Why was the act of surrender of Germany signed twice? The act of surrender of Germany

The USSR signed the decree “On ending the state of war between the Soviet Union and Germany” only 10 years after the surrender of Nazi Germany, on January 25, 1955. This date is not widely known, it is ignored in history books, and no one celebrates the day the Decree was signed. Doctor of Historical Sciences Yuri Zhukov calls this case a “diplomatic and historical incident.” But the “incident” is not accidental, and it had its own reasons.

Even during the war, in Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam Conference the three great powers reached an agreement regarding Germany after the end of the war. We couldn't decide for a long time territorial issue– Will Germany exist as one state or will it be fragmented? Stalin insisted that Germany was united, neutral and demilitarized. Why did Stalin insist on such a decision? He simply remembered the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles, when the French occupied the Rhineland and later captured the Ruhr. The Poles took Mountain Silesia. This is what led to the desire to take revenge, to restore what was lost, and as a result, fascism appeared. Stalin took this fact into account, Churchill and Roosevelt did not. The USSR wanted to sign a peace treaty with Germany, which was not divided into 2 parts, but in the end it turned out differently.

May 9, 1945 - this date is familiar to every resident modern Russia And post-Soviet space as the day of the Great Victory over fascism. Unfortunately, historical facts are not always unambiguous, this is what allows some historians Western Europe distort events. The signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany happened somewhat differently than we all know from history books, but this should not change the idea of the course and results of that bloody war.

Offensive

Since the winter of 43-44, the Red Army drove the Germans to the border on all fronts. Fierce battles exhausted enemy forces, but also created difficulties for Soviet soldiers. The liberation of Karelia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia occurred during 1944, the Red Army reached the borders of the aggressor country. The signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany is still ahead; the troops, exhausted by many kilometers of marches, need to be regrouped for decisive battle. became a matter of prestige for our country, and our allies also strived for this anti-Hitler coalition. January 1945 became the moment of no return for the Nazis; the war was completely lost, but their resistance became even more fierce on the approaches to Berlin. The creation of many fortified areas, the reorganization of army units, the concentration of divisions on the eastern front - Hitler takes these actions in order to stop the Soviet troops. He partially succeeds in delaying the attack on Berlin; it is postponed from February to April 1945. The operation is carefully planned and prepared; all possible reserves and weapons are deployed to the advancing fronts. From April 16 to 17, 1945, the offensive begins with the forces of two fronts - the first Belorussian (Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov) and the first Ukrainian (chief commander Ivan Stepanovich Konev), the second Belorussian Front (Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky) must encircle the city and prevent breakthrough attempts . As if these terrible four years of war had not happened, the wounded got into formation and marched on Berlin, despite the fierce resistance of the fascists, swept away the fortifications, everyone knew that this was the path to victory. Only by noon in 1945, the capital of the Third Reich fell into complete silence, the remnants of the garrison surrendered and Soviet banners replaced the swastika on the remains of destroyed buildings.

Allies

In the summer of 1944, a massive offensive of allied troops began in the western direction. It is due, first of all, to the too rapid onslaught of the Red Army along the entire length of the eastern front line. The Norman landings, strategic bombing of the main industrial areas of the Third Reich, military operations in Belgium, France and Germany significantly complicate the situation of Nazi Germany. The seizure of the territory of the Ruhr region and southern Austria makes it possible to advance deep into the territory of the aggressor’s country. The legendary meeting of Soviet and allied troops on the Elbe River in April 1945 is actually the last step in the war. Surrender fascist Germany becomes a matter of time, especially since it has already been partially begun by some Wehrmacht armies. From a political point of view, the capture of Berlin was necessary for the Allies as well as for the USSR, Eisenhower repeatedly mentions this. For the united units of the British, Americans and Canadians, carrying out this offensive operation was theoretically possible. After the unsuccessful Ardennes counteroffensive, German troops retreated along almost the entire front without fierce fighting, trying to transfer combat-ready formations to the east. Hitler actually turned his back on the allies of the USSR, directing all efforts to stop the Red Army. The second front advanced very slowly; the command of the coalition forces did not want big losses among his soldiers during the assault on well-fortified Berlin and its outskirts.

Germans

Hitler waited until the very end for a split in the coalition and changes on the front line. He was sure that the meeting of the allies would turn into a new war against the USSR. When his expectations were not met, he decided to make peace with the United States and Great Britain, which would make it possible to close the second front. Negotiations were disrupted due to timely information received Soviet intelligence. This fact significantly accelerated the offensive of the Red Army and prevented the possibility of concluding a separate peace. The Allies had to resolutely insist on compliance with all the Yalta agreements, which implied the signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Hitler was ready to “surrender” Berlin to the Anglo-American troops, but he was unable to do this thanks to the Soviet command. The offensive and assault on the capital of the Third Reich became a matter of honor for our troops. The Nazis defended themselves fanatically, there was nowhere to retreat, the approaches to the city became powerful fortified areas.

Yalta Conference

Massive offensive actions on the eastern and western front made it clear to the Nazis that the complete surrender of Germany was already close. The year 1945 (its beginning) left Hitler no chance of victory and no opportunity to wage a protracted war on both sides. understood the importance of a coordinated peaceful solution to territorial and political transformations in liberated Europe. Representatives of the high level The three allied powers met in Yalta in February 1945. Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill determined the future not only of Germany, Poland, Italy, France, they created a new bipolar system for Europe, which was respected for the next 40 years. Of course, under the prevailing conditions, none of the countries could dictate their terms, so the results of this historic conference partially satisfied the demands of the leaders. But the main issue was the destruction of fascism and nationalism; the danger of the emergence of such ruling regimes was recognized by all participants.

Document preparation

The signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany took place in 1945, but back in 1943 the draft of this document was agreed upon by all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. The initiator of its creation was Roosevelt, the document itself was drawn up with the participation of an advisory commission consisting of European experts. The text of the draft was quite extensive and was rather advisory in nature, so in fact the surrender of Germany was signed after drawing up a completely different document. American officers approached its drafting from a military, purely pragmatic side. Six points of the document contained specific requirements, specific dates and procedures in case of violation of any article, which were historical.

Partial surrender

Several large military units of the Wehrmacht surrendered to the Allied forces before the agreement on the complete surrender of the Nazis was signed. German groups and entire armies sought to break through to the west so as not to fight the Russians. Their command realized that the war was over, and they could only get refuge by surrendering to the Americans and the British. Especially groups of SS troops, famous for atrocities on the territory of the USSR, fled from the rapidly advancing Russians. The first case of surrender was recorded on April 29, 1945 in Italy. On May 2, the garrison of Berlin surrendered to Soviet troops, on May 4, the naval forces of Germany in Denmark and Holland laid down their arms before the British, and on May 5, Army Group G capitulated, having reached the Americans from Austria.

First document

May 8, 1945 - this particular date in Europe is considered Victory Day over fascism. It was not chosen by chance; in fact, representatives of the new German government signed the surrender on May 7, and the document was supposed to come into force the next day. Admiral Friedeburg, as part of the German delegation, arrived in the Rhine, where Eisenhower's headquarters was based, with a proposal to surrender on May 5, 1945. The Nazis began to bargain with the allies on the terms of the document, trying to delay time and withdraw as many troops and civilians as possible beyond the western front line, while continuing attempts to contain Soviet army on east direction. Eisenhower completely rejected all German arguments, insisting on the complete and unconditional surrender of Germany and the signing of the document by all parties to the conflict. On May 6, representatives of all allied forces were summoned to the Rhine. Soviet history textbooks do not reflect who signed the act of surrender of Germany in the first version, but the names of these people have been preserved: from the USSR - General Susloparov, from the combined forces of the Allies - General Smith, from Germany - General Jodl, Admiral Friedeburg.

Stalin

Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov was a member of the Soviet mission at the Allied headquarters, therefore, before putting his signature on historical document, transmitted information to Moscow. The answer came late, but its fourth point implied the possibility of making changes to the original version, which Stalin took advantage of. He insisted on re-signing the act; the following arguments were given as arguments:

After signing the surrender, the Nazis continued to conduct active defensive combat operations on the eastern front.
Stalin also attached great importance to where the surrender of Germany was signed. For this, in his opinion, only the capital of the defeated state is suitable.
Susloparov did not have the authority to sign this document.

The allies agreed with his opinion, especially since in fact it was a repetition of the procedure, which did not change its essence.

Surrender of Germany

Ratification date previous agreement was scheduled for May 8, 1945. At 22:43 European time, the procedure for signing the surrender was completed; it was already the next day in Moscow. That is why on the morning of May 9, the end of the war and the complete defeat of Nazi Germany was announced on the territory of the USSR. In fact, the document was signed without significant changes, from the Soviet command it was signed by Marshal Konstantinovich, from the allied forces - by Marshal Arthur Tedder, from Germany - by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht, Colonel General of the Luftwaffe Stumpf, Admiral of the Navy Friedeburg. General Latre de Tassigny (France) and General Spaats (USA) acted as witnesses.

Hostilities

Many fascist groups did not recognize the surrender and continued to resist Soviet troops (in Austria and Czechoslovakia), hoping to break through to the west and surrender to the Allies. Such attempts were stopped by the destruction of enemy groups, so actual military operations were carried out on the eastern front until May 19, 1945. About 1,500 thousand German soldiers and 100 generals surrendered to Soviet troops after May 8. The number of individual clashes was significant, scattered enemy groups often resisted our soldiers, so the list of those killed in this terrible war is not limited to the date of May 9. The conclusion of peace between the main parties to the conflict did not occur at the time the act of “surrender of Germany” was signed. The date that will put an end to the military confrontation will come only in June 1945. At this time, a document will be drawn up and signed, which will be based on the principle of post-war governance of the country.

Victory

Levitan announced the end of the Great Patriotic War on May 9, 1945. This day is a holiday of the Victory of the Soviet multinational people over Nazi Germany. Both then and now, it doesn’t matter what date the surrender was signed, 7 or 8, the main thing is the fact of signing the document. Many peoples suffered in this war, but the Russians will always be proud that they were not broken and liberated their homeland and part of Europe. The victory was difficult, cost many millions of lives, and everyone's duty modern man- to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. The signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany happened twice, but the meaning of this document is clear.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, March 3, 1918, was a peace treaty between Germany and the Soviet government regarding Russia's withdrawal from the First World War. This world did not last long, since Germany terminated it on October 5, 1918, and on November 13, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was terminated by the Soviet side. This happened 2 days after Germany’s surrender in the World War.

Possibility of peace

The issue of Russia's exit from the First World War was extremely relevant. The people largely supported the ideas of the revolution, since the revolutionaries promised a quick exit from the country from the war, which had already lasted 3 years and was extremely negatively perceived by the population.

One of the first decrees of the Soviet government was the decree on peace. After this decree, on November 7, 1917, he addressed all warring countries with an appeal for an early conclusion of peace. Only Germany agreed. At the same time, you need to understand that the idea of concluding peace with capitalist countries was in contrast to Soviet ideology, which was based on the idea of world revolution. Therefore, there was no unity among the Soviet authorities. And Lenin had to push through the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty of 1918 for a very long time. There were three main groups in the party:

Bukharin. He put forward ideas that the war should continue at any cost. These are the positions of the classical world revolution.
Lenin. He said that peace must be signed on any terms. This was the position of the Russian generals.
Trotsky. He put forward a hypothesis, which today is often formulated as “No war! No peace! It was a position of uncertainty, when Russia disbands the army, but does not leave the war, does not sign a peace treaty. This was an ideal situation for Western countries.

Conclusion of a truce

On November 20, 1917, negotiations on the upcoming peace began in Brest-Litovsk. Germany proposed signing an agreement on the following conditions: separation from Russia of the territory of Poland, the Baltic states and part of the islands Baltic Sea. In total, it was assumed that Russia would lose up to 160 thousand square kilometers of territory. Lenin was ready to accept these conditions, since he Soviet power there was no army, but generals Russian Empire They unanimously said that the war was lost and peace must be concluded as soon as possible.

Trotsky conducted the negotiations as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. Noteworthy is the fact of the surviving secret telegrams between Trotsky and Lenin during the negotiations. To almost any serious military question, Lenin gave the answer that it was necessary to consult with Stalin. The reason here is not the genius of Joseph Vissarionovich, but that Stalin acted as an intermediary between tsarist army and Lenin.

During the negotiations, Trotsky delayed time in every possible way. He said that a revolution was about to happen in Germany, so you just need to wait. But even if this revolution does not happen, Germany does not have the strength for a new offensive. That's why he was playing for time, waiting for the party's support.
During the negotiations, a truce was concluded between the countries for the period from December 10, 1917 to January 7, 1918.

Why did Trotsky stall for time?

Taking into account the fact that from the first days of negotiations Lenin took the position of unambiguously signing a peace treaty, Troitsky’s support for this idea meant the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty and the end of the epic of the First World War for Russia. But Leiba didn’t do this, why? Historians give two explanations for this:

He was waiting for the German revolution, which was to begin very soon. If this is indeed the case, then Lev Davydovich was an extremely short-sighted person, expecting revolutionary events in a country where the power of the monarchy was quite strong. The revolution eventually happened, but much later than the time when the Bolsheviks expected it.
He represented the position of England, the USA and France. The fact is that with the beginning of the revolution in Russia, Trotsky came to the country from the USA with a large sum of money. At the same time, Trotsky was not an entrepreneur, he had no inheritance, but large amounts he had money, the origin of which he never specified. Western countries It was extremely beneficial for Russia to delay negotiations with Germany as long as possible so that the latter would leave its troops on the eastern front. This is not a lot of 130 divisions, the transfer of which to the western front could prolong the war.

The second hypothesis may at first glance smack of conspiracy theory, but it is not without merit. In general, if we consider the activities of Leiba Davydovich in Soviet Russia, then almost all of his steps are related to the interests of England and the United States.

Crisis in negotiations

On January 8, 1918, as was stipulated by the truce, the parties again sat down at the negotiating table. But literally immediately these negotiations were canceled by Trotsky. He referred to the fact that he urgently needed to return to Petrograd for consultations. Arriving in Russia, he raised the question of whether the Brest Peace Treaty should be concluded in the party. In opposition to him was Lenin, who insisted on the speedy signing of peace, but Lenin lost by 9 votes to 7. The revolutionary movements that began in Germany contributed to this.

On January 27, 1918, Germany made a move that few expected. She signed peace with Ukraine. This was a deliberate attempt to pit Russia and Ukraine against each other. But the Soviet government continued to stick to its line. On this day, a decree on the demobilization of the army was signed.

We are leaving the war, but we are forced to refuse to sign a peace treaty.
Trotsky

Of course, this shocked the German side, which could not understand how they could stop fighting and not sign peace.

On February 11 at 17:00, a telegram from Krylenko was sent to all front headquarters that the war was over and it was time to return home. The troops began to retreat, exposing the front line. At the same time, the German command brought Trotsky’s words to Wilhelm, and the Kaiser supported the idea of the offensive.

On February 17, Lenin again attempted to persuade party members to sign a peace treaty with Germany. Once again, his position is in the minority, since opponents of the idea of signing peace convinced everyone that if Germany did not go on the offensive in 1.5 months, then it would not go on the offensive further. But they were very wrong.

Signing the agreement

On February 18, 1918, Germany launched a large-scale offensive on all sectors of the front. Russian army was already partially demobilized and the Germans were quietly moving forward. Arose real threat complete seizure of Russian territory by Germany and Austria-Hungary. The only thing the Red Army was able to do was give a small battle on February 23 and slightly slow down the enemy’s advance. Moreover, this battle was given by officers who changed into a soldier’s overcoat. But this was one center of resistance that could not solve anything.

Lenin, under the threat of resignation, pushed through the party’s decision to sign a peace treaty with Germany. As a result, negotiations began, which ended very quickly. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on March 3, 1918 at 17:50.

On March 14, the 4th All-Russian Congress of Soviets ratified peace of Brest-Litovsk new contract. As a sign of protest, the Left Social Revolutionaries resigned from the government.

The terms of the Brest-Litovsk Peace were as follows:

Complete separation of the territories of Poland and Lithuania from Russia.
Partial separation from Russia of the territory of Latvia, Belarus and Transcaucasia.
Russia completely withdrew its troops from the Baltic states and Finland. Let me remind you that Finland had already been lost before.
The independence of Ukraine was recognized, which came under the protectorate of Germany.
Russia ceded eastern Anatolia, Kars and Ardahan to Turkey.
Russia paid Germany an indemnity of 6 billion marks, which was equal to 3 billion gold rubles.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia lost a territory of 789,000 square kilometers (compare with initial conditions). 56 million people lived in this territory, which accounted for 1/3 of the population of the Russian Empire. Such large losses became possible only because of the position of Trotsky, who first played for time and then brazenly provoked the enemy.

The fate of the Brest peace

It is noteworthy that after signing the agreement, Lenin never used the word “treaty” or “peace”, but replaced them with the word “respite”. And this really was so, because the world did not last long. Already on October 5, 1918, Germany terminated the treaty. The Soviet government dissolved it on November 13, 1918, 2 days after the end of the First World War. In other words, the government waited until Germany was defeated, became convinced that this defeat was irrevocable, and calmly canceled the treaty.

Why was Lenin so afraid to use the word “Brest Peace”? The answer to this question is quite simple. After all, the idea of concluding a peace treaty with capitalist countries went against the theory socialist revolution. Therefore, recognition of the conclusion of peace could be used by Lenin’s opponents to eliminate him. And here Vladimir Ilyich showed quite high flexibility. He made peace with Germany, but in the party he used the word respite. It was because of this word that the decision of the congress to ratify the peace treaty was not published. After all, the publication of these documents using Lenin’s formulation could be met negatively. Germany made peace, but it did not make any respite. Peace puts an end to the war, and a respite implies its continuation. Therefore, Lenin acted wisely by not publishing the decision of the 4th Congress on the ratification of the Brest-Litovsk agreements.

On May 8, 1945, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the German Armed Forces was signed in Karlshorst (a suburb of Berlin).

The document, signed in Reims at the level of chiefs of staff, was initially of a preliminary nature. The Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, General Eisenhower, did not sign. Moreover, he agreed to go to a “more official” ceremony in Berlin on May 8. However, political pressure was exerted on Eisenhower, both from Winston Churchill and from US political circles, and he was forced to abandon his trip to Berlin.

Signing of the act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces © Pravda newspaper, May 9, 1945

By order from Moscow, the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal, was appointed as the representative of the Supreme High Command of the Soviet Forces to sign the Act. Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. On the morning of May 8, Andrei Vyshinsky arrived from Moscow as a political adviser. Zhukov chose the headquarters of the 5th Shock Army as the place for signing the Act of Unconditional Surrender. It was located in the building of a former military engineering school in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst. The officers' mess hall was prepared for the ceremony; the furniture was brought from the Reich Chancellery building.

In a short time, Soviet engineering units prepared the road from Tempelhof Airport to Karlshorst, the remains of enemy fortifications and barricades were blown up, and the rubble was cleared. On the morning of May 8, journalists, correspondents from all the largest newspapers and magazines in the world, and photo reporters began arriving in Berlin to capture the historical moment of the legal formalization of the defeat of the Third Reich.

At 14.00, representatives of the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces arrived at the Tempelhof airfield. They were met by Deputy Army General Sokolovsky, the first commandant of Berlin, Colonel General Berzarin (commander of the 5th Shock Army), and member of the Military Council of the Army, Lieutenant General Bokov.

The High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces was represented by Eisenhower's deputy, British Air Chief Marshal Tedder, and the US Armed Forces by the Commander of Strategic air force General Spaats, French Armed Forces - Commander-in-Chief of the Army, General de Lattre de Tassigny. From Flensburg, under the protection of British officers, they were delivered to Berlin former boss the headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht, Field Marshal Keitel, the Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine, Admiral von Friedeburg, and Colonel General Stumpf, who had the authority to sign the Act of Unconditional Surrender from the government of K. Doenitz. The last to arrive was the French delegation.

Exactly at midnight Moscow time, as agreed in advance, the ceremony participants entered the hall. Georgy Zhukov opened the meeting with the words: “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 countries of the anti-Hitler coalition to accept unconditional surrender Germany from the German military command."

Then Zhukov invited representatives of the German command to the hall. They were asked to sit at a separate table.

Signing of the act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces © “Red Star” newspaper, May 9, 1945

After confirming that the representatives of the German side had authority from the government, Denitsa Zhukov and Tedder asked whether they had the Instrument of Surrender in their hands, whether they had become acquainted with it and whether they agreed to sign it. Keitel agreed and prepared to sign the documents at his desk. However, Vyshinsky, as an expert in diplomatic protocol, whispered a few words to Zhukov, and the marshal said loudly: “Not there, but here. “I suggest that the representatives of the German High Command come here and sign the Act of Unconditional Surrender.” Keitel was forced to go to a special table placed next to the table at which the Allies were sitting.

Keitel put his signature on all copies of the Act (there were nine of them). Following him, Admiral Friedeburg and Colonel General Stumpf did this.

After this, Zhukov and Tedder signed, followed by General Spaats and General de Lattre de Tassigny as witnesses. At 0 hours 43 minutes on May 9, 1945, the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was completed. Zhukov invited the German delegation to leave the hall.

The act consisted of six points: “1. We, the undersigned, acting on behalf of the German High Command, agree to the unconditional surrender of all our armed forces on land, sea and air, as well as all forces currently under German command, to the Supreme Command of the Red Army and at the same time to the Supreme Command Allied Expeditionary Forces.

2. The German High Command will immediately issue orders to all German commanders of land, sea and air forces and all forces under German command to cease hostilities at 23.01 hours Central European Time on May 8th, 1945, to remain in their places where they are located at this time, and completely disarm, handing over all their weapons and military equipment to the local Allied commanders or officers assigned by representatives of the Allied High Command, not to destroy or cause any damage to steamships, ships and aircraft, their engines, hulls and equipment, and machinery , weapons, apparatus and all military-technical means of warfare in general.

3. The German High Command will immediately assign the appropriate commanders and ensure that all further orders issued by the Supreme Command of the Red Army and the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces are carried out.

Signing of the act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces © Izvestia newspaper, May 9, 1945

4. This act shall not be an obstacle to its replacement by another general instrument of surrender, concluded by or on behalf of the United Nations, applicable to Germany and the German armed forces as a whole.

5. In the event that the German High Command or any armed forces under its command do not act in accordance with this instrument of surrender, the High Command of the Red Army as well as the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces will take such punitive measures, or other actions they deem necessary.

6. This act is drawn up in Russian, English and German languages. Only Russian and English lyrics are authentic."

The differences from the Act of Surrender signed in Reims were minor in form, but significant in content. So, instead of Soviet High Command (Soviet Supreme Command), the name Supreme High Command of the Red Army (Supreme High Command of the Red Army). Safety clause military equipment has been expanded and supplemented. A separate point was made regarding the language issue. The point about the possibility of signing another document remained unchanged.

The most terrible war in the history of mankind ended with the victory of the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. Nowadays the Russian-German Surrender Museum operates in Karlshorst.

The act of unconditional surrender of Germany is the document that ended the Great Patriotic War. This Act stated that the war ended with the complete defeat of Nazi Germany. The fact that the Act was signed in Berlin, taken Soviet troops, emphasized the decisive role of the USSR in the defeat of fascism.

In 1944-1945 Great Patriotic War was transferred to the territory of Nazi Germany. Although in 1945 the prospect of defeating fascism became obvious, the question remained unclear which part of Germany would be under the control of the USSR and which part would be under the control of the Western Allies. The Nazis, considering themselves a bulwark of Western civilization against communism, did everything to stop the advance of the Red Army. The German military and officials rightly believed that their fate would be somewhat easier if they ended up in the hands of the Western allies rather than Stalin. The Soviet leadership feared that under the auspices of the United States and Great Britain, German nationalism could revive and again threaten the USSR.

Despite the fact that Soviet troops had not yet completed the capture of the large fortress of Koenigsberg on the flank of their offensive, it was decided to advance on Berlin.

The Soviet troops were opposed by the Vistula Army Group under the command of Colonel General G. Heinrici and the Center Army Group under the command of Field Marshal F. Scherner - with a total number of about 1 million people, 10,400 guns and mortars, 1,500 tanks and assault guns and 3,300 combat aircraft. Another 8 divisions were in the reserve of the main command ground forces. The number of garrisons in Berlin itself exceeded 200 thousand people.

In order to encircle and capture Berlin, the Soviet command concentrated troops of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian, 1st Ukrainian Fronts and other forces - 162 rifle and cavalry divisions, 21 tank and mechanized corps, 4 air armies with a total number of 2.5 million people, about 42 thousand guns and mortars, over 6,250 tanks and self-propelled guns, 7,500 combat aircraft.

The path to Berlin was covered by fortifications on the Seelow Heights. In order to avoid large losses, it was necessary to take them suddenly, in one blow. The commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, G. Zhukov, concentrated a strong strike group against the heights, and in order to stun the defenders, the light of powerful aircraft searchlights was directed at them before the attack. On April 16, the troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts went on the offensive. On April 19, the Seelow Heights were taken. On April 24, troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts surrounded a 300,000-strong enemy group southeast of Berlin. Despite fierce enemy resistance, Soviet troops under the command of Zhukov and the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front I. Konev surrounded Berlin on April 25 and advanced to the Elbe to meet the allies. April 25, Torgau district 5th guards army met with the US 1st Army.

The assault on Berlin began. The Germans fought for every house. Berlin was turned into a system of powerful fortifications. It had already been largely reduced to ruins by Allied bombing, but the ruins also made it difficult for Soviet troops to advance forward. Step by step, Soviet troops captured the most important objects of the city, the most famous of which was the Reichstag. This height dominated the city center, where the Reich Chancellery was located, near which Hitler was hiding in a bunker. When the red flag was hoisted on it, it became clear that Berlin had fallen. On April 30, realizing that Nazism had failed, Hitler committed suicide. Power passed to Goebbels, but on May 1 he chose to follow Hitler. On May 2, the Nazis in Berlin capitulated.

A large German group continued to operate in the Czech Republic. On May 5, an uprising occurred in Prague. But the Germans defeated the rebels. On May 9, units of the Red Army finished off German troops near Prague. With the surrender of German troops near Prague, hostilities in Europe effectively ended.

The German command delayed surrender, hoping that as soon as possible more troops will be able to leave the remnants of the eastern front and surrender to the Western allies.

On May 2, the new Reich President of Germany, Grand Admiral K. Dönitz, held a meeting at which it was decided to stop resistance to the Anglo-Americans and pursue a policy of private surrenders at the level of army groups, continuing resistance to the Red Army. In Reims, where the headquarters of the commander of the Western Allied forces, D. Eisenhower, was located, representatives of Dennitz tried to achieve a separate surrender in the West, but Eisenhower refused this.

On May 7, 1945, in Reims, Chief of Staff of the Allied Forces in Europe W. Smith, USSR representative Gen. I. Susloparov and the representative of the government of K. Dönitz, General A. Jodl, signed a protocol on the surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany on May 8. In the remaining hours, the German leadership hoped to evacuate as many troops and refugees as possible for surrender in the west.
Susloparov took part in the signing of the surrender in Reims, not yet knowing that Stalin was strongly opposed to it being accepted outside of Berlin, which was taken by Soviet troops. But he insisted on including a clause in the agreement that made it possible to replace the capitulation in Reims with a more general agreement (this clause was then repeated in the final version of the capitulation - already in Berlin).

Stalin rejected Truman and Churchill's proposal to announce the end of the war on May 8. He believed that the Act should be solemnly signed in Berlin: “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." The Allies agreed to hold a secondary signing ceremony in Berlin. Eisenhower indicated to Jodl that the German commanders-in-chief of the armed forces would be brought in for the final official procedure at a time and place determined by the Soviet and Allied commands. Eisenhower decided not to go to Berlin, so as not to diminish the significance of the surrender in Reims.

On the night of May 8-9, 1945, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, in the building of the former canteen of the military engineering school (it was not easy to find an entire building in destroyed Berlin), the Act of Unconditional Surrender was signed by representatives of the German command, Field Marshal W. Keitel, Admiral G. Friedeburg and Colonel General of Aviation G. Stumpf. From the USSR, the surrender was accepted by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Vyshinsky and the representative of the Soviet Supreme High Command, Marshal of the Soviet Union G. Zhukov. The command of the expeditionary forces in Europe was represented by Deputy Commander D. Eisenhower, British Air Chief Marshal A. Tedder. The agreement was also signed by the Commander of the US Strategic Armed Forces, General K. Spaats, and the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, General J.-M. Delattre de Tassigny.

The text of the surrender signed in Karlshorst repeated the surrender in Reims (in order not to cause new disputes between the allies, it was repeated in full), but it was important that the German command in Berlin itself had now surrendered. Representatives of the German High Command agreed to "the unconditional surrender of all our armed forces on land, sea and air, as well as all forces currently under German command, to the Supreme Command of the Red Army and at the same time to the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces" on 23 -01 hours Central European Time May 8, 1945 The ceremony ended at 0 hours 43 minutes May 9, 1945 Great Patriotic War and Second world war in Europe have ended.

ACT OF MILITARY SURRENDER.

1. We, the undersigned, acting on behalf of the German High Command, agree to the unconditional surrender of all our armed forces on land, sea and air, as well as all forces currently under German command, to the Supreme Command of the Red Army and at the same time Supreme Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces.

2. The German High Command will immediately issue orders to all German commanders of land, sea and air forces and all forces under German command to cease hostilities at 2301 hours Central European Time on May 8, 1945, to remain in their places where they are at this time, and completely disarm, handing over all their weapons and military equipment to local Allied commanders or officers assigned to representatives of the Allied High Commands, not to destroy or cause any damage to ships, ships and aircraft, their engines, hulls and equipment, and also machines, weapons, apparatus and all military-technical means of warfare in general.

5. In the event that the German High Command or any armed forces under its command do not act in accordance with this instrument of surrender, the High Command of the Red Army, as well as the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, will take such punitive measures as or other actions they deem necessary.

6. This act is drawn up in Russian, English and German. Only Russian and English texts are authentic.

On behalf of the German High Command:

Keitel, Friedenburg, Stumpf

In the presence of:

We were also present at the signing as witnesses.

Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. M., 1999.

Zhukov G.K. Memories and reflections. M., 1990.

Konev I.S. Forty-fifth. M., 1970.

Chuikov V.I. The end of the Third Reich. M., 1973.

Shtemenko S.M. General Staff during the war years. M., 1985.

Vorobyov F.D., Parodkin I.V., Shimansky A.N. The final assault. M., 1975.

Why did the German command resist more strongly on the eastern front than on the western?