On the 7th May 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at the Allied headquarters in Reims, north-eastern France. This officially ended World War II in Europe, although NOT in the Soviet Union it appears.
This unconditional surrender was signed by:
- Colonel-General Alfred Jodl (Germany).
- Walter Bedell Smith [United States Army, Diplomat] (Western Allies).
- Ivan Susloparov (Soviet Union).
- Major-General François Sevez (France) [as the official witness].
It was soon found out that General Susloparov (Soviet Union), had no authority to sign this document, and the Soviet Union requested that another surrender ceremony should take place in Berlin. The Allies agreed and a second Act of Military Surrender was signed shortly before midnight on 8 May 1945 in Berlin.
Signatures to this included:
- ALLIES
- Soviet Union: Marshal Georgy Zhukov.
- United Kingdom: Air Chief Marshal Arthur William Tedder.
- United States: General Carl Spaatz.
- France: General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny.
- GERMANY
- Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (Army – Wehrmacht).
- General-Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg (Navy – Kriegsmarine).
- Colonel-General Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (Air force – Luftwaffe).
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