The Three Surrenders

The German surrender in Reims





The location of SHAEF HQ in Reims.



Admiral von Friedeburg arrives following his 200km car journey from Brussels.



General Jodl arrives in Reims.



The "war room" in Eisenhower's HQ where the surrender was signed.



The room was prepared with exceptional care.



The German delegation face the Allies seated on the other side of the table.
B&W images credit:
Time Magazine



A YouTube video of the surrender ceremony.





The surrender document......it is interesting to note that the signature of the French representative was made in the lower margin of the document. This appears to be the case both on the original and on the American, British and Russian copies.
The Moment in Time website reports that, "it has been verbally passed down that the Germans did not consider the French as an equal to the Americans, British and Russians (as they had defeated France)…..and thus insisted that their signature not appear, except in the margin".



The site of the German surrender is now a museum.
Photo credit: The Author