Wednesday marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe after six long years of fighting.
A contingent led by Nazi German Gen. Alfred Jodl signed the surrender document at the Allied headquarters in Reims, France, in the early morning hours of May 7.
By this point, German leader Adolf Hitler had committed suicide along with other members of his staff, as Allied forces occupied most of his nation and ultimately its capital, Berlin.
This day in 1945, General Alfred Jodl signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Reims, France, to take effect the following day, ending the European conflict of World War II. #WW2 pic.twitter.com/46M3YjgtOq
— WWII Pictures (@WWIIpix) May 7, 2021
Following the surrender, members of Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s staff kept coming up with increasingly verbose and grandiose statements to inform the world of the development.
Eisenhower, exhausted and a no-nonsense person, grew frustrated and wrote a one-sentence announcement himself.
“The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 0241, local time, May 7, 1945,” the general stated.
General Eisenhower on German surrender–today 1945: pic.twitter.com/7FZncQHD3J
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) May 7, 2017
“I should have felt elation, but all I felt was tired, dead beat,” the general later recounted regarding the end of the war.
He did manage a smile for the cameras on May 7, though, holding up the pens the Germans used to sign the surrender document.
General Eisenhower after German surrender, World War II, Reims, France, 70 years ago today: #Morse pic.twitter.com/S2G9iRneSd
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) May 7, 2015
Dr. Conrad Crane, former chief of historical services for the Army Heritage and Education Center, told The Western Journal in 2020 that Eisenhower played a crucial role in the Allied victory.
“He was the essential element to keep the coalition together and make it operate at maximum efficiency,” Crane said.
“He could deal with [British Prime Minister Winston] Churchill. He could deal with [Franklin Roosevelt], [and President Harry] Truman,” the historian added.
In addition to the U.S. and Great Britain, Canada and France made up the Allied forces in the western portion of Europe, while the Soviet Union attacked from the east.
The Allies would celebrate their victory on May 8, designated V-E Day, which happened to fall on Truman’s birthday. He had succeeded FDR following his death in early April.
In an address to the American public, Truman said, “This is a solemn but a glorious hour. I only wish that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day.”
“For this victory, we join in offering our thanks to the Providence which has guided and sustained us through the dark days of adversity.”
In June 1945, Eisenhower was honored by the British people for his leadership during the war.
The general famously said that day, “Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in blood of his followers and sacrifices of his friends.”
The Department of Defense calculated that from D-Day in June 1944 to May 8, 1945, there were 552,177 U.S. casualties in the European theater of operations, and of those, 104,812 were killed in action. Casualties include both killed and wounded.
In the war overall, 416,800 Americans died in both the European and Pacific theaters, according to the National World War II Museum.
The total military and civilian deaths worldwide were approximately 60 million.
Randy DeSoto is the author of “We Hold These Truths,” about the influence of ideals found in the Declaration of Independence during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War II.
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