When did Germany actually surrender?

If you ask any schoolboy in the post-Soviet space, when Germany's surrender took place, then the answer will be obvious: May 9, 1945. But in general this day is a holiday only among our people, and in the rest of the world the end of the war is celebrated on May 8. The reason for this - a series of events that occurred in the May days in Reims, when the Act of surrender of Germany was signed.

After Hitler voluntarily passed away on April 30, 45, the power passed to General Denits. He, like everyone else, understood that Germany could no longer resist the onslaught of the Allied forces, the end of the country is near. He also understood that the German troops behaved too differently in the occupied territories. For example, in France, the fascists dealt with 200 thousand people. This is a huge figure, but it was less than 1% of the loss of population in the Soviet Union. Therefore, the leadership of the Third Reich quite logically feared retribution on the part of the USSR. According to Doenitz's plans, Germany's surrender was to take place only in front of Western allies, so that prisoners of war, weapons and control over the territory would be given to the troops of England and the United States

Fulfilling this plan, on May 4 Field Marshal Montgomery surrendered to the British forces in the north-west of Germany and Denmark, and on May 5, German groups in Bavaria and western Austria surrendered to the mercy of the Americans. At the same time, Denitz negotiated with the Western allies, offering them the surrender of three German armies of the Eastern Front, who at that time fought the Red Army.

However, the command of the Allied forces refused such an offer and notified the Soviet side of the proposal of the Germans. German General Alfred Jodl arrived on May 6 at the headquarters of the Anglo-American allies to sign the Surrender Act of the entire Third Reich army. However, General Eisenhower refused to accept such capitulation in a rather tough form, saying that the troops should surrender where they are currently located. And if the German troops from the Eastern Front decide to move to the Western, so as not to fall into captivity to the Soviet side, the Allied army blocks its front sector and will not allow such a move

Jodl telegraphed Deniz about the conditions the allies had put forward. He gave the general full authority for signing a document of surrender without additional conditions. Initially, the signing of the act was scheduled for May 7, at half past two in the morning.

The permanent representative at the allied headquarters from the Soviet side was General Ivan Susloparov. At the talks, he was present, but he did not expect such a rapid development of events. He had no guidance on how to act in such a situation. Susloparov sent the document to Moscow, but received no reply at the appointed time. Therefore, he decided to act at his own risk. Susloparov agreed to sign the Act of surrender by the Soviet command, but with one amendment: the document should include a paragraph on the repetition of the signing ceremony at the request of any of the allied countries.

The unconditional surrender of Germany took place on May 7 at the college building in Reims at night, at 2:41 pm. Now this small red building is the Museum of surrender. The act of surrendering Germany was signed by General Smith on behalf of the Anglo-American allies, General Sevez on behalf of France, General Susloparov on behalf of the USSR and generals Friedeburg and Jodl on behalf of Germany.

According to the document, all German troops were to cease all military actions at 23 hours local time on May 8, 1945. It was at this moment that the world war officially ended.

When Susloparov told Moscow that the unconditional surrender of Germany took place, he learned that earlier he had been ordered not to sign any documents.

The fact that the capitulation was signed in Reims, extremely annoyed Stalin. He rightly believed that it was the Soviet people who suffered the greatest losses and, at the same time, played a decisive role in the victory, and therefore expected that the historical event of the capitulation of the invaders would occur before the commanders-in-chief of all the victorious countries, and not just before the Allied command. With the demands of Stalin, all agreed, and the document signed in Reims, it was decided to consider preliminary. The main protocol was to be signed in Berlin at midnight on May 9.

Nevertheless, confusion has already been created. Initially, a great victory was planned to be announced in three capitals of the Allied forces - Moscow, Washington and London at the same time. At the same time, on the Western Front, the Germans complied with the terms of the Act and ceased hostilities, and in the Eastern battles with the Red Army continued until May 9.

The German radio had already announced the end of the war on May 7, so the Allies could not pretend that nothing had happened. At six o'clock in the evening on May 7, Churchill delivered a radio address to his people, congratulating the British on the victory. At the same time, the citizens of the United States learned about the greatest event.

In the USSR, the news of victory was proclaimed only after the signing of the main pact in Berlin and after the mass surrender of German troops on the Eastern Front began on May 9, 1945. It was this date that was for the Soviet people the Victory Day.