Germany's First Unconditional Surrender Signed at Reims

At 02:41 CET on May 7, 1945, General Alfred Jodl signed Germany's unconditional surrender at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) in Reims, France, in the presence of representatives from the US, Britain, France, and the USSR. The Soviet Union, however, refused to accept the Reims document as the final surrender, demanding a more elaborate ceremony in Berlin. A second, formal surrender was signed at Berlin-Karlshorst on May 8–9, 1945 — explaining why Western nations observe VE Day on May 8 while Russia commemorates Victory Day on May 9.