in the north in Lüneburg on May 4, Admiral Friedeburg, on behalf of Dönitz, went to Reims, to Eisenhower’s headquarters, in order to raise before him the question of the surrender of German troops on the Western Front. Due to bad weather in Reims, the plane landed in Brussels, then they had to travel by car, and the German delegation arrived in Reims only at 17:00 on May 5. Meanwhile, Eisenhower told his chief of staff, Walter Bedell Smith, who was receiving the delegation, 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).

Preparation

May 6 at SHAEF Representatives of the allied commands were summoned: members of the Soviet mission, General Susloparov and Colonel Zenkovich, as well as the deputy chief of the Supreme Headquarters of the National Defense of France, General Sevez (the chief of staff, General Juin, was in San Francisco at the founding conference of the UN). Eisenhower tried in every possible way to calm the suspicion of Soviet representatives, who believed that the Anglo-American allies were ready to come to terms 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 surrender 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 the commander in chief - the ceremony, therefore, had to take place at the level of the chiefs of staff.

Negotiation

The school building in Reims where the surrender was signed

The negotiations took place in the premises of the operations department of the Allied headquarters (this headquarters was located in a building that was called the “red school building”, actually in the building of a technical college). In order to demonstrate to Friedeburg the futility of the Germans' position, Smith ordered the walls to be hung with maps indicating the situation on the fronts, as well as maps indicating attacks supposedly being prepared by the Allies. These maps made a great impression on Friedeburg. Friedeburg offered Smith the surrender of the remaining German troops 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 was possible, and troops in the West and East must remain in their places. To this Friedeburg replied 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 Dönitz, asking permission to sign a general surrender or to send Keitel and the commanders of the air and naval forces to do so.

Dönitz considered the terms of surrender unacceptable and sent Alfred Jodl, who was known as a categorical opponent of surrender in the East, to Reims. Jodl had to explain to Eisenhower why general surrender was impossible. He arrived in Reims on the evening of 6 May. After an hour-long 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 making excuses and stalling for time, I will immediately close the entire Allied front and forcefully stop the flow of refugees through the disposition of our troops. I will not tolerate any further delay." Having received this answer, Jodl realized that his situation was hopeless and asked Dönitz for 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, he instructed Keitel to answer: “Grand Admiral Dönitz grants full authority to sign in accordance with the proposed conditions.” Permission to sign was received by Jodl via radio at 00:40.

The signing ceremony was scheduled for 02:30 on May 7. According to the text of the act, German troops were supposed to cease hostilities at 23:01 Central European time on May 8, that is, almost two days after the signing of the act. Dönitz hoped to take advantage of this time to move as many troops and refugees as possible to the West.

Signing

The act was signed on May 7 at 02:41 (Central European Time) by the Chief of Operations Staff of the German Army High Command, Colonel General Alfred Jodl. The surrender was accepted from the USSR by the representative of the Supreme High Command Headquarters under the Allied Command, Major General Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov, and from the Anglo-American side by Lieutenant General of the US Army, Chief of the General Staff of the Allied Expeditionary Forces Walter Bedell Smith. The act was also signed by the Deputy Chief of the French National Defense Staff, Brigadier General Francois Sevez, as a witness. The English text of this act is authentic.

Without waiting for a message about the ceremony, at 01:35 Dönitz gave the following order to Field Marshal Kesselring and General Winter, which was also transmitted for information to the commander of Army Group Center F. Schörner, the commander of the troops in Austria L. Rendulic and the commander of the forces of the South-East A. Leroux:

The task is to withdraw to the west as many troops as possible operating on the Eastern Front, while fighting their way, if necessary, through the disposition of Soviet troops. Immediately stop any military operations against the Anglo-American troops and give the order to the troops to surrender to them. The general surrender will be signed today at Eisenhower Headquarters. Eisenhower promised Colonel General Jodl that hostilities would cease on May 9, 1945 at 0:00 a.m. German summer time...

There is a slightly different version of the translation from German, perhaps of the same order:

All troops opposing the eastern enemy should retreat to the West as soon as possible, if necessary, break through the Russian battle formations. Immediately stop all resistance to the Anglo-American troops and organize the surrender of the troops. The general surrender will be signed today by Eisenhower. Eisenhower promised Jodl a ceasefire by 01.00 on 9.5.1945 (German time).

On the evening of 8 May, Dönitz also sent a telegram to the Luftwaffe Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Robert von Greim, announcing the cessation of all active hostilities as of 9 May 1945, from 01:00 German Summer Time.

Radio message to the German people

On May 7 at 14:27 (according to other sources, 12:45) German radio (from Flensburg) officially announced the signing of the surrender. The Foreign Minister of the Dönitz government, Count Schwerin von Krosigg, made the following speech:

Germans and German women!
The Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht, on the orders of Grand Admiral Dönitz, announced the unconditional surrender of the German troops. As the leading minister of the Reich Government, formed by the Grand Admiral to complete all military tasks, I address the German people at this tragic moment in our history...
No one should be mistaken about the severity of the conditions that our opponents will impose on us. It is necessary, without any loud phrases, to look them in the face clearly and soberly. No one can doubt that the coming times will be harsh for each of us and will require sacrifices from us in all areas of life. We are obliged to bring them and be loyal to all the obligations that we undertake. But we do not dare to despair and indulge in dull resignation to fate. We must find a way to get out of this darkness onto the path of our future. Let unity, law and freedom serve as our three guiding stars, which have always been the guarantee of a truly German essence...
We must make law the basis of our people's life. Justice must become the highest law and the main guiding thread for our people. We must recognize law both from our inner conviction and as the basis of our relations with other peoples. Respect for the treaties concluded must be as sacred to us as the feeling of belonging to the European family of nations, as a member of which we want to bring to the flowering all our human, moral and material forces in order to heal the terrible wounds inflicted by the war.
Then we can hope that the atmosphere of hatred that now surrounds Germany throughout the world will give way to that reconciliation of peoples, without which the healing of the world is unthinkable, and that freedom will again give us its signal, without which no people can live decently and with dignity.
We want to see the future of our people in the awareness of the deepest and best strengths of every living person to whom the world has given enduring creations and values. With pride in the heroic struggle of our people, we will combine the desire, as a link in Western Christian culture, to contribute to honest, peaceful work in the spirit of the best traditions of our people. May God not leave us in our trouble, may He sanctify our difficult work!

Ban on public announcement

Although a group of 17 journalists attended the signing ceremony, the United States and Great Britain agreed to delay the public announcement of the surrender so that the Soviet Union could prepare a second surrender ceremony in Berlin. The reporters took an oath that they would report the surrender only 36 hours later - at exactly 3 o'clock in the afternoon on May 8, 1945. In violation of the agreement, on May 7 at 15:41 (15:35) the Associated Press agency reported about the German surrender, whose reporter, Edward Kennedy, after the German report, considered himself free from the promise to keep the event secret. For this, Kennedy was fired from the agency, and silence about the surrender continued in the West for another day - only on the afternoon of May 8 was it officially announced. In the Soviet Union, information about the surrender on May 7 was also initially banned, but then, after the signing of the final act in Karlshorst, the Reims act, called the “preliminary protocol of surrender,” was mentioned in J.V. Stalin’s address to the Soviet people, broadcast on May 9 at 21:00.

Second act

Susloparov's signature on the Reims act

In publications with reference to the memoirs of the then chief of the operational department of the General Staff, Army General Sergei Shtemenko, the following situation with the signing of the act in Reims is presented (it is characteristic that in Shtemenko’s memoirs the Reims act is called either a document or a protocol).

On the evening of May 6, General Susloparov was received by the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, D. Eisenhower, who announced the upcoming (at 02:30 on May 7, 1945) signing of the act of surrender, asked to transfer the text of the act to Moscow and receive permission to sign the document. Susloparov “sent a telegram to Moscow about the upcoming act of signing capitulation and the text of the protocol; asked for instructions." At the time of signing the surrender, no instructions were received from Moscow.

The head of the Soviet military mission decided to sign the document of surrender. At the same time, providing the opportunity for the Soviet government to influence the subsequent course of events if necessary, he made a note to the document. The note stated that this protocol of military surrender does not preclude the future signing of another, more perfect act of surrender of Germany, if any allied government declares it.

This version, in slightly different interpretations, is found in many domestic publications, including without reference to the memoirs of Sergei Shtemenko. However, in foreign publications there is no information that General Susloparov signed the act of surrender, adding some kind of note to it.

Soon after signing the act, Susloparov received a telegram from Stalin with a categorical ban on signing the surrender.

The need for a second signing of capitulation

Stalin was outraged by the signing of the surrender in Reims, in which the Western allies played the leading role. He refused to recognize this act, demanding a new signing in Berlin, which had been captured 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).

IN last requirement he was refused by both Churchill (who noted that Parliament would require 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 declaration of victory). For his part, Stalin said:

The treaty signed in Reims cannot be canceled, 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 victors, but where fascist aggression came from - in Berlin, and not in unilaterally, and necessarily the high command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.

In response, the Allies agreed to hold a secondary signing ceremony in Berlin. Eisenhower informed Jodl that the German commanders-in-chief of the armed forces were to report for final official proceedings at a time and place determined by the Soviet and Allied commands.

Address of heads of state to the people on May 8, 1945

Immediately after signing the surrender in Reims, Eisenhower recommended that a simultaneous statement be made by the heads of state in Moscow, London and Washington on May 8 at 15:00 (Central European Time), proclaiming May 9 as the day the war ended. After the Soviet command announced the need to re-sign the surrender, Eisenhower changed his first sentence, explaining that “it would be unwise to make any statements until the Russians are completely satisfied.” When it became clear that Moscow would not be able to speed up the announcement of surrender, London and Washington decided to do this on May 8 (as originally proposed), proclaiming May 8 as the day of achieving victory in Europe.

At 15:15 Central European Time on 8 May 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a radio address to the people of his country. From Churchill's radio address:

...there is no reason to hide from the people the fact that General Eisenhower informed us of the signing of unconditional surrender in Reims, and there is also no reason forbidding us to celebrate today and tomorrow as the days of Victory in Europe. Today, perhaps, we will think more about ourselves. And tomorrow we must pay tribute to our Russian comrades, whose courage on the battlefields became one of the most important components of our common victory.

Around the same time (according to the agreement - 36 hours after the signing of the surrender in Reims), other heads of state also made an appeal. In the USA (it was still morning there), President Harry Truman made a statement on the radio, who promised that “he would not make an official announcement until 9 a.m. Washington time on May 8, or 4 p.m. Moscow time, if Marshal Stalin did not express his consent to earlier hour" Arthur William Tedder) (UK). General K. Spaatz (USA) and General J. de Lattre de Tassigny (France) put their signatures as witnesses. It should be noted that at first Eisenhower himself was going to fly to Berlin to accept the surrender on behalf of the allied command, but he was stopped by the objections of Churchill and a group of officers from his entourage who were dissatisfied with the secondary signing: indeed, Eisenhower’s presence in Berlin, in his absence in Reims, seemed to detract the Reims act and elevated the Berlin one. As a result, Eisenhower sent his deputy, Arthur Tedder, in his place.

Differences in the text of the two acts

The text of the act repeats almost verbatim the text of the Reims Act, and the time of the ceasefire is confirmed - May 8 at 23:01 Central European time (May 9 at 01:01 Moscow time). The main changes to the text were as follows:

in the English text the expression Soviet High Command has been replaced by Supreme High Command of the Red Army;
Article 2 has been expanded and detailed in terms of requirements for German armed forces on disarmament, transfer and safety of weapons and military property;
preamble removed: “Only this text on English is authoritative" and added Article 6 stating: "This act is drawn up in Russian, English and German languages. Only Russian and English texts are authentic.”

Subsequent events

By agreement between the governments of the USSR, USA and Great Britain, an agreement was reached to consider the procedure in Reims preliminary. This is exactly how it was interpreted in the USSR, where the significance of the act of May 7 was belittled in every possible way (in Stalin’s address to the Soviet people, the Reims act was called the “preliminary protocol of surrender”), while in the West it is regarded as the actual signing of surrender, and the act in Karlshorst - as its ratification. Thus, Churchill, in his radio address on May 8, said: “Yesterday morning, at 2:41 am, General Jodl<…>and Grand Admiral Dönitz<…>signed an act of unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air force <…>. Today this agreement will be ratified and confirmed in Berlin." It is significant, for example, that in the fundamental work of the American historian W. Shirer, “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” the act in Karlshorst is not even mentioned.

Soviet citizens learned about the signing of the surrender in Karlshorst from a message from the Sovinformburo on May 9, 1945 at 2:10 a.m. Moscow time. Announcer Yuri Levitan read out the Act of Military Surrender of Nazi Germany and the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR declaring May 9 a Victory Day, which only meant military actions against Germany before May 9, 1945.

The final Act of unconditional surrender of Germany and its armed forces was signed on behalf of the German Wehrmacht by Field Marshal W. Keitel, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Admiral Von Friedeburg, and Colonel General of Aviation G. Stumpf. The USSR was represented by the Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal of the Soviet Union G. Zhukov, and the allies were represented by the British Air Chief Marshal A. Tedder. U.S. Army General Spaatz and the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, General Tassigny, were present as witnesses.

The ceremonial signing of the act took place under the chairmanship of Marshal Zhukov, and the signing ceremony itself took place in the building of the military engineering school, where a special hall was prepared, decorated with the state flags of the USSR, USA, England and France. At the main table were representatives of the Allied powers. The Soviet generals whose troops took Berlin, as well as journalists from many countries, were present in the hall.

In the USSR, the surrender of Germany was announced on the night of May 9, 1945, and by order of I. Stalin, a grandiose salute of a thousand guns was given in Moscow on that day. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in commemoration of the victorious completion of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders and the historical victories of the Red Army, May 9 was declared Victory Day.

In 1945, on May 8, in Karshorst (a suburb of Berlin) at 22.43 Central European time, the final Act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and its armed forces was signed. This act is called final for a reason, since it was not the first.

From the moment the Soviet troops closed the ring around Berlin, the German military leadership faced the historical question of preserving Germany as such. For obvious reasons, German generals wanted to capitulate to the Anglo-American troops, continuing the war with the USSR.

To sign the surrender to the allies, the German command sent a special group and on the night of May 7 in the city of Reims (France) a preliminary act of surrender of Germany was signed. This document stipulated the possibility of continuing the war against Soviet army.

However, the unconditional condition of the Soviet Union remained the demand for the unconditional surrender of Germany as a fundamental condition for the complete cessation of hostilities. The Soviet leadership considered the signing of the act in Reims to be only an interim document, and was also convinced that the act of surrender of Germany should be signed in the capital of the aggressor country.

At the insistence of the Soviet leadership, generals and Stalin personally, representatives of the Allies met again in Berlin and on May 8, 1945 signed another act of surrender of Germany together with the main winner - the USSR. That is why the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany is called final.

The ceremony of solemn signing of the act was organized in the building of the Berlin Military Engineering School and was chaired by Marshal Zhukov. The final Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany and its armed forces bears the signatures of Field Marshal W. Keitel, Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy Admiral Von Friedeburg, and Colonel General of Aviation G. Stumpf. On the Allied side, the Act was signed by G.K. Zhukov and British Marshal A. Tedder.

After the signing of the Act, the German government was dissolved, and the defeated German troops were completely folded. Between May 9 and May 17, Soviet troops captured about 1.5 million. German soldiers and officers, as well as 101 generals. The Great Patriotic War ended with the complete victory of the Soviet army and its people.

In the USSR, the signing of the final Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was announced when it was already May 9, 1945 in Moscow. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in commemoration of the victorious completion of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders, May 9 was declared Victory Day.