May 9 is firmly associated with Victory Day. This date is associated with the signing of the act of surrender of Nazi Germany. This is also written in school textbooks. But other countries of the anti-Hitler coalition always celebrated Victory Day on May 8th. Where does such a discrepancy come from and how did the Nazi elite actually surrender?

In mid-April 1945, Soviet troops launched a major offensive in the direction of Berlin and took the city in a matter of days. In the German army at that time, complete chaos reigned, in anticipation of the impending defeat, many Nazis committed suicide. Goebbels' propagandists obviously overdid it, telling myths about the "terrible Red Army men." Hitler, who was in the bunker of the Reich Chancellery, “surrendered”

April 30, committed suicide. And the very next day, a red flag fluttered over the Reichstag.

However, the Fuhrer's suicide and the fall of Berlin did not mean the surrender of Germany, which had more than a million soldiers in the ranks. The new government of the country, headed by Grand Admiral Karl Dennits, was inclined to continue hostilities on the Eastern Front. In the western direction, the Germans pursued a policy of so-called private capitulations. Beginning on May 4, one after another, the German armies laid down their arms in front of the Americans in Holland, Bavaria, Denmark, and Austria.

May 7, 1945 at 2.41 in Reims, the United States and England arbitrarily accepted the surrender of Germany. From the USSR, Major General Ivan Susloparov was at the Allied headquarters as a permanent representative. He was clearly unprepared for such an unexpected turn of events. Fearing that the act in Reims could infringe on the interests of the USSR, the general sent the text of the act of surrender to Moscow before the signing ceremony, requesting additional instructions. However, by the appointed time, the answer did not come. The head of the Soviet military mission found himself in a very delicate position. It is hard to even imagine how this decision came to him, but he agreed to sign the document at his own peril and risk, including a clause on the possible repetition of the ceremony at the request of any of the allied states.

Susloparov's prudence came in handy. Stalin was extremely annoyed by the signing of the surrender at Reims and categorically refused to recognize this document as final. It turned out really unfair and dishonest. The fighting on the Soviet-German front was still going on, and in the West the war was considered already over. For almost three years, under various pretexts, the Allies delayed the opening of the second front, but for a whole day they were ahead of the USSR with the announcement of Victory, thereby hoping to push back its contribution to the defeat of fascism.

Here is what Marshal Zhukov recalled on this occasion: “On May 7, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief called me in Berlin and said: “Today in Reims, the Germans signed an act of unconditional surrender. The Soviet people, not the allies, bore the brunt of the war on their shoulders. Therefore, surrender must be signed before the High Command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, and not only before the command of the allied forces. Stalin demanded a new signing of the act of surrender in Berlin taken by the Red Army. The ceremony was scheduled for May 9 at 24.00 Moscow time.

From their table to the table of the Presidium, where the Act of Unconditional Surrender was signed, the members of the German delegation had to walk exactly eight steps. This had a special meaning. That is how long the German delegation went to the trailer of Marshal Foch in 1918, when the Act of Surrender of Germany in the First World War was signed

In the middle of the day on May 8, representatives of the Allied High Command arrived at the Tempelhof airfield in Berlin: Deputy Eisenhower, British Air Marshal Arthur Tedder, US Air Force Commander General Carl Spaats and French General Jean-Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny. From the airfield, the Allies headed for the Berlin suburb of Karlhorst. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, General Admiral of the Fleet von Friedeburg and Colonel General of Aviation Hans Stumpf were taken there under the protection of the former Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht Supreme High Command.

Marshal Zhukov accepted the surrender from the Soviet side. The ceremony was decided to be held in the dining room of the military engineering school. Our countryman from Borisov, Mikhail Filonov (unfortunately, he is no longer alive. - Approx. Aut.) was an eyewitness to this historic event. And this is what he told me:

- The headquarters was located in the school

5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. At the headquarters, I served as a sapper. And on the night of May 9, I was appointed duty officer in the hall. Most of the officers came to the conference straight from the front lines. And so they entered the hall - without parade uniforms, awards, with hastily fastened order strips. In a small smoking room nearby, I saw Keitel nervously choking on cigarette smoke. The winners defiantly went out to smoke in the adjacent room.

After listening to the interpreter, Keitel jumped up abruptly, approached with undisguised anger and sat down at the table. At that moment, his monocle fell out. He corrected it and with a trembling hand began to quickly sign the Act. In those moments, something incredible happened around. Photographers, cameramen, pushing each other, rushed to shoot historical shots. Someone even jumped on the table where the generals were sitting. From the flashes of many cameras, the hall was filled with smoke. The guards had a hard time keeping order. After Keitel, the document was signed in turn by Zhukov and representatives of the United States, Great Britain and France. Then the German delegation was asked to leave the hall. It was 0 hours 43 minutes Moscow time.

Tatyana Koroleva, who worked as a waitress that day, recalls: “There was literally an explosion of emotions. Everyone began to hug, kiss, shout something, cry. They took autographs: some on money, some on photographs or a notebook.” When everyone calmed down, tables were brought in and food and drinks were arranged. Snacks were brought specially from Moscow. Yes, what! Sturgeon, salmon, caviar... All this was washed down with vodka and cognac. The toasts sounded non-stop. They drank for marshals, then for infantry, pilots, tankers, sailors, orderlies, army cooks. Suddenly someone remembered the German delegation. Like, they, too, probably need to be fed. Everyone looked at Zhukov. After a second pause, he ordered: “Take them vodka. Let them drink to our Victory!” Thus was put an end to the history of the most terrible war.

From the text of the Act of Military Surrender of the Armed Forces of Germany:

1. We, the undersigned, acting on behalf of the German High Command, agree to the unconditional surrender of all our armed forces on land, at sea and in the air, as well as all forces currently under German command, to the Supreme High Command of the Red Army and at the same time Supreme Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces.

2. The German High Command will immediately issue orders to all German commanders of the land, sea and air forces ... to cease hostilities at 23.01 hours Central European Time on May 8, 1945, to remain in their places where they are at this 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 steamships, ships and aircraft, their engines, hulls and equipment, as well as vehicles, weapons, apparatus and everything in general military - technical means of warfare.

3. In the event that the German High Command or any armed forces under its command fail to act in accordance with this act 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 action they deem necessary.

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 exit 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.ru)

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 Germany's surrender 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 downplayed in every possible way, and the act itself was hushed up, while in the West it is regarded as the actual signing of the capitulation, 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.

Exactly 70 years ago, on May 8, 1945, on the outskirts of Berlin, Karlshorst, at 22:43 CET (May 9 at 00:43 Moscow time), the final act of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed.

A selection of photographs dedicated to this significant event.

1. The building of the German military engineering school in the suburbs of Berlin - Karlshorst, 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 Germany's surrender 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 regard the procedure in Reims as a preliminary surrender. The Allies also agreed that the matter should not be postponed, and appointed the signing of the Act of Surrender of Germany 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 approach 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, led 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 Spaatz 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"

Any war, as you know, ends with the unconditional surrender of the losing side of the military conflict. The Great Patriotic War was no exception, however, regarding the surrender of Germany, there are still many of the most amazing versions and rumors. We decided to sort out the most famous of them.

Version 1: What kind of surrender is real

The most surprising thing is that Germany capitulated twice. About which of them is the real public opinion in Russia and the West differ. The first signing of a historic document took place on May 7 in the French city of Reims at the headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The German Surrender Act was signed again a day later on the night of May 8-9, 1945 in Karlhorst, a district of East Berlin. In addition, the surrender of individual parts of the Wehrmacht took place in Northern Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark and in the North-West of Germany much earlier than the signing of the official Instrument of Surrender of the whole country. It is not surprising that the West recognizes the "French" capitulation on May 7, while in Russia the capitulation signed in Berlin on May 8-9 enjoys great prestige. Oddly enough, but in this case, from the legal side, both documents have equal legal force, but completely different political weight.

Following the letter of the law, both on May 7 and on May 8-9, 1945, Germany capitulated to representatives of all three countries of the allies of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. At the signing of the document in Reims, the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command under the command of the Allies, Major General I.A. Susloparov, on behalf of the Anglo-American side, the document was signed by Lieutenant General of the US Army Water Bedll Smith. The German side was represented by Colonel-General Alfred Jodl, Chief of the Operational Staff of the German Army High Command. In addition, the capitulation was endorsed by the Deputy Chief of the French National Defense Staff, Brigadier General Francois Sevez. Nevertheless, despite the appearance of the long-awaited document on the end of the war, Moscow was extremely dissatisfied with the very procedure for signing it. Moreover, I.V. Stalin sent I.A. A telegram to Susloparov with a ban on signing this document, but he was late. When the telegram was delivered to the addressee, the surrender had already been signed by all parties. True, the insightful Ivan Alexandrovich Susloparov made a small addition to the document, stating that if one of the parties wants to re-sign the document, this should be done. On the same day, this proposal was received from the Soviet side by order of I.V. Stalin. The second time the German Surrender Act was signed in Berlin. This time the composition of the signatories was more representative.

Marshal G.K. accepted the surrender from the USSR. Zhukov, from the Anglo-American forces, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, Marshal Arthur Tedder. From the German side, the Act of Surrender was signed by Field Marshal, Chief of the High Command of the Wehrmacht Wilhelm Keitl, representative of the Luftwaffe Colonel General Stumpf and representative of the Kriegsmarine Admiral von Friedeburg. At the same time, London and Washington were extremely dissatisfied with the re-signing of the document. To express his attitude to this procedure, instead of Dwight Eisenhower, who was personally going to sign the second surrender, his deputy was sent to Berlin. Nevertheless, from the point of view of international law, both surrenders of Germany have the same force.

Version 2: Execution for surrender?

No less common, the legend regarding the surrender of Germany was the further fate of I.A. Susloparov, contrary to the order of I.V. Stalin, who signed the surrender in Reims. For a long time, deliberately unreliable information was spread in the Western media that Ivan Alexandrovich was shot after the war. The more philanthropic European tabloids "sent" him to camps for decades. Of course, the truth in these publications was not a penny. The fact is that the coordination of surrender in Reims by all interested parties took two days from May 5 to May 7. Moreover, the final text of the surrender was sent by telegram to Moscow on May 6 with a request for permission to sign it. The fact that the response telegram I.V. Stalin arrived too late, the fault of I.A. Susloparov is not. Moreover, having shown insight, he managed to arrange everything in such a way that there were no problems with re-signing the document.

At the same time, it is not known how the situation would have unfolded if Ivan Aleksandrovich had refused to sign the historical document. It is well known that the Germans dragged on with the signing of the surrender with all their might, trying to transport to the West as many civilians, material assets, technical documentation and remaining combat-ready troops as possible. With this step, the leaders of the Third Reich, struggling in agony, hoped to leave the opportunity to subsequently negotiate with the Anglo-American allies, so that they could then continue the war against the USSR by joint efforts. In this delicate situation, the signing of the surrender had to be carried out as soon as possible. After the end of the war, the fate of I.A. Susloparov has developed extremely favorably. He was transferred to work at the Military Diplomatic Academy in Moscow, where Ivan Aleksandrovich worked until his death on December 16, 1974.

Version 3: Why was the press silent?

A rather unusual fact, which after the war drew the attention of military historians on both sides of the ocean, was the silence of the press on the day of the signing of the first act of surrender on May 7, 1945. It could be assumed that the press was simply not invited to the consecration of this historical moment. But no. 17 journalists attended the ceremony of signing the German Surrender Act in Reims. It turned out that the whole point was the unusual request of the leaders of the countries of the winners, addressed to the media. Official historiography claims that when the United States and Great Britain learned that the USSR categorically insisted on the second signing of the Act of Surrender, the journalists took an oath to keep this information secret for 36 hours. Representatives of the press behaved with dignity, sending the relevant messages to their publications only at 3 pm on May 8, 1945. Only Edward Kennedy, a reporter for the Associated Press, acted unworthily. Having become an oath-breaker, he divulged information about the surrender on May 7 at 15:41. For his ugly act, he immediately lost his job, although he remained in history. In contrast, the names of other journalists who were present at the signing of the document in Reims are not known today.

Version 4: Signature or ratification?

It is not surprising that after the end of the war, both in the West and in the USSR, they tried to belittle the role of the Act of Surrender, which was not beneficial to one side or the other, while in fact both documents were equivalent. At the same time, it should be noted that Winston Churchill was the first to violate the behind-the-scenes agreements of the leaders of the victorious countries. The fact is that the heads of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, before making public the surrender of Germany, honestly agreed to consider the Act of Surrender in Reims as preliminary, and in Berlin as the main one. However, in violation of gentlemen's agreements, in his radio address to the nation on May 8, 1945, Churchill announced that Germany had signed an act of surrender without conspiracy the previous morning, while from May 8 to 9 it would be ratified in Karlshos by signing a new Act.

Thus, Winston Churchill not only broke his word, but also gave rise to a historical intrigue, the purpose of which was to belittle the significance of the German Surrender Act, signed in Karlshos by a more representative delegation of the parties from May 8 to 9, 1945. Subsequently, some well-known Western publicists did not even mention the surrender signed in Berlin in their books. In the USSR, the population learned about the capitulation of fascist Germany from the message of the Soviet Information Bureau, which sounded at 2:10 am on May 9, 1945. At the same time, today in Russia it is practically unknown that having signed two surrenders at once, the USSR remained in the war with Germany until January 25, 1955. Only 10 years after the end of hostilities, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a Decree to end the state of war with Germany.

Version 5: Why was it necessary to re-sign the Act of Surrender

A completely logical question arises, why I.V. Stalin needed a second surrender of Germany, when the first in Reims was carried out with the participation of a Soviet representative with all the necessary formalities. Moreover, the text of the document signed a day later in Karlshorse in Berlin almost completely corresponded to its predecessor. It turned out that there was a rather weighty logic in this requirement. In particular, I.V. Stalin declared that the Act signed in Reims "can neither be canceled nor recognized." The capitulation of the fascist regime, in his firm opinion, was to take place not on the territory of the victors, but in Berlin, from where the fascist aggression began.

Today, quite often you can also hear the opinion that I.V. Stlin was guided by just indignation that the first Act of Surrender was signed on the territory of the Anglo-American troops, and not the Soviet ones, although the main burden of the war and the merit in the victory lies precisely with the Red Army. This is true, but it must also be remembered that the Germans at first considered the possibility of capitulation only to the Western countries. Moreover, after the First World War, attempts were repeatedly made to challenge a similar document, due to the fact that on the part of Germany it was signed by a military leader who could not speak on behalf of the entire army. Including in order to prevent this from happening again, I.V. Stalin demanded that Alfred Jodl's signature be replaced with Wilhelm Keitl's visa.

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 to 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.

A similar confusion was introduced by Stalin into Russian textbooks with the dates of the beginning and end of the Second World War. If the whole world considers September 1, 1939 as 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 signed the Unconditional Surrender Act 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.