The Three Surrenders

The end of WW2 in Europe

The Second World War in Europe ground to a halt amidst intrigue and confusion.

When I lived in Northern Germany I explored the site of the German surrender on the Lüneberger Heide. Several years later, whilst living in Berlin, I discovered the museum in Karlshorst where a German surrender also took place. On holiday in Northern France I visited the city of Reims and was puzzled to discover a museum that commemorated the signing of another German surrender.

The original aim of this website was to explain why there were three. However, during the course of my reading I discovered that these surrenders were preceded by the highly secret "Operation Sunrise" which led to the surrender of German forces in Italy and that there were a number of additional local capitulations such as German forces in Bavaria and the fortress port of Dunkirk.



The main descriptions therefore start with Operation Sunrise in Italy in March 1945 and finish on Bear Island in the western Barents Sea in September 1945.

Additionally, the website is top & tailed with an outline of the last few weeks of the war in Europe and of the period that followed.

The author would like to thank Major (Rtd) John van Gelder, Intelligence Corps for his assistance.