On This Day: Why Germany Surrendered Unconditionally To Allies, Marking The End Of World War 2
Several factors such as the collapse of Eastern Front, pressure from West, Hitler’s health, depletion of resources, and the Berlin fall led to Germany's surrender in World War 2
While the world reels under wars from the Ukraine-Russia conflict to Gaza, and now India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan’s terror hubs, some 80 years ago on May 7, Germany surrendered to the Allies, comprising the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China and France, marking the end of World War 2 in Europe.
The surrender, however, did not end World War 2 because the war against Japan continued in the Far East.
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What Happened On This Day In 1945?
The German High Command, General Alfred Jodl, signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces, East and West, at Reims, in northeastern France, on May 7, 1945.
General Jodl wanted to limit the surrender to only those forces still fighting the Western Allies. But General Dwight Eisenhower demanded complete surrender of all German forces, those fighting in the East and the West as well.
The US, Britain and France were trying to work out differences with the Soviet Union, which felt the surrender didn’t recognise the sacrifices its troops had made in securing victory.
A second surrender document was signed around midnight on May 8 in Berlin, satisfying Soviet concerns. Russia celebrates what it calls Victory Day on May 9.
Why Did Germany Surrender In World War 2?
There were several factors that led to the surrender of Germany to the Allied Powers.
Eastern Front Collapse: The Soviet Union’s Red Army launched massive offensives, such as Operation Bagration (1944), which destroyed Germany’s Army Group Centre and reclaimed vast territories. By early 1945, Soviet forces were advancing rapidly towards Berlin, capturing key cities like Warsaw and Budapest.
Western Front Pressure: The Western Allies successfully invaded Normandy in June 1944 and liberated France. By 1945, they crossed the Rhine River into Germany, capturing industrial heartlands like the Ruhr Valley. By April 1945, Allied forces from the east and west were converging on Berlin, encircling German troops and cutting off supply lines.
Loss of Resources: Air raids by the US and Britain devastated German cities, industries and infrastructure. The bombing of Dresden (February 1945) and other cities crippled people’s hopes and production. There was a shortage of oil, steel, and manpower due to prolonged war.
Hitler’s Health: Adolf Hitler’s suicide in his Berlin bunker on April 30, 1945, did not immediately end World War II in Europe. Though the German capital had fallen to the Soviets, some Nazi troops would continue fighting for more than a week in France, Germany, the Mediterranean and elsewhere. And when the Nazis finally did accede to the Allies’ demand for unconditional surrender, German generals had to sign for the surrender. Hitler’s successor, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, recognized the futility of further resistance and sought to negotiate surrender, primarily to the Western Allies, to avoid Soviet retribution.
Moral Collapse: The German Wehrmacht was depleted, with millions of people dead, wounded, or captured. Conscripted teenagers and elderly men were no match for battle-hardened Allied forces. Constant bombing, food shortages, and the advancing Red Army’s reputation for reprisals killed civilian morale. Many Germans saw surrender as the only way to end the suffering. Internal resistance, like the July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, weakened the Nazi regime, while some military units began surrendering independently. At the 1943 Casablanca Conference, the Allies demanded unconditional surrender to prevent Germany from regrouping as it did after World War I. With no hope of negotiated peace and facing total defeat, Germany had no choice.
Fall Of Berlin: Soviet forces began their assault on Berlin on April 16, 1945, while the Allies were still fighting their way across western Germany. With the city in ruins and the Red Army advancing street by street, Hitler retreated to his bunker under the Reich Chancellery, where he committed suicide on April 30. The last defenders finally surrendered on May 2.
What Was The Immediate Aftermath Of The War?
Allied Occupation: Germany was divided into four occupation zones controlled by the US, Soviet Union, UK, and France, as agreed at the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences (1945). Berlin was similarly split into four sectors. The Allied Control Council was set up to govern jointly, but tensions between the Soviets and Western Allies emerged, leading to the Cold War.
Denazification: The Allied Powers tried to remove the Nazi ideology from the society, for which former Nazi officials were removed from public office. The Nuremberg Trials (1945–1946) prosecuted key Nazi leaders for war crimes, with 12 sentenced to death, others imprisoned.
Economic Collapse: The German economy collapse with the bombing of cities like Dresden, Cologne, and infrastructure was disrupted, with food shortages widespread. The winter of 1946-1947 was particularly hard, leading to excessive famine and suffering.
Political Dismantling: The Nazi regime was abolished, and Germany’s pre-1933 borders were restored. Territories in the east side of the Oder-Neisse Line (e.g., East Prussia, Silesia) were ceded to Poland and the Soviet Union, and ethnic Germans were expelled. The Allies initially planned to deindustrialize Germany but shifted to reconstruction to counter Soviet influence and stabilize Europe.
Berlin Wall Created: To prevent the East Germans fleeing to the West, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) erected the Berlin Wall in August 1961, becoming a symbol of Iron Curtain. Germany became a Cold War flashpoint, with NATO-aligned West Germany and Warsaw Pact-aligned East Germany hosting foreign troops.
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