The act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Reference

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 by Soviet troops, emphasized the decisive role of the USSR in the defeat of fascism.

In 1944-1945 The 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 USA 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 3300 combat aircraft. Another 8 divisions were in the reserve of the main command of the 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 strength of 2.5 million people, about 42 thousand guns and mortars, over 6250 tanks and self-propelled guns, 7500 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. On April 25, near the city of Torgau, the 5th Guards Army met with the 1st American 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, Red Army units 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 many troops as possible would 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 on May 8, 1945. The ceremony ended at 0 hours 43 minutes on May 9, 1945. The Great Patriotic War and World War II in Europe 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 High 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 steamers, ships and aircraft, their engines, hulls and equipment, and also machines, 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.

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 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:

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. M., 1985.

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

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

Who inherited the post of Reich President after Hitler's suicide?

Why was the signing of the final German surrender in Reims unacceptable?

Why does paragraph 4 of the Act of Surrender, signed in Berlin, speak of the possibility of a new agreement? Was it signed?

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.

This 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 23:1 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 currently 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 to carry out the re-signing of the surrender at the time and place specified 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. On behalf of the United States, the commander of the Strategic Air Forces, General K. Spaats, was present and signed the surrender as a witness; on behalf of 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 get 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 called the place where the act of unconditional surrender was signed, and only Wilhelm Keitel is 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 of the European Advisory Commission.

The document is entitled: "Statement 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 British Fleet Admiral B. Fraser.

Any war, as we know, ends with the unconditional surrender of the losing side of the military conflict. The Great Patriotic War was no exception, however, there are still many amazing versions and rumors regarding the surrender of Germany. We decided to look into the most famous of them.

Version 1: Which surrender is real?

The most amazing thing is that Germany surrendered twice. Public opinion in Russia and the West differs about which of them is real. The first signing of a historical document took place on May 7 in the French city of Reims at the headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. The German Surrender Act was signed again a day later on the night of May 8-9, 1945 in Karlhorst, a district of East Berlin. In addition, the surrender of individual parts of the Wehrmacht occurred in Northern Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark and North-West Germany much earlier than the signing of the official Act of Surrender of the entire country. It is not surprising that the West recognizes the “French” capitulation on May 7, while in Russia the capitulation signed in Berlin on May 8–9 enjoys great authority. Oddly enough, in this case, from the legal side, both documents have equal legal force, but completely different political weight.

Following the letter of the law, both on May 7 and May 8-9, 1945, Germany capitulated to representatives of all three allied countries of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. At the signing of the document in Reims, the representative of the Supreme High Command Headquarters under the Allied Command, Major General I.A., put his signature. Susloparov, on behalf of the Anglo-American side, the document was signed by US Army Lieutenant General Water Bedell Smith. The German side was represented by the Chief of Operations Staff of the High Command of the German Army, Colonel General Alfred Jodl. In addition, the surrender was endorsed by the Deputy Chief of the French National Defense Staff, Brigadier General Francois Sevez. However, despite the appearance of the long-awaited document on the end of the war, Moscow was extremely dissatisfied with the very procedure of its signing. Moreover, I.V. Stalin sent I.A. A telegram to Susloparov prohibiting the signing of this document, but he was late. When the telegram was delivered to the addressee, the surrender had already been signed by all parties. True, the insightful Ivan Aleksandrovich Susloparov made a small addition to the document, stating that if one of the parties wants to re-sign the document, this should be done. On the same day, this proposal was received from the Soviet side by order of I.V. Stalin. For the second time, the Act of Surrender of Germany was signed in Berlin. This time the list of signatories turned out to be more representative.

Marshal G.K. accepted the surrender from the USSR. Zhukov, from the Anglo-American forces, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, Marshal Arthur Tedder. On the German side, the Act of Surrender was signed by Field Marshal General, Chief of the Wehrmacht High Command Wilhelm Keitl, Luftwaffe representative Colonel General Stumpf and Kriegsmarine representative Admiral von Friedeburg. At the same time, London and Washington were extremely dissatisfied with the re-signing of the document. To express his attitude to this procedure, instead of Dwight Eisenhower, who was personally going to sign the second surrender, his deputy was sent to Berlin. However, from the point of view of international law, both German surrenders have equal force.

Version 2: Shooting for surrender?

An equally widespread legend regarding the capitulation of Germany was the further fate of I.A. Susloparova, contrary to the order of I.V. Stalin, who signed the surrender in Reims. For a long time, deliberately false information was spread in the Western media that Ivan Alexandrovich was shot after the war. The more humane European tabloids “sent” him to camps for decades. Of course, there was not a penny of truth in these publications. The fact is that the agreement on surrender in Reims by all interested parties took two days from May 5 to May 7. Moreover, the final text of the surrender was sent by telegram to Moscow on May 6 with a request for permission to sign it. The fact is that the response telegram from I.V. Stalin acted too late, I.A.’s fault. Susloparov is not there. Moreover, he, having shown insight, managed to arrange everything in such a way that no problems arose with re-signing the document.

At the same time, it is unknown how the situation would have unfolded if Ivan Alexandrovich had refused to sign the historical document. It is well known that the Germans delayed signing the surrender with all their might, trying to transport as many civilians, material assets, technical documentation and remaining combat-ready troops to the West as possible. With this step, the leaders of the throbbing Third Reich hoped to leave the opportunity to subsequently come to an agreement with the Anglo-American allies, so that they could then jointly continue the war against the USSR. In this delicate situation, the signing of the surrender had to be carried out as soon as possible. After the end of the war, the fate of I.A. Susloparova's situation turned out extremely favorably. He was transferred to work at the Military Diplomatic Academy in Moscow, where Ivan Alexandrovich worked until his death on December 16, 1974.

Version 3: Why was the press silent?

A rather unusual fact, which military historians on both sides of the ocean paid attention to after the war, was the silence of the press on the day the first act of surrender was signed on May 7, 1945. One could assume that the press was simply not invited to cover this historical moment. But no. 17 journalists were present at the procedure for signing the Act of German Surrender in Reims. It turned out that the whole point was an unusual request from the leaders of the winning countries addressed to media representatives. Official historiography claims that when the USA and Great Britain learned that the USSR categorically insisted on a second signing of the Act of Surrender, journalists were sworn to keep this information secret for 36 hours. Representatives of the press behaved with dignity, sending the corresponding messages to their publications only at 3 o’clock in the afternoon on May 8, 1945. Only Edward Kennedy, a reporter for the Associated Press, acted undignifiedly. Having become an apostate, he divulged information about the surrender on May 7 at 15:41. For his ugly act, he immediately lost his job, although he remained in history. In contrast, the names of other journalists present at the signing of the document in Reims are not known today.

Version 4: Signature or Ratification?

It is not surprising that after the end of the war, both in the West and in the USSR, they tried to downplay the role of the Act of Surrender, which was not beneficial to one side or another, while in fact both documents were equivalent. It should be noted that the first to violate the behind-the-scenes agreements of the leaders of the winning countries was Winston Churchill. The fact is that the heads of the USSR, USA and Great Britain, before making Germany's surrender public, honestly agreed to consider the Act of Surrender in Reims preliminary, and in Berlin as the main one. However, in violation of the gentlemen's agreements, in his radio address to the nation on May 8, 1945, Churchill stated that the previous morning Germany had signed an act of unconditional surrender, while from May 8 to 9 it would be ratified in Karlshos by signing a new Act.

Thus, Winston Churchill not only broke his word, but also gave rise to a historical intrigue, the purpose of which was to downplay the significance of the Act of Surrender of Germany, signed in Karlshos by a more representative delegation of the parties from May 8 to 9, 1945. Subsequently, some well-known Western publicists did not even mention the surrender signed in Berlin in their books. In the USSR, the population learned about the capitulation of fascist Germany from a message from the Sovinformburo, sounded at 2:10 a.m. on May 9, 1945. At the same time, today in Russia it is practically unknown that, having signed two surrenders at once, the USSR remained in the war with Germany until January 25, 1955. Only 10 years after the end of hostilities, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a Decree to end the state of war with Germany.

Version 5: Why was it necessary to re-sign the Act of Surrender?

A completely natural question arises, why I.V. Stalin needed a second surrender of Germany when the first one in Reims was carried out with the participation of a Soviet representative with all the necessary formalities. Moreover, the text of the document signed a day later in Karlshorse in Berlin was almost completely consistent with its predecessor. It turned out that there was a rather significant logic in this requirement. In particular, I.V. Stalin said that the Act signed in Reims “cannot be either canceled or recognized.” The capitulation of the fascist regime, in his firm opinion, should have taken place not on the territory of the victors, but in Berlin, where fascist aggression began.

Today, quite often you can also hear the opinion that I.V. Stlin was motivated by justifiable indignation that the first Act of Surrender was signed on the territory of the Anglo-American troops, and not the Soviet ones, although the main burden of the war and the credit for the victory lay with the Red Army. This is true, but it is also necessary to remember that the Germans initially considered the possibility of surrender only to Western countries. Moreover, after the First World War, attempts were made repeatedly to challenge a similar document, due to the fact that on the German side it was signed by a military commander who could not speak on behalf of the entire army. Including to prevent this from happening again, I.V. Stalin demanded that Alfred Jodl's signature be replaced with Wilhelm Keitl's visa.

We firmly associate May 9 with Victory Day. This date is associated with the signing of the act of surrender of Nazi Germany. This is also written about in school textbooks. But other countries of the anti-Hitler coalition always celebrated Victory Day on May 8th. Where does this discrepancy come from and how did the Nazi leadership actually surrender?

April 30, committing suicide. And the very next day a red flag fluttered over the Reichstag.

However, the suicide of the Fuhrer and the fall of Berlin did not yet mean the surrender of Germany, which still had more than a million soldiers in the ranks. The new government of the country, led by Grand Admiral Karl Dennitz, was inclined to continue hostilities on the Eastern Front. In the western direction, the Germans pursued a policy of so-called private surrenders. Beginning on May 4, the German armies, one after another, laid down their arms before the Americans in Holland, Bavaria, Denmark, and Austria.

On May 7, 1945, at 2.41 in Reims, the United States and England arbitrarily accepted the surrender of Germany. From the USSR, Major General Ivan Susloparov was at the Allied headquarters as a permanent representative. He was clearly not prepared for such an unexpected turn of events. Fearing that the act in Reims could infringe on the interests of the USSR, the general, before the signing ceremony, sent the text of the act of surrender to Moscow, requesting additional instructions. However, the answer never arrived by the appointed time. The head of the Soviet military mission found himself in a very delicate position. It is difficult to even imagine how this decision was given to him, but he agreed to sign the document virtually at his own peril and risk, including a clause in it about the possible repetition of the ceremony at the request of any of the allied states.

Susloparov’s foresight came in handy. Stalin was extremely annoyed by the signing of the surrender in Reims and categorically refused to recognize this document as final. It turned out really unfair and dishonest. The fighting on the Soviet-German front was still ongoing, but in the West the war was considered over. The Allies delayed the opening of the second front for almost three years under various pretexts, but they were a whole day ahead of the USSR in declaring Victory, thereby hoping to push back its contribution to the defeat of fascism.

This is what Marshal Zhukov recalled about this: “On May 7, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief called me in Berlin and said: “Today in Reims the Germans signed an act of unconditional surrender. The Soviet people bore the brunt of the war on their shoulders, not the allies. Therefore, the surrender must be signed before the Supreme Command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, and not just before the command of the allied forces.” Stalin demanded a new signing of the act of surrender in Berlin taken by the Red Army. The ceremony was scheduled for May 9 at 24.00 Moscow time.

From their table to the table of the presidium, where the Act of Unconditional Surrender was signed, the members of the German delegation had to walk exactly eight steps. This had a special meaning. This is how far the German delegation walked to Marshal Foch's trailer in 1918, when the Act of Surrender of Germany in the First World War was signed

Marshal Zhukov accepted the surrender from the Soviet side. They decided to hold the ceremony in the canteen of the military engineering school. Our fellow countryman from Borisov, Mikhail Filonov (unfortunately, he is no longer alive. - Author's note) was an eyewitness to this historical event. And this is what he told me:

— The school housed the headquarters

5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. I served as a sapper at headquarters. And on the night of May 9, I was appointed duty officer in the hall. Most of the officers came to the conference directly from the front line. So they entered the hall - without ceremonial uniforms, awards, with order bars hastily fastened on. In a small smoking room nearby I saw Keitel nervously choking on cigarette smoke. The winners defiantly went out to smoke in the adjacent room.

After listening to the translator, Keitel suddenly stood up, approached with undisguised anger and sat down at the table. At that moment his monocle fell out. He corrected it and with a trembling hand began to quickly sign the Act. At these moments, something incredible was happening around. Photographers and cameramen, pushing each other, rushed to take historical footage. Someone even jumped on the table at which the generals were sitting. The hall was filled with smoke from the flashes of many cameras. The officers on duty had a hard time restoring order. After Keitel, the document was signed in turn by Zhukov and representatives of the USA, Great Britain and France. Then the German delegation was asked to leave the hall. It was 0 hours 43 minutes Moscow time.

Tatyana Koroleva, who worked as a waitress that day, recalls: “There was literally an explosion of emotions. Everyone started hugging, kissing, shouting and crying. They took autographs: some on money, some on photo cards or a notebook.” When everyone had calmed down, tables were brought in and food and drinks began to be set out. Snacks were brought specially from Moscow. Yes, what kind! Sturgeon, salmon, caviar... All this was washed down with vodka and cognac. The toasts sounded non-stop. They drank to the marshals, then to the infantry, pilots, tank crews, sailors, orderlies, army cooks. Suddenly someone remembered about the German delegation. Like, they probably need to be fed too. Everyone looked at Zhukov. After a moment’s pause, he ordered: “Bring them the vodka. Let them drink to our Victory!” Thus the end was put in the history of the most terrible war.

From the text of the Act of Military Surrender of the German Armed Forces:

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... to cease hostilities at 23.01 hours Central European Time on May 8, 1945, to remain in their places where they are at that time and to completely disarm, having handed over all their weapons and military equipment to local Allied commanders or officers allocated by representatives of the Allied High Command, not to destroy or cause any damage to steamships, ships and aircraft, their engines, hulls and equipment, as well as vehicles, weapons, apparatus and all military equipment in general -technical means of warfare.

3. 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.

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 the Soviet army.

How did Germany surrender?

The signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945 was preceded by the Berlin operation. For 23 days, military personnel tried to get to the center of Berlin in order to completely eliminate the German army. During the operation, the Red Army managed to destroy the largest group of enemy troops in the history of wars.

The width of the combat front was 300 kilometers, the depth was more than 200. Once a day, military personnel moved deeper into the territory to a distance of 10 km. The advance of Soviet troops towards the center of Germany was complicated by the fact that on the way to Berlin there were many reinforced concrete bunkers with hundreds of fascist soldiers inside.

The main goal of the Red Army was the liquidation of the Reichstag. Quite a few Soviet soldiers died while performing their duty. However, the army managed to reach the end and capture the main enemy building, despite significant losses and difficult conditions for the fight.

Signing of the German Instrument of Surrender on May 8, 1945

On the eve of the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany, Soviet troops closed the ring around Berlin. The leadership of the Third Reich had to think about how to preserve the state, but the Nazis were not ready for final surrender. On May 7, 1945, German generals decided to capitulate to the Anglo-American troops, but continue the war with the USSR.

The Soviet Union demanded unconditional surrender from Germany. Otherwise, the warriors had no intention of retreating. The previous Act of Surrender was signed in France. The Soviet army demanded the signing of the Act of Surrender in the capital of the Third Reich.

A ceremony was organized in the building of the Berlin Military Engineering School, chaired by Marshal Zhukov. Representatives of Germany and the USSR gathered in the then Beerlin suburb of Karlshorst. May 8, 1945 became the day of the final surrender of Nazi Germany.

The USSR learned about this event only the next day. That is why Victory Day is celebrated in the countries of the former Soviet Union on May 9.

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