Germans Surrender! Victory in Europe!

May 7, 1945 - After almost six years of fighting, World War II comes to a close in Europe when German Generaloberst Alfred Jodl (below center) signs the instrument of surrender at Reims, France. This document called for the complete cessation of all German military operations at 23:01 on May 8, and officially ended combat in Europe. As the Soviet Union lacked a representative of suitable rank at Reims, a second ceremony was held near Berlin the next day. At this formal event each of the Allied powers were represented: United States: General Carl Spaatz, Great Britain: Marshall Arthur W. Tedder, France: General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, and the Soviet Union: Marshall Georgy Zhukov. The German delegation was headed by Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel.

World War II began on September 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland. During its course, operations in the European theater ranged from the depths of the Atlantic to the steppes of Russia to the deserts of North Africa. The conflict either directly or indirectly impacted every country on the continent and laid the foundations for the Cold War and the modern Europe of today.

Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration