The act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Signing of the act of unconditional surrender of Germany

TASS-DOSIER /Alexey Isaev/. May 8, 1945 in Karlshorst (a suburb of Berlin) was signed the Act of unconditional surrender of the German armed forces.

The document signed in Reims at the level of the chiefs of staff was initially of a preliminary nature. The Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, General Eisenhower, did not put his signature. Moreover, he agreed to go on May 8 for a "more official" ceremony in Berlin. However, political pressure was put on Eisenhower, both from Winston Churchill and from US political circles, and he was forced to cancel his trip to Berlin.

By order from Moscow, the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, was appointed representative of the Supreme High Command of the Soviet troops to sign the Act. On the morning of May 8, Andrei Vyshinsky arrived from Moscow as a political adviser. The headquarters of the 5th shock army was chosen by Zhukov as the place for signing the Act of Unconditional Surrender. It was located in the building of the former military engineering school in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst. The hall of the officer's canteen was prepared for the ceremony, the furniture was brought from the building of the Reich Chancellery.

In a short time, Soviet engineering units prepared the road from Tempelhof Airport to Karlshorst, the remains of enemy fortifications and barricades were blown up, and the rubble was cleared. On the morning of May 8, journalists, correspondents from all the major newspapers and magazines in the world, photojournalists began to arrive in Berlin to capture the historical moment of the legal registration of the defeat of the Third Reich.

At 14.00, representatives of the High Command of the Allied Forces arrived at the Tempelhof airfield. They were met by Deputy General of the Army Sokolovsky, the first commandant of Berlin, Colonel General Berzarin (commander of the 5th Shock Army), and a member of the Military Council of the Army, Lieutenant General Bokov.

The Supreme Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces was represented by Eisenhower's Deputy Air Chief Marshal Tedder of Great Britain, the US Armed Forces by the Commander of the Strategic Air Forces, General Spaats, and the French Armed Forces by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, General de Lattre de Tassigny. Field Marshal Keitel, Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine, Admiral von Friedeburg, and Colonel-General of Aviation Stumpf, who had the authority to sign the Act of Unconditional Surrender from the government of K. Doenitz, were taken from Flensburg, under the protection of British officers, to Berlin. The last to arrive was the French delegation.

Exactly at midnight Moscow time, as agreed in advance, the ceremony participants entered the hall. Georgy Zhukov opened the meeting with the words: "We, representatives of the Supreme Command of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces, are authorized by the governments of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition to accept the unconditional surrender of Germany from the German military command."

Then Zhukov invited representatives of the German command into the hall. They were asked to sit at a separate table.

After confirming that the representatives of the German side had authority from the government, Denitz, Zhukov and Tedder asked if they had the Act of Surrender in their hands, whether they had met him and whether they agreed to sign it. Keitel agreed and prepared to sign the documents at his desk. However, Vyshinsky, as an expert on diplomatic protocol, whispered a few words to Zhukov, and the marshal said loudly: "Not there, but here. I suggest that the representatives of the German High Command come here and sign the Act of Unconditional Surrender here." Keitel was forced to go to a special table set next to the table where the allies were sitting.

Keitel put his signature on all copies of the Act (there were nine of them). Following him, Admiral Friedeburg and Colonel-General Stumpf did it.

After that, Zhukov and Tedder signed, followed by General Spaats and General de Lattre de Tassigny as witnesses. At 0 hours 43 minutes on May 9, 1945, the signing of the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany was completed. Zhukov invited the German delegation to leave the hall.

The act consisted of six points: "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 Command of the Red Army and at the same time to the 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 and all forces under German command to cease hostilities at 23.01 hours CET on May 8, 1945, to remain in their places where they are at that time, and disarm completely, 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, and machines , weapons, apparatuses and all military-technical means of warfare in general.

3. The German High Command will immediately assign appropriate commanders and ensure that all further orders issued by the Supreme High Command of the Red Army and the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces are carried out.

4. This act shall not prevent 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 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 Force, will take such punitive measures, or other actions they deem necessary.

6. This act is drawn up in Russian, English and German. Only the Russian and English texts are authentic."

The differences from the Instrument of Surrender signed at Reims were minor in form but significant in content. So, instead of the Soviet High Command (Soviet High Command), the name Supreme High Command of the Red Army (Supreme High Command of the Red Army) was used. The item on the preservation of military equipment was expanded and supplemented. The language issue was discussed as a separate item. The item on the possibility of signing another document remained unchanged.

The most terrible war in the history of mankind ended with the victory of the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. Now the Russian-German Museum of Capitulation operates in Karlshorst.

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 stop resistance, surrender personnel and transfer materiel to the enemy, and in fact meant Germany's exit from the war.

The document marked the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 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 fascist regime in Germany, the Hitlerite elite intensified numerous attempts to save Nazism by concluding a separate peace with the Western powers. The German generals wanted 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 the Western Front, but the allied governments did not consider it possible to go to 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 remained the wording to conclude an "armistice agreement with General Eisenhower's headquarters."

On May 7, 1945, Germany's unconditional surrender was signed for the first time in Reims. On behalf of the German High Command, it was signed by Colonel-General Alfred Jodl, Chief of the Operational Staff of the German High Command; on behalf of the Anglo-American side, Lieutenant General of the US Army, Chief of the General Staff of the Allied Expeditionary Forces Walter Bedell Smith; on behalf of the USSR, the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command at Allied Command Major General Ivan Susloparov. Also, the Act was signed by the Deputy Chief of the French National Defense Staff, Brigadier General Francois Sevez, as a witness. The capitulation of Nazi Germany took effect on May 8 at 23.01 CET (May 9 at 01.01 Moscow time). The document was drawn up in English, and only the English text was accepted 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 proviso 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 that had long been developed and agreed between the allies. The document, entitled "Germany's Unconditional Surrender", was approved by the US Government on August 9, 1944, by the Soviet 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, the 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 dealt exclusively with the surrender of German armies on the battlefield.

After that, in the West, the war was considered 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 Nazi Germany, since the fighting on the Soviet-German front was still ongoing. Forced to sign the Reims Act, the German side immediately violated it. German Chancellor Admiral Karl Doenitz ordered the German troops on the Eastern Front to retreat to the west as quickly as possible, and if necessary, fight their way there.

Stalin declared that the Act should be solemnly signed in Berlin: “The treaty signed in Reims cannot be canceled, but it cannot be recognized. , - in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by the supreme command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. Following this statement, the Allies agreed to hold a second signing ceremony for 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, it was decided to carry out the procedure for signing the act on the outskirts of Berlin Karlshorst in the building where the club of the fortification school of sappers of the German Wehrmacht used to be. It was prepared for this room.

The acceptance of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany from the Soviet side was entrusted to the Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR, 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 CET (24:00 Moscow time), representatives of the Soviet Supreme High Command, as well as the Allied High Command, entered the hall decorated with the state flags of the Soviet Union, the United States, England and France. The hall was attended by Soviet generals, whose troops participated in the legendary storming of Berlin, as well as Soviet and foreign journalists. The signing ceremony was opened by Marshal Zhukov, who greeted the representatives of the allied armies in Berlin occupied by the Soviet Army.

After that, 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 hand and whether it had studied it. After an affirmative answer, the 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 the representatives of the allied forces put their signatures. On behalf of the German side, the act was signed by the head of the Wehrmacht Supreme High Command, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, the Luftwaffe (Air Force) representative, Colonel General Hans Stumpf, and the Kriegsmarine (Navy Forces) representative, Admiral Hans von Friedeburg. 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 Carl Spaats (USA) and General Jean de Latre de Tassigny (France) put their signatures as witnesses. The document stipulated that only the English and Russian texts were authentic. One copy of the act was immediately handed over to Keitel. Another original copy of the act on the morning of May 9 was delivered by plane to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army.

The procedure for signing the surrender ended on May 8 at 22.43 CET (May 9 at 0.43 Moscow time). In conclusion, a large reception was held in the same building for representatives of the allies and guests, which lasted until the morning.

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

The date of the official announcement of the signing of the 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 German Military Surrender Act, as well as an original document signed by Doenitz, certifying the credentials of Keitel, Friedeburg and Stumpf, are stored in the fund of international treaty acts of the Foreign Policy Archive of the 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 minor details, a repetition of the text signed in Reims, but it was important that the German command surrendered in Berlin itself.

The act also contains an article that provided for the replacement of the signed text with "another general instrument 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 completely reproduced the text of the document on unconditional surrender, worked out in London by the European Consultative Commission and approved by the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain in 1944.

Now, where the signing of the act took place, there is the German-Russian Museum "Berlin-Karlshorst".

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

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 Wehrmacht High Command Wilhelm Keitl, Luftwaffe representative Colonel General Stumpf and Kriegsmarine representative 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 giving publicity to 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.

After the fall of Berlin and the Fuhrer's suicide, Germany recognized itself defeated.

On May 6, 1945, Grand Admiral Doenitz, who was the de facto head of the fascist German state and 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 in the Anti-Hitler coalition, in Reims, where Eisenhower's headquarters were 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 the American and British troops. However, Stalin insisted that “surrender must be committed 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."

Photo. Celebration of the surrender of Germany in the United States.

On the night of May 8-9, 1945, in Karlshorst, an eastern suburb of Berlin, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany was signed.

The ceremony of signing 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, the USA, England and France. At the main table were representatives of the allied powers. The hall was attended by Soviet generals, whose troops took Berlin, as well as Soviet and foreign journalists.

Photo. Conference room 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. The High Command of the Allied Forces was represented by the British Air Marshal Arthur V. Tedder, the commander of the US strategic air forces, General Spaatz, and the commander-in-chief of the French army, General Delattre de Tassigny. From the German side, Field Marshal Keitel, Admiral of the Fleet Baron von Friedeburg and Colonel General of Aviation Stumpf were authorized to sign the act of unconditional surrender.

Photo. Keitel follows the signing of 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 to the heads of the allied delegations a document on his powers, signed by Doenitz himself. The German delegation was then asked whether it had the Act of Unconditional Surrender in hand and whether it had studied it. After Keitel's affirmative answer, the 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 as witnesses. The procedure for signing the surrender ended at 00:43 on May 9, 1945. The German delegation, by order of Zhukov, left the hall.

Photo.Keitel signs the Act.

The act consisted of 6 paragraphs of the following content:

"one. 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 High Command of the Red Army and at the same time to the High Command Allied Expeditionary Force.

2. The German High Command will immediately issue orders to all German commanders of the land, sea and air forces and all forces under German command to cease hostilities at 2301 hours CET 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 steamships, ships and aircraft, their engines, hulls and equipment , as well as machines, weapons, apparatuses and all military-technical means of warfare in general.

3. The German High Command will immediately assign appropriate commanders and ensure that all further orders issued by the Supreme High Command of the Red Army and the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces are carried out.

4. This act shall not prevent 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 act of surrender, the High Command of the Red Army, as well as the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Force, will take such punitive measures or other actions. as they deem necessary.

6. This act is drawn up in Russian, English and German. Only Russian and English texts are authentic.

Photo. German representatives before the closing of the meeting.

At 0:50 the meeting was adjourned. After that, a reception took place, which was held with great enthusiasm. Much was 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 also could not resist and, remembering my youth, I danced“ Russian ”.

Photo. Allied delegation in Karlshorst.

The land, 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, the Kurland Army Group, pressed against the Baltic Sea, stopped resisting. About 190 thousand soldiers and officers, including 42 generals, surrendered.

Photo. The 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 stationed there - 12,000 soldiers.

Photo. The allies are busy counting captured vehicles.

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 make their way to the west, the Soviet troops had to destroy until May 19 ...

Photo. The surrender of a German regiment in Czechoslovakia.

The signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany ended the Great Patriotic War.

Photo. Soviet soldiers celebrate Victory Day.