FDC Reims FR - West Point USA: SURRENDER OF GERMANY 1945-2015 Gal Patton, Jodl (LIB15-US)

End of World War II in Europe/ V-E Day Victory in Europe

Reims, May 7-8, 1945: Signing of the Anglo-Saxon surrender document 

World War II officially ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, at 11:01 p.m., the day after the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Hitler having committed suicide a week earlier, on April 30, in his Berlin bunker, it fell to Admiral Dönitz to request a cessation of hostilities from the Allied powers, the Anglo-Saxons and the Soviets. Karl Dönitz sent General Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht, to Reims, France, to General Dwight Eisenhower's Allied Headquarters.

General Alfred Jodl signed Germany's unconditional surrender on the night of May 7-8, at 2:41 a.m. On the victorious side, the act of surrender was signed by General Walter Bodell-Smith, Chief of Staff to General Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, and Soviet General Ivan Susloparov. French General François Sevez, Chief of Staff to General de Gaulle, was invited to countersign it at the end of the ceremony as a simple witness.

The cessation of fighting was set for the following day, May 8, at 11:01 p.m. However, some German troops would resist beyond this date, particularly in the stronghold of Saint-Nazaire.