When the act of surrender was signed in 1945. Signing of the Act of Surrender of Germany in Karlshorst

Who unconditional surrender 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 the Second World War directed against Germany, obliging German military personnel to cease resistance, surrender personnel and transfer the material part of the armed forces to the enemy, which actually marked Germany’s exit from the war. It was signed by representatives of the Wehrmacht High Command, the Western Allied High Command and the Soviet Union.

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

The idea of ​​unconditional German 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 Advisory Commission from January 1944; the text (called “Terms of German Surrender”) was agreed upon 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 mandatory instructions, but as recommendations. 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 ultimately signed. The text was developed by a group of American officers from the entourage of Allied Commander-in-Chief Dwight Eisenhower; the primary author of the text was Colonel Philimore of 3rd (Operations) Section SHAEF. In order for it not to contradict the draft of the European Commission, at the suggestion of the English diplomat Ambassador Weinand, Article 4 was introduced into the text of the document, 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, the idea of ​​this article is attributed to the Soviet representative at the Allied command Susloparov).

Partial surrenders

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

First act

The school building in Reims where the surrender was signed.

Having signed the act of surrender of German troops in the north in Lüneburg on May 4, Admiral Friedeburg went to Eisenhower's headquarters, located in Reims, in order, on the instructions of Dönitz, to raise before him the question of the surrender of German troops on the 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 at 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).

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 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 general surrender is possible, and the 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 Doenitz, 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 Jodl, who was known as a categorical opponent of surrender in the East, to Reims. 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-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 “real blackmail,” however, also realizing the hopelessness of the situation, shortly after midnight on May 7, he instructed Keitel to answer: "Grand Admiral Doenitz grants full authority to sign in accordance with the proposed terms". The signing ceremony was scheduled for 2:30 am. The act of surrender was supposed to come into force at 23:01 on May 8, i.e. almost two days after signing - Dönitz hoped to use 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 Higher Staff of 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 was thus held at the level of the 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 in order to 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. However, German radio (from Flensburg) reported the signing of the surrender on May 7, at 14:41. Another 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 the surrender continued in the West for another day - only on the afternoon of May 8 was it officially announced. In the Soviet Union, an absolute ban was imposed on information about the May 7 surrender.

Second act

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

Stalin was outraged by the signing of the surrender at 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).

This last demand 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 agreement 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 the fascist aggression came from - 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 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.

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

Keitel signs the surrender in Karlshorst

The Soviet people learned about this from a message from 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, 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 is usually 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 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 actions against Germany before May 9, 1945.

Exactly 70 years ago, on May 8, 1945, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst at 22:43 Central European time (May 9 at 00:43 Moscow time), the final Act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed.
A selection of photographs dedicated to this significant event.
1. German building military engineering school in the suburb of Berlin - Karlshorst, where the signing ceremony of 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, sitting from left to right: Colonel General Stumpf from the military air force, Field Marshal Keitel from ground forces and Admiral General von Friedeburg from navy. 05/08/1945


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


4. Representatives of the Allied command after the signing of the German surrender in Reims (France) 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 the British Navy Staff Admiral Sir Harold Burrough.


5. Colonel General Alfred Jodl (center) signs the German surrender at the headquarters of the Allied forces in Reims at 02.41 local time on May 7, 1945. Seated 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 German surrender in Reims, which was not agreed upon 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 his allies agreed to consider the procedure in Reims a preliminary surrender. The Allies also agreed that the matter should not be postponed, and scheduled the signing of the Act of Surrender of Germany in its entirety in Berlin for May 8, 1945.


6. Signing of the German surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945. In the photo, back from right to left: A. Jodl's adjutant Major Wilhelm Oxenius, Colonel General Alfred Jodl and Grand Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg; facing from left to right: Chief of Staff of Allied Forces in Europe British Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Morgan, French General Francois 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, Head 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 German surrender at the headquarters of the Allied forces in Reims at 02.41 local time on May 7, 1945.


8. Representatives of the German command approach the table to sign the surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945. In the photo from left to right: A. Jodl's adjutant 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 is his adjutant, senior lieutenant Ivan Chernyaev.


10. The Allied Chief of Staff in Europe, 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 the chief of staff of the British fleet, Admiral Sir Harold Burro, on the right is the head of the USSR military mission in France, Major General Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov (1897-1974).


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 is his adjutant, senior lieutenant Ivan Chernyaev.


12. Wehrmacht artillery general Helmut Weidling emerges from a bunker during the surrender of the Berlin garrison. 05/02/1945


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 Act of Surrender on the part of the USSR. In the background is a Soviet cameraman filming the signing ceremony. Berlin. 09/08/1945


14. General Jodl signs the German surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945.


15. General Jodl signs the German surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945.


16. General Jodl signs the German surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945.


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


18. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, signing the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany on the German side, is presented with 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 of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces, Infantry General Krebs (left), who arrived at the location on May 1 Soviet troops in order to involve the High Command in the negotiation process. On the same day, the general shot himself. Berlin. 05/01/1945


20. The Soviet delegation before signing the Act of Unconditional Surrender of all German Armed Forces. Berlin. 05/08/1945 Standing on the right is the representative of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army, 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, Army General V.D. Sokolovsky.


21. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, signing the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany on the German side, is presented with the text of the Act. On the left at the table sits G.K. Zhukov, who signed the Act on behalf of the USSR. Berlin. 05/08/1945

22. Representatives of the German command, led by Field Marshal Keitel, are sent to sign the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany. May 8, Berlin, Karlhorst.


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


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


25. German surrender on the Frisch-Nerung spit, East Prussia. German and soviet officers discuss the terms of surrender and the procedure for surrendering German troops. 05/09/1945


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


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


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


29. German surrender on the Frisch-Nerung spit, East Prussia.


30. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signs the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany. Berlin, May 8, 1945, 22:43 Central European time (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 signing ceremony of the Act of Surrender of Germany by British Air Chief Marshal Tedder A.V. Among those greeting: Army General V.D. Sokolovsky. and the commandant of Berlin, Colonel General Berzarin N.E. 05/08/1945


33. Arrival in Berlin of Field Marshal W. Keitel, Fleet Admiral H. Friedeburg and Air Force Colonel General G. Stumpf to sign the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany. Among the accompanying persons is Army General V.D. Sokolovsky. and Colonel General Berzarin N.E. 05/08/1945


34. First Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyshinsky A.Ya. and Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. heading to the signing ceremony of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany. Karlshorst. 05/08/1945


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


36. Signing by Field Marshal V. Keitel of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of all German Armed Forces. Berlin. Karlshorst. 05/08/1945


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


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

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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) - a legal document that 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 perceived not 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 large group 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 a 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.” Authorization to sign was received by Jodel 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 fighting 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 quickly as possible, if necessary, break through battle formations Russians. 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 Imperial Government, formed by the Grand Admiral to complete all military tasks, I address this tragic moment our history to the German people...

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 base our folk life right. 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 all our human, moral and material forces to flourish 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 forces every living person to whom the world has given lasting 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 to the Soviet people, broadcast on radio 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, making 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).

This last demand 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 the fascist aggression came from - in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by 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 (Soviet Supreme Command) is replaced by Supreme High Command of the Red Army (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 language is authoritative" and added Article 6 stating: "This act is drawn up in Russian, English and German languages. Only Russian and English lyrics 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 forces<…>. 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.