In 1945, on May 8, in Karshorst (a suburb of Berlin) at 22.43 Central European time, the final Act of Unconditional Surrender was signed fascist Germany and its armed forces. This act is called final for a reason, since it was not the first.
From the moment the Soviet troops closed the ring around Berlin, the German military leadership faced historical question about the preservation of Germany as such. For obvious reasons German generals wanted to capitulate to the Anglo-American troops, continuing the war with the USSR.
To sign the surrender to the allies, the German command sent a special group and on the night of May 7 in the city of Reims (France) a preliminary act of surrender of Germany was signed. This document stipulated the possibility of continuing the war against the Soviet army.
However, an unconditional condition Soviet Union the demand for the unconditional surrender of Germany remained as a fundamental condition for the complete cessation of hostilities. The Soviet leadership considered the signing of the act in Reims only interim document, and was also convinced that the act of surrender of Germany should be signed in the capital of the aggressor country.
At the insistence of the Soviet leadership, generals and Stalin personally, representatives of the Allies met again in Berlin and on May 8, 1945 signed another act of surrender of Germany together with the main winner - the USSR. That is why the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany is called final.
The ceremony of solemn signing of the act was organized in the building of the Berlin military engineering school and was chaired by Marshal Zhukov. The final Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany and its armed forces bears the signatures of Field Marshal W. Keitel, Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy Admiral Von Friedeburg, and Colonel General of Aviation G. Stumpf. On the Allied side, the Act was signed by G.K. Zhukov and British Marshal A. Tedder.
After signing the Act German government was disbanded, and the defeated German troops completely folded. Between May 9 and May 17, Soviet troops captured about 1.5 million. German soldiers and officers, as well as 101 generals. Great Patriotic War ended in complete victory for the Soviet army and its people.
In the USSR, the signing of the final Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was announced when it was already May 9, 1945 in Moscow. By Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR in commemoration of the victorious completion of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against Nazi invaders May 9 was declared Victory Day.
The Great Patriotic War, which was fought Soviet people against the Nazi invaders, was victoriously completed. Levitan's voice pronounces the very words that millions of people have been waiting for.
On May 8, 1945, the Berlin operation ends. It lasted 23 long days. The width of the combat front reached 300 kilometers, the depth - more than 200. At times, troops advanced into enemy territory 10 kilometers a day. During this operation, the advancing Soviet units were able to encircle and eliminate the largest group of enemy troops in the history of wars. And Berlin itself turned into a real fortress, as evidenced by the memoirs of Marshal Konev:
“The advance of our troops to the center of Berlin was made difficult by a number of other circumstances. In the central part of the city there were a lot of reinforced concrete bunkers. They could accommodate from two hundred to a thousand soldiers. We even met five-story bunkers up to 36 meters high, the walls of which were thick from one to three meters."
The troops advanced heavily towards the Reichstag, wrote Georgy Zhukov:
“Every step, every piece of land, every stone here testified more clearly than any words that on the approaches to imperial chancellery and the Reichstag, in these very buildings the struggle was not for life, but for death. The Reichstag is a huge building, the walls of which cannot be penetrated by medium-caliber artillery.
May 6, 1945 Three days before the Victory, the German garrison of Breslau, numbering about 100 thousand people, threw out white flags. Hitler planned to turn the city into German Stalingrad, to delay the Red Army on the borders of the Reich, but the Nazis surrendered here too.The conditions for the struggle in the Reichstag itself were very difficult and difficult. They required from the fighters not only courage, but also instant orientation, vigilant caution, rapid movements from cover to cover and well-aimed shots at the enemy. Our soldiers coped well with all these tasks, but many heavy battles died the death of the brave."
During Berlin operation troops of the 1st Ukrainian liberate Dresden. An inscription in chalk appears on one of the walls of the Dresden Art Gallery: “The museum has been checked. There are no mines. Checked by Khanutin.”
But the main events of May 8 will unfold near Berlin in its then eastern suburb of Karlshorst.
The former canteen of the military engineering school forever became part of history late in the evening. On the ground floor, in the hall next to the veranda, at 22:43 Central European time (May 9 had already arrived in Moscow), the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was signed. Marshal Zhukov, who signed the document on behalf of the Soviet Union, recalled:
"Having rested a little from the road, all representatives of the command allied forces came to me to agree on procedural issues of such an exciting event. No sooner had we entered the room reserved for the conversation than a stream of American and English journalists literally poured in and began bombarding me with questions right off the bat. From the allied forces they presented me with a friendship flag, on which were embroidered in gold letters the words of greeting to the Red Army from the American troops."
On May 7, 1945, at 2.41 a.m., the United States and England arbitrarily accepted the surrender of Germany. On behalf of the Allies, the act of surrender was signed by the American Lieutenant General Smith, on behalf of Germany - by the Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht, and in early May 1945, by a member of the German government headed by Grand Admiral Doenitz after Hitler's suicide, Alfred Jodl.
This surrender was essentially prepared in secret from the USSR high command. Our representative, General Ivan Susloparov, was informed about it when there was no longer any time left to receive instructions from Moscow.
This is how the then head of the operations department of the Soviet Army recalled it. General Staff Army General Sergei Shtemenko: “On the evening of May 6, D. Eisenhower’s adjutant flew to the head of the Soviet military mission, General Susloparov. He conveyed the commander-in-chief's invitation to urgently come to his headquarters. D. Eisenhower received I. Susloparov at his residence. The Commander-in-Chief hastened to announce that he had demanded that Jodl surrender to Germany and would not accept any other. The Germans were forced to agree to this. Then the commander-in-chief asked Susloparov to report the text of the surrender to Moscow, obtain approval there and sign it on behalf of the Soviet Union. The signing, according to him, had already been scheduled for 2 hours 30 minutes on May 7, 1945 in the premises of the operations department of the headquarters of the commander-in-chief.
The head of the Soviet military mission had very little time to receive instructions from his government. Without hesitation, he sent a telegram to Moscow about the upcoming act of signing capitulation and the text of the protocol; asked for instructions. While I. Susloparov’s telegram was reported to its intended destination, several hours passed. It was past midnight in Reims, and the time had come to sign the surrender. No instructions came from Moscow. The position of the head of the Soviet military mission was very difficult. Everything now rested on him. Sign on behalf of Soviet state or refuse?
I. Susloparov understood perfectly well that the maneuver of Hitler’s last to capitulate only to the allies could turn into the greatest misfortune in case of any oversight on his part. He read and re-read the text of the surrender and did not find any hidden malice. At the same time, pictures of war arose before the general’s eyes, where every minute claimed many human lives. The head of the Soviet military mission decided to sign the document of surrender. At the same time, providing the opportunity for the Soviet government to influence the subsequent course of events if necessary, he made a note to the document. The note stated that this protocol of military surrender does not exclude in the future the signing of another, more perfect act of surrender of Germany, if any allied government declares it.”
Stalin's reaction
Having learned about the violation of the interests of the USSR in Reims, Stalin urgently contacted the heads of the union states.
Personal and secret messages from Marshal J. Stalin to Prime Minister Mr. W. Churchill and President Mr. Truman
The Supreme Command of the Red Army is not confident that the order of the German high command on unconditional surrender will be carried out by German troops at eastern front. Therefore, we fear that if the government of the USSR announces the surrender of Germany today, we will find ourselves in an awkward position and misled public opinion Soviet Union. It must be borne in mind that the resistance of German troops on the eastern front is not weakening, and, judging by radio interceptions, a significant group of German troops directly declares their intention to continue resistance and not obey Doenitz’s order to surrender.
Therefore the Command Soviet troops would like to wait until the surrender of the German troops comes into force, and thus postpone the Government's announcement of the surrender of the Germans to May 9, at 7 o'clock Moscow time.
Personal and strictly secret message from Mr. Churchill to Marshal Stalin
I have just received your message and have also read a letter from General Antonov to General Eisenhower suggesting that the announcement of Germany's surrender be delayed until May 9, 1945. It will not be possible for me to delay my application for 24 hours as you suggest. Moreover, Parliament will demand information about yesterday's signing in Reims and about the official ratification scheduled for today in Berlin...
On May 8, President G. Truman sent a letter to the USSR Ambassador to the USA A. Gromyko with the following content: “I will forgive you to inform Marshal Stalin that his message addressed to me was received at the White House today at one o’clock in the morning. However, when the message reached me, preparations had advanced so much that it was impossible to consider postponing my announcement of Germany’s surrender.”
In Shtemenko’s memoirs there are lines about how he and the Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, Army General A. Antonov, were summoned to the Kremlin regarding the so-called surrender in Reims: “In I. Stalin’s office, besides himself, we found members of the government. Supreme Commander, as usual, walked slowly along the carpet. His whole appearance expressed extreme displeasure. We noticed the same on the faces of those present. The surrender at Reims was discussed. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief summed up the results, thinking out loud. He noted that the Allies had arranged a unilateral agreement with the Doenitz government. Such an agreement looks more like a bad conspiracy. Apart from General I. Susloparov, none of the USSR government officials were present in Reims. It turns out that there is no capitulation to our country.”
But Stalin found a way out of the situation in order to dictate his will and not show his allies in an unpleasant light. “On May 7, in Berlin,” recalled Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov, “the Supreme Commander-in-Chief called me and said:
Today in the city of Reims the Germans signed an act of unconditional surrender. “The main burden of the war,” he continued, “was borne by the Soviet people, and not the allies, on their shoulders, therefore the surrender must be signed before the Supreme Command of all countries anti-Hitler coalition, and not just before the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces. ...We agreed with the allies to consider the signing of the act in Reims as a preliminary protocol of surrender. Tomorrow representatives of the German High Command and representatives of the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces will arrive in Berlin. You are appointed as the representative of the Supreme High Command of the Soviet Forces."
Nevertheless, in the West the war was considered over. On this basis, the United States and England proposed that on May 8 the heads of government of the three powers officially declare victory over Germany. The Soviet government could not agree with this for the reason that fighting on Soviet-German front were still going on.
Four flags in Karlshorst
The real, open and public surrender of Germany took place under the leadership of Marshal Zhukov on the night of May 8-9 (when, by the way, the Victory was already celebrated in the USA and Great Britain).
In the middle of the day on May 8, representatives of the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces arrived at the Tempelgof airfield. The High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Force was represented by Eisenhower's deputy chief marshal British Air Force Arthur William Tedder, US Armed Forces - Commander of Strategic air force General Karl Spaats, French Armed Forces - Army Commander-in-Chief General Jean-Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny. From the airfield, the Allies arrived at Karlhorst, where it was decided to accept unconditional surrender from the German command.
The former chief of staff arrived at the same airfield from the city of Flensburg under the protection of British officers. supreme command Wehrmacht Field Marshal General Wilhelm Keitel, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Admiral General of the Fleet G. von Friedeburg and Colonel General of Aviation Hans Stumpf.
Soon, all representatives of the command of the allied forces arrived to the Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union G. Zhukov, to agree on procedural issues. Keitel and his companions were in another building at that time.
Exactly at 24 o'clock on May 8, Zhukov, Tedder, Spaats and de Lattre de Tassigny entered the hall, decorated state flags Soviet Union, USA, Great Britain and France. The ceremony of signing the act was opened by Marshal Zhukov. “We, representatives of the Supreme High Command of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces... are authorized by the governments of the anti-Hitler coalition to accept the unconditional surrender of Germany from the German military command,” he solemnly said.
Then representatives of the German High Command entered the hall. At the suggestion of the Soviet representative, Keitel handed over to the heads of the Allied delegations a document with which Doenitz authorized the German delegation to sign the act of surrender. The German delegation was then asked whether it had the Act of Unconditional Surrender in its hands and whether it had studied it. The question was repeated in English by Marshal Tedder. After Keitel’s affirmative answer, representatives of the German armed forces, at the sign of Marshal Zhukov, signed an act drawn up in nine copies.
At 0 hours 43 minutes (Moscow time) on May 9 (at 22 hours 43 minutes Central European time on May 8), 1945, the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the German Armed Forces was completed. The German delegation was asked to leave the hall. Keitel, Friedeburg, Stumpf bowed and left the hall.
On behalf of the Soviet Supreme High Command, G. Zhukov cordially congratulated all those present on the long-awaited Victory.
On May 9, 1945, Stalin’s address to the people said: “On May 7, a preliminary protocol of surrender was signed in the city of Reims. On May 8, representatives of the German High Command, in the presence of representatives of the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces and the Supreme Command of the Soviet Forces, signed the final act of surrender in Berlin, the execution of which began at 24 hours of May 8. Knowing the wolfish behavior of the German bosses, who consider treaties and agreements to be empty pieces of paper, we have no reason to take their word for it. However, this morning, German troops, in pursuance of the act of surrender, began to lay down their arms en masse and surrender to our troops. This is no longer a piece of paper. This is real surrender..."
The falsification continues
Back in May 1945, by agreement between the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, an agreement was reached to consider the procedure in Reims preliminary. However, in Western historiography, the signing of the surrender of the German armed forces is usually associated with the events in Reims, and the signing of the act of surrender in Berlin is called its “ratification”. Unfortunately, all this is done with the aim of belittling decisive contribution USSR in achieving Victory over aggressors. For the same purpose, Victory in Europe Day is celebrated on May 8th.
On May 11, 1945, General Susloparov was summoned to Moscow. The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Lieutenant General Ivan Ilyichev, ordered him to write explanatory note addressed to the Chief of the General Staff, Army General Alexei Antonov. Susloparov was sincere: “The complete and unconditional surrender of the German armed forces meant complete victory our Red Army and allies over Germany and put an end to the war. This, wittingly or unwittingly, turned my head, since this was exactly the end of the war that not only we, the military people, but all progressive humanity expected.”
It would seem that he signed his own death sentence by admitting to a mistake. However, Stalin did not forget about the “at fault” general. The Supreme Commander personally found out that his telegram with a ban on signing anything was late, and did not fail to inform Antonov that there were no complaints against Susloparov personally. The general was soon appointed head of the Higher Advanced Training Courses command staff Soviet army. In 1955, Major General of Artillery Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov retired to the reserve for health reasons. He died on December 16, 1974, and was buried at the Vvedenskoye Cemetery in Moscow.
From the "SP" dossier
Act of Military Surrender of the German Armed Forces (Karlshorst):
"1. 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 Supreme Command of the Red Army and at the same time to the Supreme Command Allied Expeditionary Forces.
2. The German High Command will immediately issue orders to all German commanders of land, sea and air forces and all forces under German command, cease hostilities at 23.01 hours Central European Time on May 8, 1945, 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 allocated 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, apparatus and all military-technical means of warfare in general.
3. The German High Command will immediately assign the appropriate commanders and ensure that all further orders issued by the Supreme Command of the Red Army and the High Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces are carried out.
4. This act shall not be an obstacle to 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 instrument 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 actions they deem necessary.
6. This act is drawn up in Russian, English and German languages. Only Russian and English texts are authentic.”
At 2 hours 41 minutes in Reims, at Eisenhower's headquarters, Jodl signed the Act of Surrender of Germany. According to the Reims Act, the unconditional surrender of all land, sea and air forces was announced. armed forces which were under German control at the time of signing the protocol. The Soviet command did not recognize the pact, demanding a new signing.
Colonel General Alfred Jodl (center) signs the German surrender at the Allied headquarters in Reims at 02.41 local time on May 7, 1945. Seated 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 the German surrender in Reims, which was not agreed upon 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 his allies agreed to consider the procedure in Reims a preliminary surrender. The Allies also agreed that the matter should not be postponed, and scheduled the signing of the Act of Surrender of Germany in its entirety in Berlin for May 8, 1945.
American General Dwight Eisenhower and British Air Marshal Arthur Tedder at a press conference after signing the German surrender in Reims on May 7, 1945.
The commander of Army Group Center, Schörner, refused to comply with the demand for surrender and began withdrawing troops to the west.
Prague operation
May 7 troops 1st Ukrainian Front
continued to advance along west bank Elbe and by the end of the day found themselves in front of the northern slopes of the main ridge of the Ore Mountains. The 4th Guards Tank Army, despite the difficult conditions of the mountainous terrain, advanced 45 kilometers during the day, the 3rd guards army captured the city of Meissen. 6th tank corps 3rd Guards tank army P.S. Rybalko got ahead of the infantry and reached the western outskirts of Dresden. 5th Guards Army A.S. Zhadova, advancing on Dresden from the north, reached the Elbe and started fighting for the city. Northeast of Dresden, the 2nd Army of the Polish Army K.K. Sverchevsky launched an offensive on the morning of May 7 and advanced 15 kilometers in a day. 28th Army A.A. Luchinsky, reinforced by the 7th Guards Mechanized Corps I.P. Korchagin, and the 52nd Army of K.A. Koroteev struck in the direction of Görlitz. The 21st Army of D.N. Gusev captured the city of Striegau. 
View from the Dresden City Hall of the ruins of the city after the Anglo-American bombing in February 1945. On the right, a sculpture by August Schreitmüller - “Good”.
The Frauenkirche, one of Dresden's most significant churches, and the Martin Luther monument, destroyed by the bombing of the city on February 13, 1945. The monument was soon restored, but the Frauenkirche was rebuilt only in 1996-2004.
On May 7, from the area south of Brno on a front of up to 25 kilometers, M.S.’s 7th Guards Army went on the offensive. Shumilov of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and by the end of the day advanced 12 kilometers.
Troops 1st Belorussian Front
north and southeast of the city of Magdeburg they reached the Elbe River. In some areas the enemy tried to resist, but was driven back by blows Soviet tanks and infantry. The Germans fortified themselves on the outskirts of the city of Gentin, an important road junction. As a result of the battle, our units broke into the city and defeated the enemy garrison. More than 600 Nazis were destroyed. 19 guns, 73 machine guns, 3 radio stations and an ammunition depot were captured. Front troops on May 7, when reaching the ELBE River, captured 7,150 German soldiers and officers and captured the following trophies: 28 tanks, 513 field guns, 402 machine guns, 1,700 vehicles, 3,700 horses, a cart with military cargo - 2.200.
Troops 1st Ukrainian Front as a result of a long siege, they completely captured the city and fortress of Breslau (Breslau). In mid-February, Soviet units made a rapid enveloping maneuver and surrounded Breslau. The Germans prepared for a long defense of the city. They barricaded the streets and dug them up with anti-tank ditches. Every stone house was turned into a pillbox with big amount firing points. In a number of places, the Nazis, in order to impede the advance of Soviet troops, blew up houses and created rubble in the streets. Especially strong strong points They created defenses with field artillery and self-propelled guns at street intersections. During stubborn street fighting, our troops moved forward step by step, compressing the encirclement more and more closely. Our assault groups knocked the Nazis out of their hiding places. Artillerymen and pilots carried out continuous attacks on enemy resistance centers. The surrounded enemy garrison repeatedly made attempts to break through the ring of Soviet troops. Urged on by the SS, German soldiers rushed into counterattacks and died in thousands under the fire of Soviet guns, mortars and machine guns. The Soviet command presented German troops, surrounded in Breslau, an ultimatum of surrender. After short negotiations, the enemy garrison, led by the commandant of the fortress, Infantry General von Nygoff, stopped resistance, laid down their arms and surrendered. Today, by 7 o'clock in the evening, more than 40 thousand German soldiers and officers were captured in Breslavl.
The city of Breslavl is one of the most important railway junctions and a large industrial center. It contains metallurgical and machine-building plants, aviation and other military enterprises. 
The bodies of German soldiers killed in hand-to-hand combat on the streets of Breslau. In the distance are Soviet soldiers from units of the 1st Ukrainian Front.
Soviet soldiers distribute bread to residents German city Breslau.
Captain Kulagin's soldiers listen to their comrade play the piano in the apartment of one of the destroyed houses in Breslau.
West and southwest of the city of Moravska Ostrava troops 4th Ukrainian Front continued the offensive. Soviet units operating in difficult conditions mountainous and wooded terrain, move forward, crushing enemy troops fortified on the southern spurs of the Sudeten Mountains and in populated areas. Our tanks and infantry broke through the intermediate line of German defense and captured the city of Freudenthal. Our other units advanced to westward 20 kilometers and occupied the city of Merisch-Neustadt. 37 locomotives, 730 wagons with various cargoes and 8 warehouses with military equipment were captured from the Germans. In the battles of May 7, front troops captured up to 1,000 German soldiers and officers.
There were 2 days left until our Victory.
Firsov A.
On May 2, 1945, the Berlin garrison under the command of Helmut Weidling capitulated to the Red Army.
Germany's surrender was a foregone conclusion.
On May 4, 1945, a document was signed between the Fuhrer's successor, the new Reich President, Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz and General Montgomery, on the military surrender of northwestern Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands to the Allies and the associated truce.
But this document cannot be called an unconditional surrender of all of Germany. This was the surrender of only certain territories.
The first complete and unconditional surrender of Germany was signed on Allied territory at their headquarters on the night of May 6-7 at 2:41 a.m. in the city of Reims. This act of unconditional surrender of Germany and a complete ceasefire was accepted within 24 hours by the commander of the Allied forces in the west, General Eisenhower. It was signed by representatives of all allied forces.
This is how Viktor Kostin writes about this capitulation:
“On May 6, 1945, he arrived at the American command headquarters in Reims German general Jodl, representing the government of Admiral Doenitz, who became the head of Germany after Hitler's suicide.
Jodl, on behalf of Doenitz, proposed that Germany's surrender be signed on May 10 by the commanders of the armed forces, that is, the army, air force and navy.
The delay of several days was caused by the fact that, according to him, time was required 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 group of their troops from Czechoslovakia, where they were located at that time, and transfer them to the West, so as not to surrender Soviet army, and to the Americans.
Commanding allied forces in the West, General Eisenhower figured out this proposal and rejected it, giving Jodl half an hour to think about it. He said that if they refused, the full might of American and British forces would be unleashed on the German troops.
Jodl was forced to make concessions, and on May 7, at 2:40 a.m. Central European Time, 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 at 23:1 May 8. This date is celebrated in Western countries.
By the time President Truman and British Prime Minister Churchill reported Germany’s surrender to Stalin, he had already scolded Susloparov for being too hasty in signing the act.”
The act of unconditional surrender of Germany on 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: “Act of unconditional surrender of all land, sea and air armed forces located in at this moment under German control."
All that remained until 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 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 Artillery Ivan Alekseevich Susloparov.
Referring to the fact that the shooting in certain places had not yet stopped, Stalin gave the command to Zhukov to arrange a re-signing of the 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 held in the Berlin suburb of Karlhorst immediately after the ceasefire 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 armed forces were to appear for the re-signing of the surrender at a time and place that would be specified Soviet command to sign a new act with the Soviet command.
From Russian troops Georgy Zhukov came to sign the second surrender; Eisenhower sent his deputy, Air Chief Marshal A. Tedder, from the British troops. On behalf of the United States, the commander of the Strategic Air Forces, General K. Spaats, was present and signed the surrender as a witness; on behalf of the French armed forces, the Army Commander-in-Chief, 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 - former boss headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) Field Marshal W. 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 brought a smile to 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 capitulation, Keitel grinned: “What! Have we also lost the war to France?” “Yes, Mr. Field Marshal, and France too,” they answered him from the Russian side.
The repeated surrender, now from three branches of the armed forces, was signed on the German side by three representatives of 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 8th also did not suit Stalin. This was the day the surrender of May 7th came into effect. And it was clear that this surrender was only a continuation and duplication of an earlier one, which declared May 8th 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 arguments were used:
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 entire procedure for signing the act of unconditional surrender ended on May 8 at 22:50 German time. But in Moscow it was already 0 hours 50 minutes on May 9th.
D) Declaration of victory in Russia and festive fireworks 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 usually considered to be May 9, 1945; Berlin is usually named as the place where the act of unconditional surrender was signed, and as the signatory German side- only Wilhelm Keitel.
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 erased from Soviet history textbooks, and the fact that he signed the act of unconditional surrender of Germany is still being kept silent in Russia.
Third unconditional surrender of Germany
On June 5, 1945, the four victorious countries announced the unconditional state and political surrender of Germany. It was formalized as a declaration of the European Advisory Commission.
The document is called: “Statement on 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 have unconditionally surrendered, and Germany, which bears responsibility for the war, is no longer able to resist the will of the victorious powers. As a consequence, the unconditional surrender of Germany has been achieved, and Germany submits to all demands that will be made to it now or in the future.".
In accordance with the document, the four victorious powers undertake to implement " supreme power in Germany, including all the powers of the German government, the Wehrmacht High Command and the governments, administrations or authorities of states, cities and magistrates. The exercise of power and the listed powers does not entail annexation of Germany".
This unconditional surrender was signed by representatives of four countries without the participation of representatives of Germany.
Stalin introduced similar confusion into Russian textbooks with the dates of the beginning and end of the Second World War. If the whole world considers the date of the beginning of the Second World War to be September 1, 1939, 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 and 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 German coalition and in fact, as the day the Second World War ended, the whole world celebrates the end of the Second World War on September 2nd.
On this day in 1945, the “Act of Unconditional Surrender of Japan” was signed aboard the American flagship battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
On the Japanese side, the act was signed by Japanese Foreign Minister M. Shigemitsu and Chief of the General Staff General Y. Umezu. On the Allied side, the act was signed by US Army General D. MacArthur, Soviet lieutenant general K. Derevianko, Admiral of the British Fleet B. Fraser.