The German Instrument of Surrender ended World War II in Europe by effecting the unconditional capitulation of all remaining German armed forces to the Allied powers.
Key Facts
- Signed
- 8 May 1945 at 22:43 CET
- Took effect
- 8 May 1945 at 23:01 CET
- Location
- Karlshorst, Berlin, Germany
- Senior German signatory
- Field-Marshal Wilhelm Keitel
- Authoritative language versions
- English and Russian
- Prior surrender signed at
- Reims, France, 7 May 1945
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Soviet Union refused to recognize the first German surrender signed at Reims on 7 May 1945, arguing that the capitulation should occur at the seat of Nazi German government. Additionally, after the Reims signing, German forces were ordered to cease fire in the west while continuing to fight in the east, necessitating a new, comprehensive document.
A second German surrender document was signed at the Soviet Military Administration headquarters in Karlshorst, Berlin, on 8 May 1945. Signatories included Field-Marshal Wilhelm Keitel for Germany, representatives of the Allied Expeditionary Force, and the Soviet Supreme High Command, with French and American officers as witnesses. The document demanded unconditional surrender of all remaining German armed forces.
The signing brought about the de facto collapse of Nazi Germany and its Flensburg Government under Grand-Admiral Karl Dönitz. The Allied powers subsequently occupied Germany, a status formally confirmed by the Berlin Declaration of 5 June 1945, in which France, the USSR, the United Kingdom, and the United States assumed supreme authority over the country.