The German Instrument of Surrender was the legal instrument that established the armistice ending World War II in Europe. It was signed by representatives of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the Allied Expeditionary Force and Soviet High Command on May 7 and formally ratified on May 8, 1945. The date is known in the West as Victory in Europe Day.
There were three language versions of the surrender document. The English and Russian versions were the only authoritative ones. The English version was typed by Susan Hibbert.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Preparations of the text of the instrument of surrender began by US, Soviet and British representatives at the European Advisory Commission (EAC) throughout 1944. Already on January 3, 1944 the Working Security Committee in the EAC proposed
that the capitulation of Germany should be recorded in a single document of unconditional surrender. [1]
The committee further suggested that the instrument of surrender be signed by representatives of the German High Command. The considerations behind this recommendation were to prevent the repetition of the stab-in-the-back legend, created in Germany following defeat in the First World War, since the act of surrender in November 1918 was signed by representatives of the German government and the militarist circles later claimed that the High Command was not responsible for that defeat.
Not everyone agreed with the Working Security Committee's predictions regarding the war's end. Lord William Strang, 1st Baron Strang, British representative at the EAC, claimed as follows:
It is impossible at present to foresee in what circumstances hostilities with Germany may in the end be suspended. We cannot tell, therefore, what mode of procedure would be most suitable; whether, for example, it will be found best to have a full and detailed armistice; or a shorter armistice conferring general powers; or possibly no armistice at all, but a series of local capitulations by enemy commanders.[2]
The surrender terms for Germany were first discussed at the first EAC meeting on January 14, 1944.
On March 14, 1945 the EAC held a meeting with the representatives of Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Yugoslavia and Greece on the issue of the instrument of surrender. The Czech government proposed the document shall include a paragraph against acquisition of territories by force and would mention the responsibility of the German state to the war. The governments of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, concerned with their positions as small Allied nations, recommended that the instrument of surrender shall include a specific acknowledgement of the part to be played by the small countries in the control of Germany. The Norwegian government requested the document to include specific reference to the demand of surrender of the German troops in Norway. The Yugoslav government declared its intention to refrain from any specific recommendations until an agreement on unity government was reached between Tito and Prime Minister Ivan Šubašić. The Greek government requested to include in the document a demand to all German forces that may remain on Greek territory at the moment of surrender to surrender their military equipment to the Greek Royal government.[3]
[edit] Surrender ceremony
The first Instrument of Surrender was signed at Rheims, France, at 02:41 hours on 7 May 1945. The signing took place in a red brick schoolhouse that served as the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF).[4] It was to take effect at 2301 hours Central European time on 8 May, 1945.[5]
The unconditional surrender of the German armed forces was signed by Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, on behalf of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German language: High Command of armed forces) and as the representative for the new Reich President, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz. Walter Bedell Smith signed on behalf of the Western allies, and Ivan Susloparov on behalf of the Soviets. French major general François Sevez signed as the official witness.
In Rheims, the United States and Britain acted on behalf of all Allied forces, whereas France, Germany and the USSR acted individually.[6] The Rheims' instrument of surrender was ratified May 8, which was agreed at the time of the May 7 signing.[7]
[edit] Ratification
A second Act of Military Surrender was signed shortly after midnight Central European time on May 8[8] at the seat of the Soviet Military Administration in Berlin-Karlshorst, now the location of the German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst. [1].
This ratification was a response to both Soviet and British concerns. The Soviets desired a signature in the presence of the Soviet Supreme Commander (Major General Susloparov, who had accepted the May 7 surrender for the Soviets, was only liaison officer at the Western Headquarters). The British wanted the surrender to be signed by the highest military and civilian representatives of the German Reich, in order to avoid a repeat of the "stab in the back" legend which had been cultivated by the Germans after World War I because the armistice had been signed only by a civilian politician and an unknown general. (Jodl, who signed in Rheims, was an officer without the power of command). It was agreed to have the May 7 act ratified with the signatures of the commanders in chief of the Wehrmacht, army, air force and marines, who were brought to Karlshorst, the seat of the Soviet Supreme Commander. The representatives of the Western Headquarters, the United Kingdom, France and the United States entered the dining room of the officers' mess in Karlshorst shortly before midnight. The German delegation, which had been flown in from Flensburg to Tempelhof in a U.S. airplane, entered the room shortly after midnight after Marshal Georgy Zhukov, the Soviet representative, had opened the ceremony. The ratification of the German Act of Unconditional Surrender was signed around 00.15 o'clock, after its regulations had already been in effect for over an hour (23:01 Central European Time).
Representatives:
- Soviet Union: Marshal Georgy Zhukov on behalf of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army
- United Kingdom: Air Chief Marshal Arthur William Tedder as Deputy Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force,
- United States: General Carl Spaatz, Commanding United States Strategic Air Forces, as witness
- France: General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, Commanding First French Army, as witness
- Nazi Germany:
- Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg as Commander-in-Chief of the navy (Kriegsmarine)
- Colonel-General Hans-Jürgen Stumpff as the representative of the air force (Luftwaffe)
- Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel as the Chief of Staff of the German Armed Forces and as representative of the army (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht)
[edit] Text of the Instrument of Surrender (Rheims)
Only this text in English is authoritative
Act of Military Surrender
1. We the undersigned, acting by authority of the German High Command, hereby surrender unconditionally to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command all forces on land, sea, and in the air who are at this date under German control.
2. The German High Command will at once issue orders to all German military, naval and air authorities and to all forces under German control to cease active operations at 2301 hours Central European time on 8 May and to remain in the positions occupied at that time. No ship, vessel, or aircraft is to be scuttled, or any damage done to their hull, machinery or equipment.
3. The German High Command will at once issue to the appropriate commanders, and ensure the carrying out of any further orders issued by the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and by the Soviet High Command.
4. This act of military surrender is without prejudice to, and will be superseded by any general instrument of surrender imposed by, or on behalf of the United Nations and applicable to Germany and the German armed forces as a whole.[ 2 ]
5. In the event of the German High Command or any of the forces under their control failing to act in accordance with this Act of Surrender, the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and the Soviet High Command will take such punitive or other action as they deem appropriate.
Signed at Rheims at 0241 France on the 7th day of May, 1945.
On behalf of the German High Command. Alfred Jodl
in the presence of
On behalf of the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force. Walter Bedell Smith
On behalf of the Soviet High Command. Ivan Sousloparov
Major General, French Army (Witness) François Sevez
[edit] Text of the Instrument of Surrender (Berlin)
1. We the undersigned, acting by authority of the German High Command, hereby surrender unconditionally to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and simultaneously to the Supreme High Command of the Red Army all forces on land, at sea, and in the air who are at this date under German control.
2. The German High Command will at once issue order to all German military, naval and air authorities and to all forces under German control to cease active operations at 2301 hours Central European time on 8th May 1945, to remain in all positions occupied at that time and to disarm completely, handing over their weapons and equipment to the local allied commanders or officers designated by Representatives of the Allied Supreme Commands. No ship, vessel, or aircraft is to be scuttled, or any damage done to their hull, machinery or equipment, and also to machines of all kinds, armament, apparatus, and all the technical means of prosecution of war in general.
3. The German High Command will at once issue to the appropriate commanders, and ensure the carrying out of any further orders issued by the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and by the Supreme Command of the Red Army.
4. This act of military surrender is without prejudice to, and will be superseded by any general instrument of surrender imposed by, or on behalf of the United Nations and applicable to GERMANY and the German armed forces as a whole.
5. In the event of the German High Command or any of the forces under their control failing to act in accordance with this Act of Surrender, the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and the Supreme High Command of the Red Army will take such punitive or other action as they deem appropriate.
6. This Act is drawn up in the English, Russian and German languages. The English and Russian are the only authentic texts.
Signed at Berlin on the 8 day of May, 1945
- Von Friedeburg
- Keitel
- Stumpff
On behalf of the German High Command
IN THE PRESENCE OF:
A.W.Tedder
On behalf of the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force
Georgi Zhukov
On behalf of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army
At the signing also were present as witnesses:
F. de Lattre-Tassigny
General Commanding in Chief
First French Army
Carl Spaatz
General, Commanding
United States Strategic Air Force
[edit] See also
 |
|
||||
| Problems listening to this file? See media help. | |||||
- End of World War II in Europe
- Debellatio
- Nuremberg Trials
- Morgenthau Plan
- Paris Peace Treaties, 1947, formally established peace between the World War II Allies and the nations of Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Finland
- Japanese Instrument of Surrender
- Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany
[edit] References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Instrument of German surrender, World War II |
- http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1577141,00.html
- Earl F. Ziemke "The U.S. Army in the occupation of Germany 1944-1946" Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D. C., 1990, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 75-619027
- The Memoirs of Georgy Zhukov. Chapter 22: Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany (Russian)
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Memorandum by the Working Security Committee, January 3, 1944, Foreign Relations of the United States 1944, vol I, p. 101
- ^ Memorandum by Lord Strang, January 15, 1944, Foreign Relations of the United States 1944, vol. I, p. 113
- ^ Report of the Allied Consultation Committee to the European Advisory Commission, March 14, 1945 Foreign Relations of the United States 1945, vol. III, pp. 191-198
- ^ I remember the German surrender, Kathryn Westcott, BBC News, May 4, 2005.
- ^ Act of Military Surrender Signed at Rheims at 0241 on the 7th day of May, 1945, The Avalon Project, Yale University Law School, © 1996-2007, The Lillian Goldman Law Library in Memory of Sol Goldman.
- ^ United States--France--Germany--Great Britain--Soviet Union: Unconditional Surrender of German Forces at Rheims. The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 39, No. 3, Supplement: Official Documens (Jul., 1945), pp. 169-170
- ^ UNDERTAKING
GIVEN BY CERTAIN GERMAN EMISSARIES
TO THE ALLIED HIGH COMMANDS It is agreed by the German emissaries
undersigned that the following German officers will
arrive at a place and time designated by the Supreme
Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force, and the Soviet
High Command prepared, with plenary powers, to execute
a formal ratification on behalf of the German High
Command of this act of Unconditional Surrender of the
German armed forces.
- Chief of the High Command
- Commander-in-Chief of the Army
- Commander-in-Chief of the Navy
- Commander-in-Chief of the Air Forces.
- Rheims, France
- ^ Earl F. Ziemke References CHAPTER XV:The Victory Sealed Page 258 last paragraph
[edit] External links
 |
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- History Documents: "Surrender of Germany (1945)" (photos, refs)