The Place of Surrender May 1945

Der Ort der Kapitulation or The Place of Surrender is a museum in Berlin that commemorates the signing of the surrender document by the representatives of the German military high command and the representatives of the victorious powers at the end of the Second World War.

The museum is housed in a dark foreboding building. When I visited it on a cold April morning, the only flag limply flying in the wet weather was that of Ukraine. For some odd reason, no flags were hoisted on the remaining poles. The Ukrainian flag signified that yet another war, already in its third year is being fought in Europe.

The museum building was a school for military engineers (Pinoeerschule) and after the War, it became the HQ of the Soviet occupation forces in East Germany. After the Soviet Army handed over the control to GDR, it became the German Russian Museum. After the reunification of Germany, it is now called Place of Surrender.  

The museum is in Karlshorst (literally Karl’s nest) locality in the borough of Lichtenberg in Berlin. It is next to a horse racing track and the Hochschule fur Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (HTW), the largest University of Applied Sciences in Berlin.

The unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht signed in Berlin in the dying hours of 8 May was a follow up to a surrender ceremony that had already taken place in Reims, France, on 7 May. The first surrender document was signed by German General Alfred Jodl. The Soviets wanted another ceremony to mark the end of fighting in the eastern sector. The second ceremony ratified the first ceremony. The terms of the surrender came into force on 9 May 1945. The signatories to the documents were German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Marshal Gregory Zhukov of the Red Army and Air Marshal Tedder, RAF representing the Allied Forces. Present on the occasion as witnesses were the German generals/admiral heading the army, air force and the navy, and an American and a French General.

Outside the building are displayed various kinds of canons, antitank weapons, 122 mm howitzers and T34 tanks. Inside is the officers mess where the surrender document was signed.   The tables are laid out exactly in the same manner as they were, when the instrument of surrender was signed. An overhead LED screen shows the film of the entire ceremony. It was a day of rejoicing for the victors and a sad day for those, who had lost the war and now faced an uncertain future. Many of the generals associated with the Nazi regime were tried at the famous Nuremburg trials and punished for war crimes.    

During the Cold War the museum became a testament of the close cooperation between the German Democratic Republic (GDR). A room inside the building is the office of Marshal Zhukov, the military commander of Soviet Forces in Eastern Europe. Also on display is his full military uniform. There are other Soviet memorabilia like postage stamps and medals from that period on display.  

The entry to the museum is free and the exhibitions can be seen in about an hour. A shop inside the building sells mementos and books.