The vast majority of our fellow citizens know that on May 9 the country celebrates Victory Day. A slightly smaller number know that the date was not chosen by chance, and it is connected with the signing of the act of surrender of Nazi Germany.

But the question is why, in fact, the USSR and Europe celebrate Victory Day in different days, baffles many.

So how did Nazi Germany actually surrender?

German disaster

By the beginning of 1945, Germany's position in the war had become simply catastrophic. The rapid advance of Soviet troops from the East and Allied armies from the West led to the fact that the outcome of the war became clear to almost everyone.

From January to May 1945, the death throes of the Third Reich actually took place. More and more units rushed to the front not so much with the goal of turning the tide, but with the goal of delaying the final catastrophe.

Under these conditions, atypical chaos reigned in the German army. Suffice it to say that there is simply no complete information about the losses that the Wehrmacht suffered in 1945 - the Nazis no longer had time to bury their dead and draw up reports.

On April 16, 1945, Soviet troops deployed offensive operation in the direction of Berlin, the goal of which was to capture the capital of Nazi Germany.

Despite great forces, concentrated by the enemy, and his deeply echeloned defensive fortifications, in a matter of days, Soviet units broke through to the outskirts of Berlin.

Without allowing the enemy to be drawn into protracted street battles, on April 25, Soviet assault groups began advancing toward the city center.

On the same day, on the Elbe River, Soviet troops linked up with American units, as a result of which the Wehrmacht armies that continued to fight were divided into groups isolated from each other.

In Berlin itself, units of the 1st Belorussian Front advanced towards government offices of the Third Reich.

Part 3 shock army broke into the Reichstag area on the evening of April 28. At dawn on April 30, the building of the Ministry of the Interior was taken, after which the path to the Reichstag was opened.

Surrender of Hitler and Berlin

Located at that time in the bunker of the Reich Chancellery Adolf Gitler"capitulated" in the middle of the day on April 30, committing suicide. According to the testimony of the Fuhrer's associates, in last days His greatest fear was that the Russians would fire the bunker with sleeping gas shells, after which he would be displayed in a cage in Moscow for the amusement of the crowd.

At about 21:30 on April 30, units of the 150th Infantry Division captured the main part of the Reichstag, and on the morning of May 1, a red flag was raised over it, which became the Banner of Victory.

Germany, Reichstag. Photo: www.russianlook.com

The fierce battle in the Reichstag, however, did not stop, and the units defending it stopped resisting only on the night of May 1-2.

On the night of May 1, 1945, he arrived at the location of Soviet troops. Chief of the German General Staff ground forces General Krebs, who reported Hitler's suicide and requested a truce while the new German government took office. The Soviet side demanded unconditional surrender, which was refused at about 18:00 on May 1.

By this time, only the Tiergarten and the government quarter remained under German control in Berlin. The Nazis refused Soviet troops the right to begin the assault again, which did not last long: at the beginning of the first night of May 2, the Germans radioed for a ceasefire and declared their readiness to surrender.

At 6 o'clock in the morning on May 2, 1945 commander of the defense of Berlin, artillery general Weidling Accompanied by three generals, he crossed the front line and surrendered. An hour later, while at the headquarters of the 8th Guards Army, he wrote a surrender order, which was duplicated and, with the help of loudspeaker installations and radio, delivered to enemy units defending in the center of Berlin. By the end of the day on May 2, resistance in Berlin ceased, and individual groups of Germans who continued fighting, were destroyed.

However, Hitler's suicide and the final fall of Berlin did not yet mean the surrender of Germany, which still had more than a million soldiers in the ranks.

Eisenhower's Soldier's Integrity

The new government of Germany, headed by Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, decided to “save the Germans from the Red Army” by continuing fighting on the Eastern Front, simultaneously with the flight of civilian forces and troops to the West. The main idea was capitulation in the West in the absence of capitulation in the East. 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.

May 4 in front of the British army Marshal Montgomery The German group capitulated in Holland, Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein and North-West Germany. On May 5, Army Group G in Bavaria and Western Austria capitulated to the Americans.

After this, negotiations began between the Germans and the Western Allies for complete surrender in the West. However, the American General Eisenhower disappointed the German military - surrender must happen in both the West and the East, and the German armies must stop where they are. This meant that not everyone would be able to escape from the Red Army to the West.

German prisoners of war in Moscow. Photo: www.russianlook.com

The Germans tried to protest, but Eisenhower warned that if the Germans continued to drag their feet, his troops would forcefully stop everyone fleeing to the West, whether soldiers or refugees. In this situation, the German command agreed to sign unconditional surrender.

Improvisation by General Susloparov

The signing of the act was to take place at General Eisenhower's headquarters in Reims. Members of the Soviet military mission were summoned there on May 6 General Susloparov and Colonel Zenkovich, who were informed of the upcoming signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany.

At that moment no one would envy Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov. The fact is that he did not have the authority to sign the surrender. Having sent a request to Moscow, he did not receive a response by the beginning of the procedure.

In Moscow, they rightly feared that the Nazis would achieve their goal and sign a capitulation to the Western allies on terms favorable to them. Not to mention the fact that the very registration of surrender at the American headquarters in Reims categorically did not suit the Soviet Union.

The easiest way General Susloparov at that moment there was no need to sign any documents at all. However, according to his recollections, an extremely unpleasant conflict could have developed: the Germans surrendered to the allies by signing an act, and remained at war with the USSR. It is unclear where this situation will lead.

General Susloparov acted at his own peril and risk. He added the following note to the text of the document: this protocol on military surrender does not preclude the future signing of another, more advanced act of surrender of Germany, if any allied government declares it.

In this form, the act of surrender of Germany was signed by the German side Chief of Operations Staff of the OKW, Colonel General Alfred Jodl, from the Anglo-American side Lieutenant General of the US Army, Chief of Staff of the Allied Expeditionary Forces Walter Smith, from the USSR - representative of the Supreme High Command Headquarters under the Allied command Major General Ivan Susloparov. As a witness, the act was signed by the French brigade General Francois Sevez. The signing of the act took place at 2:41 on May 7, 1945. It was supposed to come into force on May 8 at 23:01 Central European Time.

It is interesting that General Eisenhower avoided participating in the signing, citing the low status of the German representative.

Temporary effect

After the signing, a response was received from Moscow - General Susloparov was forbidden to sign any documents.

The Soviet command believed that the German forces would use the 45 hours before the document came into force to flee to the West. This, in fact, was not denied by the Germans themselves.

As a result, at the insistence of the Soviet side, it was decided to hold another ceremony for signing the unconditional surrender of Germany, which was organized on the evening of May 8, 1945 in the German suburb of Karlshorst. The text, with minor exceptions, repeated the text of the document signed in Reims.

On behalf of the German side, the act was signed by: Field Marshal General, Chief of the Supreme High Command Wilhelm Keitel, Air Force spokesman - Colonel General Stupmph and the Navy - Admiral von Friedeburg. Unconditional surrender accepted Marshal Zhukov(from the Soviet side) and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces British Marshal Tedder. They put their signatures as witnesses US Army General Spaatz and French General de Tassigny.

It is curious that General Eisenhower was going to arrive to sign this act, but was stopped by the objection of the British Winston Churchill's premiere: if the allied commander had signed the act in Karlshorst without signing it in Reims, the significance of the Reims act would have seemed insignificant.

The signing of the act in Karlshorst took place on May 8, 1945 at 22:43 Central European time, and it came into force, as agreed back in Reims, at 23:01 on May 8. However, Moscow time, these events occurred at 0:43 and 1:01 on May 9.

It was this discrepancy in time that was the reason why Victory Day in Europe became May 8, and in the Soviet Union - May 9.

To each his own

After the act of unconditional surrender came into force, organized resistance to Germany finally ceased. This, however, did not prevent individual groups solving local problems (as a rule, a breakthrough to the West) from entering into battle after May 9. However, such battles were short-term and ended with the destruction of the Nazis who did not fulfill the conditions of surrender.

As for General Susloparov, personally Stalin assessed his actions in the current situation as correct and balanced. After the war, Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov worked at the Military Diplomatic Academy in Moscow, died in 1974 at the age of 77, and was buried with military honors at the Vvedenskoye Cemetery in Moscow.

The fate of the German commanders Alfred Jodl and Wilhelm Keitel, who signed the unconditional surrender in Reims and Karlshorst, was less enviable. The International Tribunal in Nuremberg found them war criminals and sentenced them to death penalty. On the night of October 16, 1946, Jodl and Keitel were hanged in the gym of Nuremberg prison.

The act of unconditional surrender of the German Armed Forces was signed on May 7 at 02:41 in Reims by the Chief of the Operational Staff of the German Army High Command, Colonel General Alfred Jodl. The document obliged German military personnel to cease resistance, surrender personnel and transfer the material part of the armed forces to the enemy, which actually meant Germany’s exit from the war. Soviet leadership was not satisfied with such a signing, therefore, at the request of the USSR government and personally Comrade Stalin on May 8 ( May 9, USSR time) the Act of Surrender of Germany was signed for the second time, but in Berlin, and the day of the official announcement of its signing ( May 8 in Europe and America, May 9 in the USSR) began to be celebrated as Victory Day.

Act of unconditional surrender of the German Armed Forces, signed on May 7, 1945

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

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

The general capitulation of Germany was preceded by a series of partial capitulations of the largest formations remaining with the Third Reich:

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

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

On May 4, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, Fleet Admiral Hans-Georg Friedeburg, signed the act 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.

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.

Colonel General Alfred Jodl (center) signs the German surrender at the Allied headquarters 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 Stalin's suggestion, the allies agreed to consider the procedure in Reims a preliminary surrender. Although a group of 17 journalists attended the surrender signing ceremony, the US and Britain agreed to delay the public announcement of the surrender so that the Soviet Union could prepare a second surrender ceremony in Berlin, which took place on 8 May.

Signing of the surrender in Reims

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 put his signature with a reservation (Article 4) 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.

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

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».

The Soviet delegation before signing the Act of Unconditional Surrender of all German Armed Forces. Berlin. 05/08/1945 Standing on the right - Marshal Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov, standing in the center with his hand raised - Army General V. D. Sokolovsky.

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

British Air Chief Marshal Sir Tedder A. and Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov review documents on the terms of Germany's surrender.

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

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

Keitel signs the surrender in Karlshorst

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

In the English text, the expression Soviet High Command was replaced by a more accurate translation of the Soviet term: Supreme High Command of the Red Army.

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

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

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

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, and the act itself was hushed up, while in the West it is regarded as the actual signing of capitulation, and the act in Karlshorst as its ratification.

Lunch in honor of the Victory after the signing of 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.

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

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 Supreme Council USSR only on January 25, 1955.

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. The building of the German military engineering school in the suburbs of Berlin - Karlshorst, in which the signing ceremony of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was held.
2. Representatives of Germany at the table during the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender. Seated in the photo from left to right: Colonel General Stumpf from the Air Force, Field Marshal Keitel from the Army and Admiral General von Friedeburg from the Navy. 05/08/1945


3. American General Dwight Eisenhower and British Air Marshal Arthur Tedder at a press conference after 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 on May 1 at the location of 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 the terms of surrender and the procedure for surrender from the Soviet officer. 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

After the fall of Berlin and the suicide of the Fuhrer, Germany admitted itself defeated.

On May 6, 1945, Grand Admiral Doenitz, who was the de facto head of the fascist German state and commander-in-chief of the remnants of the Wehrmacht, agreed to unconditional surrender.

Photo. General Jodl during the signing of the preliminary protocol.

On the night of May 7, the allies of the Anti-Hitler Coalition, in Reims, where Eisenhower’s headquarters was located, signed a preliminary protocol on the surrender of the Wehrmacht. According to him, from 23:00 on May 8, hostilities ceased on all fronts.

On behalf of the Soviet Union, the protocol was signed by General I.D. Susloparov, on behalf of the Western allies - General W. Smith and on behalf of Germany - General Jodl. Only a witness was present from France.

Photo. Signing of the preliminary protocol of surrender.

After the signing of this act, our Western allies hastened to notify the world of Germany’s surrender to American and British troops. However, Stalin insisted that “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."

Photo. Celebrating the surrender of Germany in the United States.

On the night of May 8-9, 1945, in Karlshorst, an eastern suburb of Berlin, the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany took place.

The signing ceremony of the act took place in the building of the military engineering school, where a special hall was prepared, decorated with the state flags of the USSR, USA, England and France. At the main table were representatives of the Allied powers. Present in the hall were Soviet generals whose troops took Berlin, as well as Soviet and foreign journalists.

Photo. Conference hall in Karlshorst. Everything is ready for the signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany.

Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was appointed representative of the Supreme High Command of the Soviet troops. The High Command of the Allied Forces was represented by the English Air Marshal Arthur W. Tedder, the commander of the US Strategic Air Forces, General Spaats, and the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, General Delattre de Tassigny. On the German side, Field Marshal Keitel, Fleet Admiral Baron von Friedeburg and Air Force Colonel General Stumpf were authorized to sign the act of unconditional surrender.

Photo. Keitel follows to sign the act of surrender.

The ceremony of signing the surrender at 24 o'clock was opened by Marshal G.K. Zhukov. At his suggestion, Keitel presented the heads of the Allied delegations with a document on his powers, signed in Doenitz’s own hand. The German delegation was then asked whether it had the Act of Unconditional Surrender in its hands and whether it had studied it. After Keitel’s affirmative answer, representatives of the German armed forces, at the sign of Marshal Zhukov, signed an act drawn up in 9 copies. Then Tedder and Zhukov put their signatures, and representatives of the United States and France served as witnesses. The procedure for signing the surrender ended at 0 hours 43 minutes on May 9, 1945. The German delegation, by order of Zhukov, left the hall.

Photo.Keitel signs the Act.

The act consisted of 6 points as follows:

"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 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 23-01 hours Central European time on May 8, 1945, to remain in their places where they are at that time, and completely disarm, handing over all their weapons and military equipment to local Allied commanders or officers assigned by representatives of the Allied High Command, not to destroy or cause any damage to ships, ships and aircraft, their engines, hulls and equipment , as well as 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 or other actions which they deem necessary.

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

Photo. German representatives before the closing of the meeting.

At 0:50 a.m. the meeting was adjourned. After this, a reception took place, which was a great success. Much was said about the desire to strengthen friendly relations between the countries of the anti-fascist coalition. Festive dinner ended with songs and dances. As Marshal Zhukov recalls: “I, too, could not resist and, remembering my youth, danced the Russian dance.”

Photo. Allied delegation in Karlshorst.

Land, sea and air force The Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front began to lay down their arms. By the end of the day on May 8, Army Group Kurland, pressed to the Baltic Sea, ceased resistance. About 190 thousand soldiers and officers, including 42 generals, surrendered.

Photo. Surrender of the German garrison of Bornholm.

The Soviet landing force, which landed on the Danish island of Bornholm on May 9, captured it 2 days later and captured the German garrison there - 12 thousand soldiers.

Photo. The Allies are busy counting captured equipment.

Small groups of Germans on the territory of Czechoslovakia and Austria, who did not want to surrender along with the bulk of the troops of Army Group Center and tried to get to the west, had to be destroyed by Soviet troops until May 19...

Photo. Surrender of a German regiment on the territory of Czechoslovakia.

The Great Patriotic War ended with the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany.

Photo. Soviet soldiers celebrate Victory Day.

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. Which one is real public opinion Russia and the West are at odds. 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 as possible to the West, material assets, technical documentation and remaining combat-ready troops. 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?

Enough 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 of the signing of the first act of surrender 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.