Nazi Germany - Two Surrender Acts

Did Nazi Germany surrender on 7, 8 or 9 May 1945? The answer may be different based on who you ask. The war was fought simultaneously on both the eastern and the western fronts.

On 7 May 1945, one week after Hitler committed suicide, Alfred Jodl signed the act of military surrender in Reims (Champagne region) at the headquarters of Eisenhower and the Allied Armies.

When he heard about this, Staline was not pleased and gave three arguments:

1 - The U.S.S.R. had sacrificed the greatest number of troops to defeat the Nazis ;

2 - The location of the signing should be symbolic and what better place than Berlin, the capital of the Third Reich?

3 - Jodl's rank was not significant enough and it should have been the highest ranking officer instead.

So on the 8th May at 11:00pm, Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, supreme commander of German forces signed a second act of surrender. Due to the time difference, the Soviet Union recorded the event as the 9th of May and to this day, that is the date they celebrate the victory in Russia.

Yet, that is still not the end of WWII as war was still ongoing in the Pacific but that's another story...