THE SURRENDER
Fifty years ago Sunday, on May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at a French boys school that served as Allied headquarters in Rheims, France, to take effect the following day.
THE SIGNERS
German General Alfred Jodl, who would later be hanged for war crimes, signed the declaration of unconditional surrender. Endorsing the document for the Allies was General Walter Bedell Smith, chief of staff for supreme commander Dwight Eisenhower. Soviet General Ivan Susloparoy added his signature.
THE MESSAGE
Eisenhower’s message to the Combined Chiefs of Staff barely hinted at the scope of what had taken place “The mission of this Allied force was fulfilledat0241, local time, May 7, 1945.” EARLY SURRENDERS
In the four days before the end of the war, more than 1 million German soldiers surrendered to the British in the Netherlands, northwest Germany, Denmark and islands in the North Sea. An additional 400,000 handed over their weapons to Americans in Bavaria and western Austria.
V-E DAY
May 8,1945, the day after the signing, was proclaimed YE (Victory in Europe) Day in the United States and Britain.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 12, 1995
