May 8, 1945. Germany's surrender signed in Berlin
The price of the storming of Berlin and the chronicle of the unconditional surrender of Germany
In the spring of 1945, the defeat of Germany was already quite obvious. In April, Soviet troops approached the outskirts of Berlin. But the Germans continued their desperate resistance, not so much hoping for the promised "miracle weapon" that would change everything at the last moment, but out of a sense of disciplinary duty (perhaps also out of fear of the revenge of the victors, whose behavior in East Prussia was used by German propaganda).
On the outskirts of Berlin and in the city itself, a grouping of German troops numbering about a million people was concentrated, which included 62 divisions (including 48 infantry, 4 tank and 10 motorized), 37 separate infantry regiments and about 100 separate infantry battalions, and also a significant number of artillery units and subunits. It was armed with 1,500 tanks, 10,400 guns and mortars, and 3,300 combat aircraft. Three defensive rings were created around the city, more than 400 reinforced concrete long-term firing points with garrisons of up to a thousand people were built inside the city. Berlin was internally prepared for street fighting with the distribution of anti-tank faustpatrons to the intimidated population.
In the art of war, it is customary to subject such powerful fortified areas to a prolonged siege and fire, only at the end moving on to storm the weakened garrison. Capturing Berlin with a frontal attack was possible only at the cost of huge losses. Nevertheless, the Soviet command considered it politically important to take Berlin as soon as possible, regardless of losses. I wanted to give the people a gift for the holiday, and for negotiations with the allies, I wanted to have a better territorial position.
On the Soviet side, over 2.5 million military personnel, 6,250 tanks and self-propelled guns, and 7,500 aircraft participated in the Berlin operation. The losses during the assault turned out to be huge: 352 thousand people, including 78 thousand people killed - and this is at the very end of the war over the already actually defeated Germany ...
Every street of the city was taken at the cost of thousands of lives of Soviet soldiers. During the operation, tanks were widely used, which in the city became a convenient clumsy target for anti-tank weapons: in two weeks of fighting, the Red Army lost a third of the tanks and self-propelled guns participating in the Berlin operation, which amounted to 1,997 units. 917 combat aircraft were also lost.
The chronology of the surrender of Germany was as follows.
On April 29, fighting began for the Reichstag (Imperial Parliament), which was defended by about a thousand people. After two days of attacks, the building was occupied by May 1st. At the end of the day, Lieutenant Berest and sergeants Yegorov and Kantaria hoisted the Banner of Victory over the Reichstag. (However, it is reliably known that before them other servicemen set up red flags on the roof of the Reichstag, however, in the official Soviet historiography, only the banner set by Berest, Yegorov and Kantaria is considered to be the Banner of Victory, apparently because of their nationalities.)
On April 30, Hitler and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide in the Reich Chancellery. Their bodies were doused with gasoline and burned. According to Hitler's will, the commander-in-chief of the German naval forces, Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, who was in Flensburg in the north of the country, was appointed President of Germany.
(On May 5, the bodies of Hitler and E. Braun were found by SMERSH and identified, in particular, with the help of Hitler's dentist, who identified the Fuhrer's dentures. In February 1946, Hitler's body, along with the bodies of E. Braun and the Goebbels family, including 6 children , was buried at one of the bases of the NKVD in Magdeburg. In 1970, when the territory of this base was to be transferred to the GDR, the remains were dug up, cremated to ashes and then thrown into the Elbe. Only dentures and part of Hitler's skull with an entrance bullet However, some biographers of the Fuhrer express doubts that the discovered corpse and part of the skull really belonged to Hitler: his death was confirmed only by adjutants loyal to him, who could lie; the rulers of the Third Reich often used doubles; the FSB refuses to hold a public DNA testing of a piece of Hitler's jaw.Writer Abel Basti cites declassified documents and photographs from the archives of the secret services, claiming that Hitler died in 1964 in Argentina, but this is hard to believe.)
On May 1, at 03:50, the Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces, Infantry General Krebs, was delivered to the command post of the 8th Guards Army, saying that he was authorized to negotiate a truce. However, Stalin ordered no negotiations except for unconditional surrender. An ultimatum was delivered to the German command: if consent to unconditional surrender was not given before 10 o’clock, a crushing blow would be dealt by the Soviet troops. Having received no answer, the Soviet troops at 10:40 opened heavy fire on the remnants of the defense in the center of Berlin. Nevertheless, even by 6 p.m., the demands for surrender by the Germans were rejected.
After that, the final assault began on the central part of the city, where the Imperial Chancellery was located. Hitler was no longer alive, but the desperate resistance of the Germans continued - after all, there was no order to lay down their arms. Only on May 2, all the premises were occupied by Soviet soldiers.
On the night of May 2, at 1:50 am, the following message was received on the radio: “We are sending our parliamentarians to the Bismarck-Strasse bridge. We stop hostilities." Later, the Deputy Minister of Propaganda, Dr. Fritsche, asked the Soviet command for permission to speak on the radio with an appeal to the German troops of the Berlin garrison to stop resistance. By 15 o'clock the remnants of the Berlin garrison (more than 134 thousand people) surrendered. But in many other places, including France, the German troops did not lay down their arms.
On May 7 at 2:41 am in Reims, France, the first German surrender protocol was signed. On behalf of the German High Command, the document was signed by Colonel General Jodl (Chief of the Operations Department of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces) in the presence of General Walter Bedell Smith (on behalf of the Allied Expeditionary Force), General Ivan Susloparov (on behalf of the Soviet Command) and General of the French Army Francois Sevez as witness.
May 8 in Berlin at 22:43 CET (May 9 at 0:43 Moscow time - hence the difference in the days of celebration) Chief of Staff of the Supreme High Command of the German Armed Forces, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, as well as representatives of the German Navy, who had the appropriate authority from Dönitz, signed the second and main Act of unconditional surrender of Germany.
In East Prussia, on Tuesday, German troops held the mouth of the Vistula and the western part of the Frische Nerung spit until the last opportunity ... For exemplary actions, the division commander, General von Saucken, was awarded oak leaves with swords and diamonds to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
The main forces of our army group in Courland, for many months under the command of General of the Infantry Hilpert, put up strong resistance to the superior Soviet tank and infantry formations and courageously withstood six major battles, covered themselves with immortal glory. This army group rejected any premature surrender...
And so, starting from midnight, the weapons on all fronts fell silent. By order of the Grand Admiral, the Wehrmacht stopped the fight that had become senseless. Thus ended almost six years of heroic single combat. It brought us great victories, but also heavy defeats. The German Wehrmacht finally succumbed to the overwhelming superiority of the enemy in forces. The German soldier, true to his oath, giving himself to the end to his people, accomplished something that will not be forgotten for centuries. The rear, until the last moment, supported him with all his might, while bearing the heaviest sacrifices. The unique accomplishments of the front and rear will find their final evaluation in the subsequent just judgment of history.
Even the enemy will not be able to refuse his respect for the glorious deeds and sacrifices of the German soldiers on land, on water and in the air. Therefore, every soldier can honestly and proudly let go of his weapon and, in these most difficult hours of our history, bravely and confidently turn to work for the sake of the eternal life of our people.
At this hour, the Wehrmacht honors the memory of its fallen soldiers. The dead oblige us to unconditional loyalty, obedience and discipline in relation to the bleeding of numerous wounds to the Motherland.
The "unique accomplishments" of the Nazi Wehrmacht, which started this war, of course, were, especially in Russia ... By the time of the surrender, the Germans held a number of strongholds on the Atlantic coast of France, the northern part of Germany, the territory in Central Europe (part of Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia ), bridgeheads east of Danzig on the Putziger-Nerung Spit (the mouth of the Vistula) and in Courland (Latvia). The German troops in Central Europe, standing in front of the Soviet front, did not obey the order to surrender and began to retreat to the west, trying to go over to the Anglo-Americans. On May 10, the Soviet troops occupied a bridgehead on the Putziger-Nerung Spit, and on May 11 Courland was taken under control. By May 14, the pursuit of German troops retreating west in Central Europe was over. From May 9 to May 14, over 1,230,000 German soldiers and officers and 101 generals were taken prisoner by Soviet troops on all fronts.
By agreement between the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, an agreement was reached to consider the procedure in Reims preliminary. Nevertheless, in Western historiography, the signing of the surrender of the German armed forces is often associated with the procedure in Reims, and the signing of the act of surrender in Berlin is referred to as its "ratification".
Having accepted the surrender, the Soviet Union did not sign peace with Germany, that is, it remained at war with Germany. The war with Germany was officially ended after Stalin's death, under Khrushchev, on January 21, 1955, by the adoption of a corresponding decision by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The German prisoners who survived the concentration camps were able to return home. Many had to stay there longer. It was only on September 17, 1955 that the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On the amnesty of Soviet citizens who collaborated with the occupiers during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" was adopted, however, the application of this amnesty was so arbitrary that on June 29, 1956 the Central Committee of the CPSU and The Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution "On eliminating the consequences of gross violations of the law in relation to former prisoners of war and members of their families." Nevertheless, even after that, many "traitors to the Motherland" remained in the camps.
Discussion: 21 comments
The Banner of Victory is considered to be established by Yegorov and Kantaria, because the previous ones did not stay there, because the Germans continued to resist. and this banner remained until the end.
Regarding the losses during the storming of Berlin: everyone knows very well that the Americans teach in all schools and impose on other countries that they won the war (it is logical, given who is in power in the USA). imagine what would happen if they also took Berlin! after all, the allies were advancing at great speed, tk. encountered virtually no resistance. The capital, as the heart of the country, was to be taken.
Remember M.N. : "a bad citizen of the earthly fatherland is not worthy of the heavenly fatherland."
Hitler shouted about the second Stalingrad, and it really could have happened if the Headquarters had not been able to arrange a battle ON THE APPROACHES to Berlin, where the bulk of his defenders were killed. By that time, ours already knew how to fight and were not particularly in a hurry. there was a firm agreement that we would take Berlin. And this article strongly smacks of a desire to steal the victory, downplaying its significance and accusing the Headquarters of being unable to fight ... Quite simply, but as they say, what are they rich with ...
Russian blood won the Victory in 1945, and now this people is dying out under democratic hooting.
Whenever I read articles on this site, I get the feeling that I am joining the news from Washington. Russia is dying out, losing its achievements in technology, science and education, people are simply running wild. And the authors of this site, not sparing their belly, are fighting hard battles with the dead - with Bolshevism.
Moreover, the angle of the struggle, apparently, was determined by the great Reagan. He argued that a country that does not recognize God is an evil empire. And even declared a crusade to the country of the Soviets. Apparently the struggle continues, because, as was correctly pointed out by previous speakers, this article is simply an obvious American order. As if from perestroika Ogonyok.
According to the Russian history of the twentieth century, to the glory of dear Reagan and his Reaganomics - pli!
Whenever I read such responses, one gets the feeling that, unfortunately, many of our "patriots" do not want to know the truth about our history. This, in their opinion, is always - "American order". They clearly demonstrate that dead Bolshevism left a lot of rubbish in the minds of the Russian people. And until we realize the truth, we do not overcome the lie, Russia will continue to die out. Thank God that there is this site that cleans up the garbage, asserts the truth and thus fights for the revival of Russia.
Daria: "According to Russian history of the twentieth century, to the glory of dear Reagan and his Reaganomics - plee!"
Jew: "Remember M.N.:" a bad citizen of the earthly fatherland is not worthy of the heavenly fatherland "...
Touches this unanimity of the red patriots with the Jews. You love Judeo-Bolshevik Russia, serving the Jewish plans, and only her admirers are "good citizens" for you. It's a pity and sad for you to see this alliance of deceivers and deceived... But we love historical Russia, pleasing to God and following his Plan for Russia. Only in this way can one be worthy of the Fatherland, both earthly and heavenly.
By the way, this year, on May 9, Israel celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Jewish state. And Soviet war veterans (Jews) have long been equated with other Israeli Zionist veterans and received the same benefits and benefits. Those. this war is recognized as having served to create the Heb. State of Israel.
Oh, lads, but they could have taken Berlin much earlier, in 1917, but only because of all the scum that is not unknown to us, our triumph was postponed for 28 years!
Mr. Nazarov stubbornly curses the Russian Victory. He himself, of course, continues, apparently, to work off the money of his CIA masters. Normal people do not believe in his fairy tales that during the period of his work at the NTS he allegedly "did not know" that this structure was financed by the CIA.
To understand the essence of Nazarov's activities, it is enough to simply analyze WHO BENEFITS his publications and actions (or rather, imitation of them), whose mill they pour water on.
And what about Nazarov’s words about his Russianness, then ... you need to evaluate a person according to deeds, ACCORDING TO DEALS!
Here is the answer, as the answer, without red and zoological nonsense. Briefly, clearly.
"Oh, lads, but they could have taken Berlin much earlier, in 1917, but only because of all the scum that is not unknown to us, our triumph was postponed for 28 years!"
Mikhail Viktorovich, if you are familiar with the research of the historian I. Pykhalov, is it not worth making an adjustment to this too free-sounding phrase? - "Many Soviet servicemen who had the misfortune to be captured by the Germans and be repatriated to their homeland in the same concentration camps had to stay there longer." If we talk about this, then with the obligatory proviso that they were traitors to the Motherland, accomplices, and so on.
(Information from the book "The Great Slandered War").
I don’t know about anyone, but I have a persistent cognitive dissonance between the ever-increasing cult of victory almost seventy years ago and today’s victims of the Moloch of perestroika and democracy. After the 1990s, this already unhealthy ardor of universal victory should be tempered and our eyes turned to the present day.
In this article, they either forgot, or they didn’t specifically write about the “Unthinkable” plan of the “allies”, according to the scenario of which, in June 1945, the Anglo-American-German troops were to attack the Soviet troops. Because of this, such haste the capture of Berlin. No need to make bloodthirsty tyrants out of Stalin and Zhukov .....
You write that there were about a million Germans (well-fortified for defense), against two and a half Russians, while we lost 352 thousand people, including 78 thousand people killed. Near Moscow, the Germans lost 700 thousand people, including 200 thousand killed.
Read "War" by V. Medinsky to separate the wheat from the chaff.
On the field of post-Soviet battle,
Where did the liberals take the front
Soros led them on a mission:
Pervert everything so that the people know!
Destroy the fortresses of heroes,
Give to diminish the number of victories,
Depicting a rogue soldier,
Multiplying Russian troubles with a lie!
But, thank God, we woke up:
He raised the Medina Russian shield:
Myths debunked? Woke up!
The truth of Victory will win!
I do not recommend sites and anyone in general to use materials from Wikipedia, because information is NOT checked there and everyone writes on this site, both specialists and delitants who consider themselves specialists. As a result, many articles in this garbage dump are an explosive mixture of lies and truth. However, in the government of the Russian Federation, for some reason, they look at it through their fingers. Many teachers from the USSR are against this site.
I totally agree with you about Wikipedia. However, you can use its information base with an appropriate correction factor in comparison with other sources, which I do. Much less reliable is the Soviet interpretation of the war, which continues to this day in the Russian Federation.
Why was it removed from history that the Kazakh KOSHKARBAEV also put the banner on the Reichstag with them
The German command orders the German troops to lay down their arms, but about the German troops there is only a mention that this can happen, so that under the command of the German command there were German and German troops, there is already something to think about.
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 in their headquarters on the night of May 6-7 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 participate 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 C. 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.
Peace of Brest-Litovsk 3 March 1918 – peace treaty between Germany and the Soviet government for Russia's withdrawal from World War I. This peace did not last long, since already on October 5, 1918, Germany terminated it, and on November 13, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was terminated by the Soviet side. It happened 2 days after the surrender of Germany in the world war.
Possibility of the world
The issue of Russia's exit from the First World War was extremely relevant. The people largely supported the ideas of the revolution, since the revolutionaries promised an early exit from the country's war, which had lasted for 3 years and was perceived extremely negatively by the population.
One of the first decrees of the Soviet government was the decree on peace. After this decree, on November 7, 1917, he appeals to all the warring countries with an appeal for the speedy conclusion of peace. Only Germany agreed. At the same time, one must understand that the idea of concluding peace with the capitalist countries was in opposition to the Soviet ideology, which was based on the idea of a world revolution. Therefore, there was no unity among the Soviet authorities. And the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918 had to be pushed through by Lenin for a very long time. The party had three main groups:
- Bukharin. He put forward ideas that the war must continue at all costs. These are the positions of the classical world revolution.
- Lenin. He spoke about the need to sign peace on any terms. This was the position of the Russian generals.
- Trotsky. He put forward a hypothesis, which today is often formulated as “No war! No peace! It was a position of uncertainty, when Russia disbands the army, but does not withdraw from the war, does not sign a peace treaty. It was an ideal situation for Western countries.
Armistice
On November 20, 1917, negotiations began in Brest-Litovsk on the upcoming peace. Germany offered to sign an agreement on the following terms: secession from Russia of the territory of Poland, the Baltic states and part of the Baltic Sea islands. In total, it was assumed that Russia would lose up to 160 thousand square kilometers of territory. Lenin was ready to accept these conditions, since the Soviet government did not have an army, and the generals of the Russian Empire unanimously said that the war was lost and peace should be concluded as soon as possible.
The negotiations were led by Trotsky, in his capacity as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. Noteworthy is the fact that secret telegrams between Trotsky and Lenin were preserved during the negotiations. On almost any serious military question, Lenin answered that Stalin should be consulted. The reason here is not the genius of Joseph Vissarionovich, but the fact that Stalin acted as an intermediary between the tsarist army and Lenin.
Trotsky during the negotiations in every possible way dragged out time. He talked about the fact that a revolution was about to happen in Germany, so you just need to wait. But even if this revolution does not happen, Germany does not have the strength for a new offensive. Therefore, he was playing for time, waiting for the support of the party.
During the negotiations, an armistice was concluded between the countries for the period from December 10, 1917 to January 7, 1918.
Why did Trotsky play for time?
Taking into account the fact that from the first days of the negotiations, Lenin took the position of unambiguously signing a peace treaty, Troitsky’s support for this idea meant the signing of the Brest Peace and the end of the saga of the First World War for Russia. But Leiba did not do this, why? Historians give 2 explanations for this:
- He was waiting for the German revolution, which was to begin very soon. If this is true, then Lev Davydovich was an extremely short-sighted person, expecting revolutionary events in a country where the power of the monarchy was quite strong. The revolution eventually happened, but much later than the time when the Bolsheviks expected it.
- He represented the position of England, the USA and France. The fact is that with the beginning of the revolution in Russia, Trotsky came to the country from the United States with a large amount of money. At the same time, Trotsky was not an entrepreneur, he did not have an inheritance, but he had large sums of money, the origin of which he never specified. It was extremely beneficial for Western countries that Russia delayed negotiations with Germany for as long as possible, so that the latter would leave its troops on the eastern front. This is a little more than 130 divisions, the transfer of which to the western front could drag out the war.
The second hypothesis may at first glance smack of conspiracy theory, but it is not without meaning. In general, if we consider the activities of Leiba Davydovich in Soviet Russia, then almost all of his steps are connected with the interests of England and the United States.
Crisis in negotiations
On January 8, 1918, as was due to the armistice, the parties again sat down at the negotiating table. But literally right there, these negotiations were canceled by Trotsky. He referred to the fact that he urgently needed to return to Petrograd for consultations. Arriving in Russia, he raised the question of whether to conclude the Brest peace in the party. Lenin opposed him, who insisted on signing peace as soon as possible, but Lenin lost 9 votes to 7. The revolutionary movements that began in Germany contributed to this.
On January 27, 1918, Germany made a move that few expected. She signed peace with Ukraine. It was a deliberate attempt to play off Russia and Ukraine. But the Soviet government continued to stick to its line. On this day, a decree was signed on the demobilization of the army
We are withdrawing from the war, but we are forced to refuse to sign a peace treaty.
Trotsky
Of course, this caused her a shock from the German side, which could not understand how to stop fighting and not sign peace.
On February 11, at 17:00, a telegram from Krylenko was sent to all headquarters of the fronts, stating that the war was over and that they had to return home. The troops began to retreat, exposing the front line. At the same time, the German command brought Trotsky's words to Wilhelm 2, and the Kaiser supported the idea of an offensive.
On February 17, Lenin again makes an attempt to persuade party members to sign a peace treaty with Germany. Again, his position is in the minority, since opponents of the idea of signing peace convinced everyone that if Germany did not go on the offensive in 1.5 months, then it would not go on the offensive any further. But they were very wrong.
Agreement signing
On February 18, 1918, Germany launched a large-scale offensive in all sectors of the front. The Russian army was already partially demobilized and the Germans were quietly moving forward. There was a real threat of complete seizure by Germany and Austria-Hungary of the territory of Russia. The only thing that the Red Army was able to do was to give a small battle on February 23 and slightly slow down the enemy’s advance. Moreover, the battle was given by officers who changed into a soldier's overcoat. But it was one center of resistance, which could not solve anything.
Lenin, under the threat of resignation, pushed through the decision to sign a peace treaty with Germany in the party. As a result, negotiations began, which ended very quickly. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on March 3, 1918 at 17:50.
On March 14, the 4th All-Russian Congress of Soviets ratified the Brest peace treaty. In protest, the Left SRs withdrew from the government.
The terms of the Brest Peace were as follows:
- Complete separation from Russia of the territory of Poland and Lithuania.
- Partial separation from Russia of the territory of Latvia, Belarus and Transcaucasia.
- Russia completely withdrew its troops from the Baltic states and Finland. Let me remind you that Finland had already been lost before.
- The independence of Ukraine was recognized, which passed under the protectorate of Germany.
- Russia ceded eastern Anatolia, Kars and Ardagan to Turkey.
- Russia paid Germany an indemnity of 6 billion marks, which was equal to 3 billion gold rubles.
Under the terms of the Brest Peace, Russia lost an area of 789,000 square kilometers (compare with the initial conditions). 56 million people lived in this territory, which accounted for 1/3 of the population of the Russian Empire. Such heavy losses became possible only because of the position of Trotsky, who at first played for time, and then brazenly provoked the enemy.
The fate of the Brest Peace
It is noteworthy that after the signing of the agreement, Lenin never used the word "treaty" or "peace", but replaced them with the word "respite". And it really was so, because the world did not last long. Already on October 5, 1918, Germany terminated the treaty. The Soviet government terminated it on November 13, 1918, 2 days after the end of the First World War. In other words, the government waited for the defeat of Germany, made sure that this defeat was irrevocable and calmly canceled the treaty.
Why was Lenin so afraid to use the word "Brest Peace"? The answer to this question is quite simple. After all, the idea of concluding a peace treaty with the capitalist countries was in opposition to the theory of socialist revolution. Therefore, the recognition of the conclusion of peace could be used by Lenin's opponents to eliminate him. And here Vladimir Ilyich showed a rather high degree of flexibility. He made peace with Germany, but in the party he used the word respite. It was precisely because of this word that the decision of the congress on the ratification of the peace treaty was not published. After all, the publication of these documents using Lenin's wording could be met negatively. Germany made peace, but she did not conclude any respite. Peace puts an end to the war, and a respite implies its continuation. Therefore, Lenin acted wisely not to publish the decision of the 4th Congress on the ratification of the Brest-Litovsk agreements.
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.
The signing ceremony of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was held in the suburbs of Berlin on the night of May 9, 1945. See archival footage of the procedure that ended the Great Patriotic War.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, and on behalf of the USSR, the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command at Allied Command Major General Ivan Susloparov. The Act was also signed by Brigadier General Francois Sevez, Deputy Chief of the French National Defense Staff, 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 fascist 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
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.
