"Signing of the act of unconditional surrender fascist Germany". 1946 Kukryniksy.

On May 8, 1945, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst at 22:43 Central European time (May 9 at 0:43 Moscow time), the final Act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and its armed forces was signed. But historically, the Berlin act of surrender was not the first.

When Soviet troops surrounded Berlin, the military leadership of the Third Reich was faced with the question of preserving the remnants of Germany. This was possible only by avoiding unconditional surrender. Then it was decided to capitulate only to the Anglo-American troops, but to continue fighting against the Red Army.

The Germans sent representatives to the Allies to formally confirm the surrender. On the night of May 7 French city In Reims, the act of surrender of Germany was concluded, according to which, from 23:00 on May 8, hostilities ceased on all fronts. The protocol stipulated that it was not a comprehensive agreement on the surrender of Germany and its armed forces

However, the Soviet Union put forward a demand for unconditional surrender as the only condition for ending the war. Stalin considered the signing of the act in Reims only a preliminary protocol and was dissatisfied that the act of Germany’s surrender was signed in France, and not in the capital of the aggressor state. Moreover, the fighting on the Soviet-German front was still ongoing.

At the insistence of the leadership of the USSR, representatives of the Allies reconvened in Berlin and, together with the Soviet side, signed another Act of Surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945. The parties agreed that the first act will be called preliminary, and the second – final.

The final Act of unconditional surrender of Germany and its armed forces was signed on behalf of the German Wehrmacht by Field Marshal W. Keitel, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Admiral Von Friedeburg, and Colonel General of Aviation G. Stumpf. The USSR was represented by the Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Soviet Union G. Zhukov, allies - British Air Chief Marshal A. Tedder. U.S. Army General Spaatz and French Army Commander-in-Chief General Tassigny were present as witnesses.

The ceremonial signing of the act took place under the chairmanship of Marshal Zhukov, and the signing ceremony itself took place in the building military engineering school, where a special hall was prepared, decorated state flags USSR, USA, England and France. At the main table were representatives of the Allied powers. The Soviet generals whose troops took Berlin, as well as journalists from many countries, were present in the hall.

After the unconditional surrender of Germany, the Wehrmacht government was dissolved, and German troops on the Soviet-German front began to lay down their arms. In total, from May 9 to May 17, the Red Army captured about 1.5 million enemy soldiers and officers and 101 generals based on the act of surrender. This is how the Great Patriotic War ended Soviet people.

In the USSR, the surrender of Germany was announced on the night of May 9, 1945, and by order of I. Stalin, a grandiose salute of a thousand guns was given in Moscow on that day. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in commemoration of the victorious completion of the Great Patriotic War Soviet people against Nazi invaders and the historical victories of the Red Army, May 9 was declared Victory Day.

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 of why, in fact, the USSR and Europe celebrate Victory Day on 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 the large 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.

Units of the 3rd Shock Army broke through to 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 way to the Reichstag was opened.

Surrender of Hitler and Berlin

Located at that time in the bunker of the Reich Chancellery Adolf Hitler"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 German groups that 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 in 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 capitulated German group 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 exclude in the future the signing of another, more perfect 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 45 hours before the document came into force German forces used to escape 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 (usually a breakthrough to the West) from entering into battles after May 9. However, such battles were short-term and ended in 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. International Tribunal in Nuremberg recognized them as 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.

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 the 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 it came from.” fascist aggression, - in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by the high command of all countries 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. High Command allied forces represented by the British 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 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 languages. Only Russian and English text s 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 has been said about the desire to strengthen friendly relations between the countries of the anti-fascist coalition. The 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.

The ground, sea and air forces of 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 located 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.

On May 7, Nazi Germany made a last attempt to save itself from complete defeat by concluding a separate peace with the allies of the USSR, but they failed.

The commanders of the Allied armies insisted on complete and unconditional surrender with the participation of the USSR

From May 2 to 4, a meeting of the top military leadership of the Third Reich was held at Doenitz headquarters.

It was attended by Admiral Doenitz, Field Marshal Keitel, Colonel General Jodl, Field Marshals Scherner, Ritter von Greim and other senior ranks of the German army. The question was about capitulation to the allied Anglo-American forces and about further resistance to the Red Army.

The issue of concluding an anti-Bolshevik alliance with the Americans and British was especially hotly discussed. The death of Hitler, as it seemed to the new German leaders, had destroyed the last obstacle to this.

German leaders felt that with the death of the Fuhrer, the West would view Germany and its army as a support in the fight against Bolshevism in Europe.

This is why Admiral Karl Doenitz, who succeeded Hitler, tried to split East and West and save what was left of Germany through a partial surrender to the Western Allies only. However, when receiving proposals from the German government of Doenitz to conclude an alliance, US President Harry Truman replied that the only acceptable thing was unconditional surrender to the entire Big Three states - the USA, Great Britain and the USSR.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill supported him. The Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Eisenhower, also fully agreed with Truman's policies.

Meanwhile, the German leadership tried to shake the consensus of the allies with proposals for a separate peace and continuation of hostilities. German soldiers on the Eastern Front, rightly fearing capture and revenge from the Red Army, fought desperately.

On the Western Front, they surrendered as soon as they saw their allies. The civilian population fled to the West to end up in the Anglo-American zone after the end of the war. On May 1, Admiral Dönitz, in a radio address to the German nation, said that the Wehrmacht would “fight against Bolshevism as long as German troops and hundreds of thousands of families remain in the eastern part of Germany.”

But on May 5, he realized that Eisenhower would not accept surrender to just the Western Allies, so he tried to achieve his goal by surrendering German divisions and armies in the West and continuing to fight in the East. On May 4, Doenitz sent his representative, Admiral Hans von Friedeburg, to the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force (HAEF) in Reims with the task of negotiating the surrender of the remaining German troops in the West.

Eisenhower continued to insist that total surrender must take place simultaneously on the Eastern and Western Fronts. Chief of Staff General Smith and General Strong, who before the war served as a military attaché in Berlin and spoke excellent German, had a conversation with von Friedeburg.

Eisenhower refused to meet with German officers until the document of complete and unconditional surrender was signed. General Smith told von Friedeburg that negotiations were not forthcoming and invited him to sign a document of complete surrender.

Friedeburg replied that he did not have the authority to do this.

General Smith in turn showed Friedeburg some operational headquarters maps, which clearly showed the overwhelming superiority of the Allied forces and the hopelessness of the position of the German forces. Admiral von Friedeburg urgently telegraphed Doenitz, asking him for permission to sign the unconditional surrender.

Alfred Jodl

However, the head of the German government did not give such permission. Instead, he made a last-ditch attempt to split the three-power alliance by sending Colonel General Alfred Jodl, chief of operations at the German army headquarters, to Reims. Yodel arrived there on May 6, a Sunday evening.

He again negotiated with Generals Smith and Strong, emphasizing that the Germans were ready and willing to capitulate to the West, but not to the Red Army. Jodl openly declared his intention to “preserve for the German nation possible large number Germans and save them from Bolshevism."

Moreover, he said that nothing could force the troops of Generals Lehr and Rendulic, Field Marshal Scherner to carry out the order for complete and unconditional surrender, as long as they had the opportunity to withdraw to areas occupied by American and British troops. In other words, Colonel General Jodl refused to capitulate German troops in the East.

In turn, General Smith once again confirmed his previous demands for surrender to all allies. After this, Jodl asked for two days “for the necessary instructions to reach all German units.” In response, Smith pointed out the impossibility of fulfilling such a request. The negotiations dragged on for another hour and ended without result. General Smith reported difficulties in the negotiations to Eisenhower.

It was clear to Eisenhower that Jodl was trying to buy time so that as much as possible German soldiers and the civilian population managed to cross the Elbe and escape from the Red Army troops.

He asked Smith to tell the German general that if he did not sign a document on complete and unconditional surrender, the Allied command would interrupt all negotiations and put a reliable force barrier in front of the refugees. But Eisenhower still decided to give the 48 hours of delay requested by Yodel...

American General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) and British Air Marshal Arthur Tedder (Arthur William Tedder, 1890-1967) at a press conference after signing the German surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945.

General Smith conveyed Eisenhower's response to Jodl, who telegraphed Doenitz, asking permission to sign the document. The head of the Reich called Eisenhower's demands "arm twisting."

Nevertheless, he was forced to accept them, consoling himself that in a 48-hour delay the Germans would be able to save many of their troops. Just after midnight on May 7, Doenitz sent Jodl the following telegram: “You are given full authority to sign the surrender on the terms stated. Admiral Doenitz."

The head of the Soviet military mission at the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, Major General I.A. Susloparov, says that on the evening of May 6, 1945, Eisenhower’s adjutant flew to him.

General Susloparov

He conveyed an invitation from the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces to urgently come to his headquarters in Reims. Eisenhower received Susloparov at his residence. Smiling, he said that German Colonel General Jodl had arrived with a proposal to capitulate to the Anglo-American troops and begin joint military operations against the Red Army.

—What do you say to this, Mr. General? asked Eisenhower.

I.A. Susloparov knew that the German Admiral Friedeburg had been sitting on the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief for several days, who, however, could not persuade Eisenhower to a separate agreement. Therefore, the Soviet representative replied that there were obligations jointly accepted by members of the anti-Hitler coalition at the Crimean Conference regarding the unconditional surrender of enemy troops on all fronts, including the Eastern.

General Eisenhower informed Susloparov that he demanded from Jodl the complete surrender of Germany and would not accept any other. And that the Germans were forced to agree to this.

Then the Commander-in-Chief asked Susloparov to report the text of the surrender to Moscow, obtain approval there and sign it on behalf of the Soviet Union. Moreover, the time and place, according to Eisenhower, had already been set - 2 hours 30 minutes on May 7, 1945, in the premises of the operations department of the Commander-in-Chief's headquarters.

The draft protocol received by Susloparov spoke of the unconditional surrender of all land, sea and air forces. armed forces currently under German control.

The German command was obliged to give the order to cease hostilities at 00:01 on May 9, 1945, while all troops subordinate to it were to remain in their positions. It was forbidden to disable weapons and other means of warfare. The German command guaranteed the execution of all orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces and the Soviet Supreme High Command.

The head of the Soviet military mission, General Susloparov, had very little time left to receive instructions from his government.

He sent an urgent telegram to Moscow about the upcoming Act of Signing of Surrender and the text of the protocol. He also asked for special instructions. Several hours passed before Susloparov’s telegram arrived and was reported to its intended destination.

It was past midnight in Reims, the time had come to sign the surrender, but instructions still did not arrive from Moscow. The position of the head of the Soviet military mission turned out to be very difficult. Everything now depended on him, his decision. Should I sign on behalf of the Soviet Union or refuse?

General Susloparov understood that signing Germany’s surrender only to the Western allies could result in the greatest misfortune for both the Soviet Union and him personally in case of any oversight on his part. At the same time, the horrors of war arose before the general’s eyes, when every minute takes away many human lives. Therefore, he decides to sign the document.

At the same time, providing the opportunity for the Soviet Union to influence, if necessary, the subsequent course of events, Susloparov made a note to it.

It stated that this protocol does not exclude in the future the signing of another, more perfect Act of Surrender of Germany, if any allied government declares it. Commander-in-Chief General Eisenhower and representatives of other powers on his staff agreed with the note.

At 2 o'clock in the morning on May 7, 1945, Generals Smith, Morgan, Bull, Spaats, Tedder, the head of the Soviet military mission, General Susloparov, as well as the French representative gathered on the second floor in the recreation room of the Polytechnic School for Men in Reims. General Strong served as interpreter. The rest room was shaped like an "L" with a single small window.

There were many military maps around. Pins, arrows and other staff symbols on them testified to the complete defeat of Germany.

Due to the relatively small area of ​​the room, the Allied officers squeezed one by one to their chairs, which were placed around a massive oak table. When everyone had taken their places, Colonel General Jodl was brought into the room, accompanied by Admiral Friedeburg and their adjutants.

Tall, straight as a stick, neatly dressed, Jodl with his constant monocle served as the model of a Prussian general. He bowed dryly to those present. The procedure for signing the protocol on the surrender of Germany began, which took no more than half an hour.

The protocol itself looked like this:

MILITARY SURRENDER OF GERMANY

Only real text on English is an authentic document

Act of military surrender

1. We, the undersigned, acting under the authority of the German High Command, hereby declare the unconditional surrender of all land, sea and air force, which are currently under German control, before the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces and at the same time before the Soviet High Command.
2. The German High Command undertakes to issue simultaneous orders to all German land, sea and air forces and all military forces under German control to cease all active operations as of 2301 hours Central European Time on 8 May and to remain at their current locations . It is prohibited to destroy any ships, vessels or aircraft, or to cause any damage to their hull, machinery or equipment.
3. The German High Command undertakes at the same time to issue appropriate orders and to ensure the execution of further orders issued by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces and the Soviet High Command.
4. This instrument of surrender does not limit and will be superseded by the general instrument of surrender drawn up on behalf of the United Nations in relation to Germany and the German armed forces as a whole.
5. In the event that the German High Command or any forces under its control fail to comply with the provisions of this Instrument of Surrender, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces and the Soviet High Command may take punitive and other measures as they consider necessary.

On behalf of the German High Command.

Jodle

IN THE PRESENCE

On behalf of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces.

V.B. Smith

F. Seve

Major General of the French Army

On behalf of the Soviet High Command.

Susloparov"

While the procedure was going on, General Eisenhower waited in the next office, pacing back and forth and smoking cigarette after cigarette. He claimed that he would not speak to the German officers until they signed the protocol. The moment of victory over Nazi Germany has finally arrived!

Eisenhower later wrote in his book “The European Campaign” that, logically, he should have felt elated and joyful, but, on the contrary, he felt completely defeated. Eisenhower had not slept for almost three days; it was now late at night, and he wanted everything to end quickly.

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

General Jodl signing the German surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945

The Allied Chief of Staff in Europe, American Lieutenant General Bedell Smith (1895 - 1961), signs the German surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945.

In the photo on the left is the chief of staff of the British fleet, Admiral Sir Harold Burrough (Harold Martin Burrough, 1889-1977), on the right is the head of the USSR military mission in France, Major General Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov

The commander-in-chief sat down at his desk. Yodel bowed and stood at attention. Eisenhower asked whether he understood the terms of surrender and whether he was ready to fulfill them. Yodel answered yes.

Eisenhower then warned him of personal responsibility for violating them. Yodel bowed again and left. Eisenhower stood up and headed to the headquarters room. There he gathered all the staff officers and representatives of the allied forces. Photographers were also called in to capture the solemn event for history.

Eisenhower prepared a short message for the press and recorded his radio speech. He congratulated everyone on the upcoming victory. When the journalists left, it was time to send the message about Germany's surrender to the heads of state Big Three and to headquarters. Each of the officers and generals searched for words and effective phrases to express the greatness of the event. Eisenhower silently listened and watched.

Each subsequent version was more pompous than the previous one. The Supreme Commander, finally thanking those present, rejected all proposals and dictated his own: “The task facing the allied forces was completed at 02.41 local time on May 7, 1945.” This is how the historical message sounded...

In the photo from left to right:

Head of the USSR military mission in France, Major General Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov (1897-1974), Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander - COSSAC), British Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Morgan (Frederick Edgeworth Morgan, 1894- 1967), American Lieutenant General Bedell Smith (Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith, 1895 - 1961)

American radio commentator Harry C. Butcher, American General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), British Air Marshal Arthur Tedder (Arthur William Tedder, 1890-1967) and Chief of Staff of the British Navy Admiral Sir Harold Burrough ( Harold Martin Burrough, 1889-1977).

He managed to smile in front of the cameras, raise his fingers in the form of the letter “V”, symbolizing victory, and left.

“As far as I understand,” he said quietly to the adjutant, “the event requires a bottle of champagne.”

They brought champagne and opened it to quiet cheers. We drank to victory. Everyone was weighed down by terrible fatigue, so those present soon dispersed.

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 D. Eisenhower (Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1890-1969) 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.

After Eisenhower congratulated General Susloparov on signing the protocol of German surrender and victory, the head of the Soviet military mission prepared and sent his report to Moscow.

Meanwhile, a counter message was already coming from the Kremlin, in which the general was ordered not to sign any documents of surrender....

USSR REACTION

Meanwhile, on the morning of May 7, notice of the German surrender, signed in Reims, was received in Moscow. Colonel General S.M. Shtemenko, who was then the head of the operational department of the General Staff of the Red Army and was often invited to the Kremlin, testifies...

When the telegram from Reims was received, the Chief of the General Staff A.I. Antonov summoned Shtemenko and ordered to draw up a draft directive from the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command regarding the capitulation that had taken place.

He showed him a letter that had just been sent to Antonov by the head of the US military mission, Dean, which contained the following: “...This afternoon I received an urgent message from the President in which he asks that Marshal Stalin give his consent to announce the surrender of Germany today at 19.00 Moscow time.

We received an answer through the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs that this could not be done, because the Soviet government had still not received data on Germany's surrender from its representatives at Eisenhower's headquarters.

I (i.e., the head of the US mission, Dee) informed President Truman about this and received the answer that he would not make an official announcement until 9 a.m. Washington time on May 8, or 4 p.m. Moscow time, unless Marshal Stalin expressed his consent to earlier hour..."

Soon followed a call to the Kremlin, to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Stalin.

In the office, besides Stalin himself, there were members of the government. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief, as usual, walked slowly along the carpet. His whole appearance expressed extreme displeasure. The surrender of Germany was discussed in Reims.

Stalin summed up the results, thinking out loud.

He noted that the Allies had arranged a unilateral agreement with the Doenitz government. And such an agreement is more like a conspiracy.

Apart from General I.A. Susloparov, none of the USSR government officials were present in Reims. It turns out that there was no capitulation to the Soviet Union, and this was when it was the USSR that suffered the most from Hitler’s invasion and made the greatest contribution to the cause of victory. Bad consequences can be expected from such “capitulation”.

“The treaty signed by the allies in Reims,” Stalin continued, “cannot be canceled, but it cannot be recognized either. Capitulation must be carried out as the most important historical fact and was 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.

Let it be signed by one of the leaders of the former fascist state or a whole group of Nazis responsible for all their atrocities against humanity.”

Having finished speaking, Stalin turned to the Chief of the General Staff A.I. Antonov and inquired whether Zhukov could find a suitable premises for the ceremonial signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany in Berlin.

Well, then there was the great date of May 9th!

Kyiv, May 8 – RIA Novosti Ukraine. Seventy-one years ago the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany was signed.

Below is some background information.

On May 8, 1945, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany was signed, a legal document that established a truce on the fronts of World War II directed against Germany, obliging the German armed forces to cease resistance and surrender personnel captured and the transfer of material to the enemy and actually meant Germany’s exit from the war.

The document marked the years 1941-1945 and the end of World War II in Europe.

The act of surrender was signed twice.

In the last months of the existence of the Nazi regime in Germany, the authorities intensified numerous attempts to conclude a separate peace with the Western powers. German generals planned to capitulate to the Anglo-American troops, continuing the war with the USSR. To sign the surrender in Reims (France), where the headquarters of the commander of the Western Allies, US Army General Dwight Eisenhower, was located, the German command sent a special group that tried to achieve a separate surrender on Western Front, but the allied governments did not consider it possible to enter into such negotiations.

Under these conditions, the German envoy Alfred Jodl agreed to the final signing of the act of surrender, having previously received permission from the German leadership, but the authority given to Jodl retained the wording to conclude a “truce agreement with General Eisenhower’s headquarters.”

On May 7, 1945, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed for the first time in Reims. On behalf of the German High Command it was signed by the Chief of Operations Staff of the Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces, Colonel General Alfred Jodl, on the Anglo-American side by Lieutenant General of the US Army, Chief of the General Staff of the Allied Expeditionary Forces Walter Bedell Smith, on behalf of the USSR - by a representative of the Supreme High Command Headquarters at Allied command, Major General Ivan Susloparov.

The Act was also signed by the Deputy Chief of the French National Defense Staff, Brigadier General Francois Sevez, as a witness. The surrender of Nazi Germany came into force on May 8 at 23.01 Central European Time (May 9 at 01.01 Kyiv time). The document was drawn up in English and only the English text was recognized as official.

The Soviet representative, General Susloparov, who by this time had not received instructions from the Supreme High Command, signed the act with the caveat that this document should not exclude the possibility of signing another act at the request of one of the allied countries.

The text of the act of surrender signed in Reims differed from the document long ago developed and agreed upon between the allies. The document, entitled "Unconditional Surrender of Germany", was approved by the US government on August 9, 1944, by the USSR government on August 21, 1944, and by the British government on September 21, 1944, and was an extensive text of fourteen clearly worded articles in which, in addition to the military terms of surrender, it was also said that the USSR, USA and England “will have supreme power in relation to Germany” and will present additional political, administrative, economic, financial, military and other demands. In contrast, the text signed at Reims was brief, containing only five articles and dealing exclusively with the issue of surrender. German armies on the battlefield.

After this, the West considered the war to be over. On this basis, the United States and Great Britain proposed that on May 8 the leaders of the three powers officially declare victory over Germany. The Soviet government did not agree and demanded the signing of an official act of unconditional surrender of Germany, since fighting on the Soviet-German front was still ongoing. Forced to sign the Reims Act German side immediately broke it. German Chancellor Admiral Karl Doenitz ordered German troops on the Eastern Front to retreat to the west as quickly as possible, and, if necessary, fight their way there.

Stalin said that the Act must be solemnly signed in Berlin: “The agreement signed in Reims cannot be canceled, but it cannot be recognized either. Surrender must be carried out as the most important historical act and accepted not on the territory of the victors, but where fascist aggression came from , - in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by the high command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition." After this statement, the Allies agreed to hold a ceremony for the second signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany and its armed forces in Berlin.

Since it was not easy to find a whole building in the destroyed Berlin, they decided to carry out the procedure for signing the act in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst in the building where the club of the fortification school of sappers of the German Wehrmacht used to be located. There was a hall prepared for this purpose.

The acceptance of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany from the Soviet side was entrusted to Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov. Under the protection of British officers, a German delegation was brought to Karlshorst, which had the authority to sign an act of unconditional surrender.

On May 8, at exactly 22:00 Central European time (24:00 Kyiv time), representatives of the Soviet Supreme High Command, as well as the Allied High Command, entered the hall decorated with the national flags of the Soviet Union, the USA, Britain and France. Present in the hall were Soviet generals, whose troops took part in the storming of Berlin, as well as Soviet and foreign journalists. The ceremony of signing the act was opened by Marshal Zhukov, who welcomed representatives of the allied armies to the busy Soviet Army Berlin.

After this, on his orders, the German delegation was brought into the hall. At the suggestion of the Soviet representative, the head of the German delegation presented a document on his powers, signed by Doenitz. The German delegation was then asked whether it had the Act of Unconditional Surrender in its hands and whether it had studied it. After an affirmative answer, representatives of the German armed forces, at the sign of Marshal Zhukov, signed an act drawn up in nine copies (three copies each in Russian, English and German). Then representatives of the allied forces put their signatures.

On behalf of the German side, the act was signed by: the Chief of the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht, Field Marshal General Wilhelm Keitel, the representative of the Luftwaffe (Air Force) Colonel General Hans Stumpf and the representative of the Kriegsmarine ( Navy) Admiral Hans von Friedeburg. The unconditional surrender was accepted by Marshal Georgy Zhukov (from the Soviet side) and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, Marshal Arthur Tedder (Great Britain). General Karl Spaats (USA) and General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (France) put their signatures as witnesses. The document stipulated that only English and Russian texts were authentic. One copy of the act was immediately handed to Keitel. Another original copy of the act on the morning of May 9 was delivered by plane to the Headquarters of the Supreme Command of the Red Army.

The procedure for signing the surrender ended on May 8 at 22.43 Central European time (May 9 at 0.43 Kyiv time). Finally, in the same building, a large reception was held for representatives of the Allies and guests, which lasted until the morning.

After the signing of the act, the German government was dissolved, and German troops completely laid down their arms.

The date of the official announcement of the signing of surrender (May 8 in Europe and America, May 9 in the USSR) began to be celebrated as Victory Day in Europe and the USSR, respectively.

A complete copy (i.e. in three languages) of the Act of Military Surrender of Germany, as well as the original document signed by Doenitz, certifying the powers of Keitel, Friedeburg and Stumpf, are stored in the fund of international treaty acts of the Archive foreign policy Russian Federation. Another original copy of the act is located in Washington in the US National Archives.

The document signed in Berlin is, with the exception of unimportant details, a repetition of the text signed in Reims, but it was important that the German command surrendered in Berlin itself.

The act also contained an article that provided for the replacement of the signed text with “another general document of surrender.” Such a document, called the “Declaration of the Defeat of Germany and the Assumption of Supreme Power by the Governments of the Four Allied Powers,” was signed on June 5, 1945 in Berlin by the four Allied Commanders-in-Chief. It almost entirely reproduced the text of the document on unconditional surrender, developed in London by the European Advisory Commission and approved by the governments of the USSR, USA and Great Britain in 1944.

Now the building where the signing of the act took place houses the German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst.