A selection of photographs dedicated to this significant event.

1. The building of the German military engineering school in the suburbs of Berlin - Karlshorst, where the signing ceremony of the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany was held.

2. Representatives of Germany at the table during the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender. Seated in the photo from left to right: Colonel General Stumpf from the Air Force, Field Marshal Keitel from the Army and General Admiral von Friedeburg from the Navy. 05/08/1945

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

4. Representatives of the Allied Command after the signing of the surrender of Germany in Reims (Wrance) 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 Staff of the British Navy Admiral Sir Harold Burro.

5. Colonel-General Alfred Jodl (center) signs the German surrender at the Allied Headquarters in Reims at 02.41 local time on 7 May 1945. Sitting 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 surrender of Germany in Reims, which was not agreed 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 the Allies agreed to consider the procedure in Reims a preliminary surrender. The Allies also agreed that the matter should not be postponed, and appointed the signing of the German Surrender Act in full form in Berlin for May 8, 1945.

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

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

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

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 - his adjutant senior lieutenant Ivan Chernyaev.

12. Wehrmacht Artillery General Helmut Weidling leaves the bunker during the surrender of the Berlin garrison. May 2, 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 Instrument of Surrender from the USSR. In the background is a Soviet cameraman filming the signing ceremony. Berlin. 09/08/1945

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

18. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, signing the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany from the German side, is served 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 the Soviet troops in order to draw the High Command into the negotiation process. On the same day, the general shot himself. Berlin. May 1, 1945

20. The Soviet delegation before the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of all German armed forces. Berlin. 05/08/1945 Standing on the right - the representative of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army, the 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, General of the Army V.D. Sokolovsky.

21. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, who is signing the Act of Germany's unconditional surrender from the German side, is presented with the text of the Act. G.K. is sitting at the table on the left. Zhukov, who signed the Act on behalf of the USSR. Berlin. 05/08/1945

22. Representatives of the German command, headed by Field Marshal Keitel, are sent to sign the Act of Germany's unconditional surrender. May 8, Berlin, Karlhorst.

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

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

25. Surrender of the Germans on the spit Frisch-Nerung, East Prussia. German and Soviet officers are discussing the terms of surrender and the procedure for surrendering German troops. 05/09/1945

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

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

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

29. The surrender of the Germans on the spit Frisch-Nerung, East Prussia.

30. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signs the act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Berlin, May 8, 1945, 22:43 CET (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 ceremony of signing the Act of Surrender of Germany of the Air Chief MarshalGreat Britain Tedder A.V. Among those meeting: General of the Army Sokolovsky V.D. and commandant of BerlinColonel General Berzarin N.E. 05/08/1945

33. Arrival in Berlin, Field Marshal W. Keitel, Admiral of the Fleet H. Friedeburg and Colonel General of Aviation G. Stumpf to sign the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Among the escorts is General of the Army Sokolovsky V.D. and Colonel General Berzarin N.E. 05/08/1945

34. First Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyshinsky A.Ya. AndMarshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. heading to the signing ceremonyThe act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Karlshorst. 05/08/1945

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

36. Signing Field Marshal Keitel W. Act of unconditional surrender of all armed forces in Germany. Berlin. Karlshorst. 05/08/1945

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

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

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The photo selection is made on the basis of materials:

Russian State Archive of Film and Photo Documents.

All photos are clickable.

Photo albums "Great Patriotic War"

The document obliged the German military to stop resistance, surrender personnel and transfer the materiel of the armed forces to the enemy, which in fact meant Germany's withdrawal from the war. The Soviet leadership was not satisfied with such a signing, therefore, at the request of the government of the USSR and Comrade Stalin personally, on May 8 ( May 9, USSR time) the German Surrender Act was signed for the second time, but already 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.

The act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces. (wikipedia.org)

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. (pinterest.com)

The general surrender of Germany was preceded by a series of partial surrenders of the largest formations remaining in 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, Admiral of the Fleet Hans-Georg Friedeburg, newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, signed the act of surrender of all German armed forces in Holland, Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein and North-West Germany to Field Marshal B. Montgomery's 21st Army Group.

On May 5, Infantry General F. Schultz, who commanded Army Group G, operating in Bavaria and Western Austria, surrendered to the American General D. Devers.

The leadership of the USSR was dissatisfied with the signing of the surrender of Germany in Reims, which was not agreed 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 regard the Reims procedure as a preliminary capitulation. 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.

The signing of the surrender in Reims. (pinterest.ru)

The Soviet representative, General Susloparov, signed the act in Reims at his own peril and risk, since by the time scheduled for signing, instructions from the Kremlin had not yet arrived. He decided to put his signature with the proviso (Article 4) that this act should not exclude the possibility of signing another act at the request of one of the allied countries. Shortly after signing the act, Susloparov received a telegram from Stalin with a categorical prohibition to sign the surrender.

After the signing of the act of surrender. (wikipedia.org)

For his part, Stalin declared: The Treaty signed at Reims cannot be revoked, 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 winners, but where the fascist aggression came from - in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by the supreme command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition».

The Soviet delegation before signing the act. (pinterest.ru)

The building in the suburbs of Berlin, where the ceremony of signing the act was held. (pinterest.ru)

Zhukov read out the act of surrender. (pinterest.ru)

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

Keitel signs the surrender. (pinterest.ru)

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

In the English text, the expression Soviet High Command (Soviet High Command) has been replaced by a more accurate translation of the Soviet term: Supreme High Command of the Red Army (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 and safe, has been expanded and detailed.

The indication of the May 7 act was removed: “Only this text in English is authoritative” and article 6 was inserted, which read: “This act was drawn up in Russian, English and German. Only the Russian and English texts are authentic."

After the signing of the act of unconditional surrender. (wikipedia.org)

By agreement between the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, an agreement was reached to consider the procedure in Reims preliminary. This is 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 surrender, and the act in Karlshorst as its ratification.

Dinner in honor of the Victory after the signing of the terms of unconditional surrender.

Having accepted the surrender, the Soviet Union did not sign peace with Germany, that is, formally remained in a state of war. The decree on ending the state of war was adopted by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR only on January 25, 1955.

The act of surrender was signed by the German command late at night on May 7 in Reims. At the same time, the Act was supposed to come into force at 23:01 on May 8. But the Soviet General Ivan Susloparov, who put his signature under it, acted at his own peril and risk. Immediately after that, Susloparov received a telegram from Moscow with a categorical ban on signing the Act. But the deed had already been done, and the Soviet government immediately contacted the Allies, protesting against the signing of the document not by the top leadership of the German armed forces, but by minor figures. The Allies considered the arguments of the USSR convincing and agreed to a second ceremony the next day, but in a more representative composition and with minor changes in the text.

On May 8, at 22:43 CET, in the suburbs of Berlin, the commanders of the German armed forces signed the Act of Germany's unconditional surrender - in the presence of representatives of the command of the anti-Hitler coalition troops. The term for the start of the Act has not changed, so the capitulation announced on the German radio the day before began in fact immediately after the signing of the document. Due to the time difference (in Moscow at the time of signing it was already 00:43 on May 9), the date of the end of the war in the former USSR, Europe and the USA is considered differently. We have May 9, in the West it is May 8.

Immediately after receiving the news of the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender, on the same night, the Soviet government issued a decree to celebrate Victory Day on May 9 as the first day of peace after the Great Patriotic War.

Only a year later, a similar holiday appeared in other states. Naturally, with the date of celebration on May 8th. In England, France and the USA it is called Victory in Europe Day. And on May 9, Western Europe celebrates Europe Day. But it is dedicated to a completely different event: it was on this day in 1950 that French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, from which the European Union subsequently grew ...

The situation that developed in March-April 1945, when the Red Army was only 60 kilometers from Berlin, worried England very much. Such successful Soviet offensives jeopardized the British plans for a post-war world order in which London assigned itself a dominant position in Europe. Despite the fact that the vast majority of German troops fought on the Eastern Front, providing little resistance to the Anglo-French-American troops, the Allies did not move forward as quickly as they wanted on the shores of Albion. And, although the boundaries of the occupation of Germany were approved back in Yalta, the British were eager to be the first to enter Berlin, which would belittle the role of the USSR in victory and, on the contrary, exalted their role.

Recently declassified English archives have opened the most unattractive page in the activities of the British of those days. In April 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill instructed to develop a plan of operation that would "impose the will of the United States and the British Empire on the Russians." The operation was called "Unthinkable". I must say, the name most accurately characterizes the idea of ​​the British.

British planners, neither more nor less, planned for July 1, 1945, an Anglo-American-German military strike against Soviet troops. 47 British and American divisions, with the support of 10-12 German divisions carefully preserved and armed by the British, without declaring war, were to strike at the positions of the Red Army.
“They rejoice... They think the war is over. And the real war is just beginning,” Kennan, an adviser to the American embassy in Moscow, wrote in his diary on May 9.

The war was really planned serious. With a strike in northern Germany, it was planned to overturn the Soviet troops that had relaxed after the Victory and drive them to Poland by September. After that, the Poles, Hungarians, as well as other states that had recently been allies of Germany, were to join the hostilities. Using the overwhelming advantage in aviation, it was necessary to turn into ruins, like Dresden, the most important Soviet centers: Leningrad, Moscow, Murmansk with massive air raids. The multiple advantage of the British at sea guaranteed the safety of supply lines, and the depreciation of Soviet equipment (as it seemed to the planners) - a quick victory in the war, which was planned to end on the Arkhangelsk-Stalingrad line.

The date of the attack was not chosen by chance. Even in Yalta, Stalin announced that the USSR would enter the war with Japan on August 8, 1945, and already in June the transfer of our troops from Germany to the Far East was in full swing. But the "Unthinkable" fell through unforeseen: at the end of June, Marshal Zhukov unexpectedly regrouped the Soviet troops stationed in Germany, which confused the British all the cards. The power of the Soviet technology that stormed Berlin, the "accidental" volley from the "Katyusha" on the positions of the allies on the eve of the end of the war raised doubts about the success of the operation in the hearts of many allied generals.
The American military was also categorically opposed to the attack on the USSR, supported by the new American President Harry Truman, who feared excessive losses in the war with Japan without Soviet support. As a result, the treacherous attack plan was sent to a secret vault, from where only a few years ago it migrated to the public domain of the British National Archives.

Firsov A.

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

The surrender of Germany was a foregone conclusion.

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

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

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

Here is how Victor Kostin writes about this surrender:

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

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

The delay of several days was due to the fact that, according to him, it took time 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 grouping of their troops from Czechoslovakia, where they were 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, figured out this proposal and rejected it, giving Jodl half an hour to think. He said that in the event of a refusal, the full power of American and British forces would be brought down on the German troops.

Jodl was forced to make concessions, and on May 7 at 2:40 a.m. CET, 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 from 23 hours 1 minute May 8 This date is celebrated in Western countries.

By the time President Truman and British Prime Minister Churchill announced Germany's surrender to Stalin, he had already scolded Susloparov for rushing to sign the act.”

The act of unconditional surrender of Germany from 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: "The act of unconditional surrender of all land, sea and air forces currently under German control."

All that remained before 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 the 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 the artillery Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov.

Referring to the fact that the shooting in some places had not yet stopped, Stalin ordered Zhukov to arrange a second ("final") signing of 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 arranged on the outskirts of Berlin Karlhorst immediately after the ceasefire by the German troops. Eisenhower refused the invitation to take part in the re-signing of the surrender, but informed Jodl that the German commanders-in-chief of the branches of the armed forces should appear for the second procedure at the time and place indicated by the Soviet command for signing a new act with the Soviet command.

From the Russian troops, Georgy Zhukov came to sign the second surrender, from the British troops, Eisenhower sent his deputy, Air Chief Marshal A. Tedder. On behalf of the United States, the commander of the strategic air force, General K. Spaats, was present and signed the surrender as a witness; on behalf of the French armed forces, the commander-in-chief of the army, 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 V. Keitel, 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 caused a smile from 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 surrender, Keitel grinned: “How! We also lost the war to France? “Yes, Mr. Field Marshal, and France too,” they answered him from the Russian side.

The re-surrender, now from the three branches of the armed forces, was signed by Germany by three representatives of the 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 8 also did not suit Stalin. It was the day that the capitulation of May 7 took effect. And it was clear that this capitulation was only a continuation and duplication of the earlier one, which declared May 8 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 were used as arguments:

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 whole procedure for signing the act of unconditional surrender ended on May 8th at 2250 hours 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 salute 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 considered to be May 9, 1945, Berlin is usually called the place of signing the act of unconditional surrender, and only Wilhelm Keitel is the signatory from 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 deleted from the Soviet history textbooks, and the fact that he signed the act of unconditional surrender of Germany is still hushed up in every possible way in Russia.

Third unconditional surrender of Germany

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

The document is called: "Declaration of the defeat of Germany and the assumption of supreme power over Germany by the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Provisional Government of the French Republic."

The document says:

"The German armed forces on land, on water and in the air are completely defeated and unconditionally capitulated, and Germany, which is responsible for the war, is no longer able to resist the will of the victorious powers. As a result, the unconditional surrender of Germany has been achieved, and Germany is subject to all demands that will be made against her now or in the future.".

In accordance with the document, the four victorious powers undertake the implementation of " supreme authority in Germany, including all powers of the German government, the High Command of the Wehrmacht and the governments, administrations or authorities of the Länder, cities and magistrates. The exercise of power and the listed powers does not entail the 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 World War II. If the whole world considers September 1, 1939 to be the start date of the Second World War, 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, 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 9th 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 2nd.

On this day in 1945, Japan's Unconditional Surrender was signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

On behalf of Japan, the act was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, M. Shigemitsu, and the Chief of the General Staff, General Y. Umezu. On behalf of the allies, the act was signed by US Army General D. MacArthur, Soviet Lieutenant General K. Derevyanko, and Admiral of the British Fleet B. Fraser.

On May 8, 1945, on the outskirts of Berlin, Karshorst, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany and its Armed Forces was signed.

The act of Germany's unconditional surrender was signed twice. On behalf of Dönitz, Hitler's successor after his presumed death, Jodl suggested that the Allies accept Germany's surrender and arrange for the signing of the corresponding act on 10 May. Eisenhower refused to even discuss the postponement and gave Yodl half an hour to decide on the immediate signing of the act, threatening that otherwise the Allies would continue to deliver massive strikes against the German troops. The German representatives had no choice, and after agreement with Dönitz, Jodl agreed to sign the act.

On the part of the command of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe, the act was to be witnessed by General Beddel Smith. Eisenhower proposed from the Soviet side to witness the act to Major General I.A. Susloparov, a former representative of the Headquarters of the Allied Command. Susloparov, as soon as he learned about the preparation of the act for signing, reported this to Moscow and handed over the text of the prepared document, requesting instructions on the procedure.

By the time the signing of the act of surrender began (it was tentatively scheduled for 2 hours and 30 minutes), no response was received from Moscow. The situation developed in such a way that the act could not have been signed by the Soviet representative at all, so Susloparov achieved the inclusion of a note in it about the possibility, at the request of one of the allied states, of a new signing of the act, if there were objective reasons for this. Only after that did he agree to put his signature under the act, although he understood that he was extremely risky.

Germany's surrender was signed on May 7 at 2:40 CET. The act provided that unconditional surrender comes into force from 23:00 on May 8. After that, a belated ban on Susloparov from participating in the signing of the act came from Moscow. The Soviet side insisted on signing the act in Berlin with a significant increase in the level of persons who would sign the act and testify to it with their signatures. Stalin instructed Marshal Zhukov to organize a new signing of the act.

Fortunately, the note, which was included at the request of Susloparov in the signed document, allowed this to be done. Sometimes the second signing of the act is called the ratification of what was signed the day before. There are legal grounds for this, since on May 7 G.K. Zhukov received an official order from Moscow: "The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command authorizes you to ratify the protocol on the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces."

Stalin joined in resolving the issue of a new signing of the act, but at a higher level, turning to Churchill and Truman: “The treaty signed in Reims cannot be canceled, but it cannot be recognized. 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 supreme command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.

As a result, the United States and England agreed to carry out a new signing of the act, and the document signed in Reims to be considered the "Preliminary Protocol on the Surrender of Germany." At the same time, Churchill and Truman refused to postpone the announcement of the signing of the act for a day, as Stalin asked, arguing that heavy fighting was still going on on the Soviet-German front, and we had to wait until the surrender came into force, that is, until 23:00 on May 8 . In England and the United States, the signing of the act and the surrender of Germany to the Western Allies was officially announced on May 8, Churchill and Truman did it personally, addressing the people by radio. In the USSR, the text of their appeals was published in newspapers, but for obvious reasons only on May 10th.

It is curious that Churchill, knowing that the end of the war would be announced in the USSR after the signing of a new act, said in his radio address: “Today we will probably think mainly about ourselves. Tomorrow we will give special praise to our Russian comrades, whose valor on the battlefield was one of the great contributions to the common victory.

Opening the ceremony, Marshal Zhukov addressed the audience, declaring: “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 anti-Hitler coalition to accept the unconditional surrender of Germany from the German military command.” After that, representatives of the German command entered the hall, presenting a document of authority signed by Dönitz.

The signing of the act ended at 22:43 CET. It was already May 9 in Moscow (0 hours 43 minutes). On the German side, the act was signed by the Chief of Staff of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces of Germany, Field Marshal Wilhelm Bodevin Johann Gustav Keitel, the Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe, Colonel General of Aviation Hans Jurgen Stumpf, and General Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, who became the Reich President of Germany after the appointment of Dönitz. Unconditional surrender was accepted by Marshal Zhukov (from the Soviet side) and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force Marshal Tedder (Eng. Arthur William Tedder) (Great Britain).

General Carl Spaatz (USA) and General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (France) put their signatures as witnesses. By agreement between the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, an agreement was reached to consider the procedure in Reims preliminary. However, in Western historiography, the signing of the surrender of the German armed forces, as a rule, is associated with the procedure in Reims, and the signing of the act of surrender in Berlin is called its "ratification"

Soon, the solemn voice of Yuri Levitan sounded from radios throughout the country: “On May 8, 1945, representatives of the German High Command signed an act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces in Berlin. The Great Patriotic War waged by the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders has ended victoriously.

Germany is completely destroyed. Comrades of the Red Army, Red Navy, sergeants, foremen, officers of the army and navy, generals, admirals and marshals, I congratulate you on the victorious end of the Great Patriotic War. Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in the battles for the freedom and independence of our Motherland!”

By order of I. Stalin, a grandiose salute from a thousand guns was given that day in Moscow. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in commemoration of the victorious end of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders and the historic victories of the Red Army, May 9 was declared Victory Day.