Radio star began training in church choir
Stage career ‘total loss’
By Si Steinhauser
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U.S. Steel hit by increase in coal wages
Hike to cost company 8 million a year
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Delay in auto output until late 1945 seen
Industry leaders fear problem of jobs
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U.S. State Department (May 7, 1945)
740.0011 EW/5-745: Telegram
The Ambassador in France to the Secretary of State
Paris, May 7, 1945 — 10 p.m.
[Received May 7 — 6:33 p.m.]
2447.
From Murphy for Matthews.
General Eisenhower has informed Combined Chiefs of Staff that the mission entrusted to his Allied Command has now been completed. [Murphy.]
CAFFERY
Neues Österreich (May 8, 1945)
Der Krieg ist zu Ende!
Endgültiger Sieg der Vereinten Nationen
London, 7. Mai – Das Oberkommando der deutschen Wehrmacht erklärte heute die bedingungslose Kapitulation aller deutschen Streitkräfte.
Die Kapitulation wurde zuerst vom deutschen Außenminister Graf Schwerin von Krosigk bekanntgegeben. Er erklärte im Rundfunk:
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht hat heute auf Geheiß von Großadmiral Dönitz die bedingungslose Kapitulation aller kämpfenden Truppen erklärt. Die, deutsche Kapitulation erfolgte in aller Form in General Eisenhowers Hauptquartier in Reims um 2,41 Uhr nachts. Für Deutschland wurde die Kapitulationsurkunde von Generaloberst Jodl unterzeichnet, für General Eisenhower unterzeichnete sein Stabschef Wedell Smith, für die Sowjetunion General Suslaparow, für Frankreich General Seves. General Eisenhower war bei der Unterzeichnung nicht zugegen.
Unmittelbar nach der Unterzeichnung empfing General Eisenhower, Generaloberst Jodl und Admiral von Friedeburg. Eisenhower fragte die deutschen Bevollmächtigten, ob sie die Bestimmungen das Deutschland auferlegten Kapitulation vollauf begriffen hätten und ob die Bestimmungen würden durchgeführt werden. Die deutschen Bevollmächtigten bejahten, sie seien sich über die. Bestimmungen völlig im Klaren. Sie würden durchgeführt werden.
Erklärung Jodls
Nach der Unterzeichnung erklärte Generaloberst Jodl, er müsse eingestehen, dass Deutschland nach sechsjährigem Kampf der überwältigenden Übermacht der Gegner unterlegen sei. Eine Fortsetzung des Kampfes hätte nur unnützes Blutvergießen und Zerstörung bedeutet. Eine Regierung, die Verantwortungsgefühl für die Zukunft des Volkes besitze, müsse daraus die Folgerung ziehen und um Einstellung der Feindseligkeiten ersuchen.
Generaloberst Jodl erklärte ferner, er sei sich klar darüber, daß durch diese Unterschrift das deutsche Volk und die deutsche Wehrmacht den Siegern auf Gedeih und Verderb in die Hand gegeben seien.
Weiterkämpfende Truppen außerhalb des Kriegsrechtes
London, 7. Mai – In London führte Churchill heute den Vorsitz bei einer Vollsitzung des britischen Kabinetts.
Die deutsche Kapitulation erstreckt sich auf alle deutschen Streitkräfte im Feld und auch auf die gegen Russland kämpfenden Truppen.
Ein von den Deutschen noch besetzter Prager Sender bestritt heute, dass sich die Kapitulation auch auf die gegen Russland kämpfenden Truppen beziehe und erklärte, der Kampf gegen Rußland würde weitergehen.
Von alliierter Seite wurde daraufhin erklärt, dass die deutschen Truppen, die nach der Kapitulation weiterkämpfen, nach völkerrechtlichen Bestimmungen als illegale Freischärler gelten und außerhalb des Kriegsrechtes stehen.
Dönitz proklamiert Ende des U-Boot-Krieges
London, 7. Mai – Dönitz hat heute über den Sender Flensburg das Ende des U-Boot-Krieges proklamiert. Er gab den Befehl, alle Feindseligkeiten einzustellen und Heimatkurs zu nehmen, Er erklärte dazu: „Durch die gewaltige Überlegenheit des Gegners sind wir auf engstem Raum zusammengedrängt worden, Eine Fortsetzung des Kampfes von den uns verbliebenen Stützpunkten aus ist unmöglich.”
Dönitz gab ferner an alle Hafen- und Schiffsbesatzungen im norddeutschen Raum den Befehl, von jeder Kampfhandlung Abstand zu nehmen und Selbstversenkungen von Schiffen, sowie Zerstörung von Maschinen und Einrichtungen zu unterlassen. Die Mannschaften haben an Bord zu bleiben, Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe, die von der Kapitulation gegenüber Feldmarschall Montgomery betroffen werden, sollen vorläufig in dänischen Häfen bleiben. Von dieser Verfügung wird unter anderem der Kreuzer Prinz Eugen und der Kreuzer Nürnberg betroffen.
Abmarsch aus Dänemark
London, 7. Mai – Aus Dänemark marschieren tausende deutsche Soldaten über die Grenze nach Deutschland, wo sie von den Truppen Feldmarschall Montgomerys entwaffnet werden sollen.
Der Chef der britischen Militärkommission in Kopenhagen gab bekannt:
Die Deutschen marschieren unter ihren eigenen Vorgesetzten und behalten ihre Waffen. Ihre Entwaffnung in Dänemark würde den Einsatz der britischen Truppen zu sehr in Anspruch, nehmen, da 200.000 bis 300.000 Deutsche entwaffnet werden müssten.
Leitartikel: Bedingungslose Kapitulation
Gestern hat Deutschland bedingungslos kapituliert. Der Krieg ist zu Ende. Das Recht hat gesiegt. Es wird wieder Friede sein auf Erden.
Sehnsüchtig haben die Völker auf diesen Tag gewartet, der kommen mußte, mit derselben Notwendigkeit, mit der die Sonne die Nacht verscheucht. Die Niederlage Deutschlands war geschichtlich vorausbestimmt, denn der Raubzug des Rassenhasses, des Größenwahns gegen die freiheitsliebenden Völker mußte schließlich den vereinigten Widerstand der Welt hervorrufen. Diese unabwendbare Niederlage war seit dem Winter 1941/42, seit der ersten Katastrophe der Hitlerarmee vor den Toren von Moskau und vor allem seit der Schicksalswende von Stalingrad für jeden denkenden Menschen offenkundig. Eine deutsche Staats- und Armeeführung mit einem Funken Verantwortungsgefühl hätte damals die Konsequenzen gezogen und sie zum Frieden um jeden Preis bereit erklärt. An der Spitze Deutschlands aber standen keine Volksführer und keine Staatsmänner, sondern verbrecherische Abenteurer, herz- und hirnlose Banditen, deren Gewerbe nur die Zerstörung, deren Ziel nur das Chaos war. Und die deutsche Nation hatte sich mit Leib und Seele dieser verschworenen Räuberbande ausgeliefert und fand in sich nicht die sittliche Kraft, den Rückweg. zu Vernunft und Wahrheit anzutreten. So wurde denn ein wahnwitziger, aussichtsloser, krimineller Krieg fortgesetzt, ein Krieg der Lüge, der Sturheit, der Selbstverblendung und Selbstzerfleischung gegen die große Freiheitsfront der Völker, denen der Sieg gebührt und denen er darum gehört.
Es gibt keinerlei Entschuldigung, nicht den leisesten Milderungsgrund für die deutsche Raserei, die den Krieg begonnen hat und die ihn weiterschleppte, sechs Jahre lang, über Trümmerhaufen und Leichenberge, über den Schutt und die Asche von Städten, die der deutsche Führer und der deutsche Soldat mutwillig dem Untergang preisgaben, über das qualvolle Sterben und namenlose Elend von ungezählten Millionen, die kaltblütig aufgeopfert wurden im Namen einer frechen Räuberbande, einer unmenschlichen Räubermoral. Es liegt kein Hauch von Größe, von Heroismus über diesem hundertfach verdienten Zusammenbruch, sondern nur der Grabeshauch eines jammervollen Gehorsams und der Leichendunst einer ungeheuerlichen Verantwortungslosigkeit. Die Menschheit verflucht die deutschen Kriegsverbrecher nicht nur darum, weil sie gewissenlos den Krieg entfesselten, sondern weit mehr noch darum, weil sie ihn bis zum schreckensvollen Ende hinauszogen, bis zum Tag eines nie dagewesenen militärischen, politischen und moralischen Zusammenbruchs, einer wahrhaft schauerlichen Katastrophe. Wir Österreicher haben allen Grund, aus tiefsten Herzenstiefen in diesen Fluch der Menschheit einzustimmen, denn unser Land und Volk mußte die letzte Verzögerung der unvermeidlichen bedingungslosen Kapitulation mit allen Schrecken des Krieges, mit den Ruinen von Wien, mit der weitgehenden Zerstörung unserer Industrie und Landwirtschaft bezahlen. Um ein paar Wochen später zu kapitulieren, haben die deutschen Kriegsverbrecher unser Osterreich zum Kriegsschauplatz, unser Wien zu einer Stadt der Trauer und Trümmer gemacht. Niemals werden wir das vergessen.
Der Krieg ist zu Ende. Doch immer noch gibt es eingefleischte Nazischufte, die das Mordhandwerk auf eigene Faust fortzusetzen gedenken. Die Reichsregierung hat kapituliert, aber der Sender Prag, einer der letzten deutschen Sender, die noch in der Hand der Banditen sind, hat zu weiterem Widerstand aufgefordert. Die SS-Mordbuben sollen wissen: Wer jetzt noch mit der Waffe in der Hand den Armeen der freien Völker entgegentritt, wird nicht als Soldat, sondern als Wegelagerer behandelt. Und ebenso fordert das Volk, dass jeder Lump, der jetzt noch aktiv als Nazi tätig ist und den Aufbau Österreichs stört, mit dem Tode bestraft wird. Bedingungslose Kapitulation der Hitlerpartei ist die notwendige Folge der bedingungslosen Kapitulation Hitlerdeutschlands. Wir wollen endlich, endlich den Frieden – und wehe jedem, der sich vermisst, weiterhin einen Privatkrieg gegen Volk, Recht und Ordnung zu führen!
Es ist ein teuer erkaufter, schwer erkämpfter Friede, dessen ersten Morgenhauch wir endlich verspüren. Wir werden ihn schützen, entschlossen, einmütig und mit brennender Leidenschaft.
Address by Reich President Doenitz Informing German People of Unconditional Surrender
May 8, 1945, 12:30 p.m. CET
Broadcast audio (RRG):
Deutsche Männer und Frauen!
In meiner Ansprache am 1. Mai, in der ich dem deutschen Volk den Tod des Führers und meine Bestimmung zu seinem Nachfolger mitteilte, habe ich es als meine erste Aufgabe bezeichnet, das Leben deutscher Menschen zu retten. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, habe ich in der Nacht vom 6. zum 7. Mai dem Oberkommando der Wehrmacht den Auftrag gegeben, die bedingungslose Kapitulation für alle kämpfenden Truppen auf allen Kriegsschauplätzen zu erklären. Am 8. Mai 23 Uhr schweigen die Waffen.
Die in unzähligen Schlachten bewährten Soldaten der deutschen Wehrmacht treten den bitteren Weg in die Gefangenschaft an und bringen damit das letzte Opfer für das Leben von Frauen und Kindern und für die Zukunft unseres Volkes. Wir verneigen uns vor ihrer tausendfach bewiesenen Tapferkeit und der Opfertat der Gefallenen und der Gefangenen. Ich habe dem deutschen Volk zugesagt, in der kommenden Notzeit bestrebt zu sein, unseren tapferen Frauen, Männern und Kindern, soweit dies in meiner Macht steht, erträgliche Lebensbedingungen zu schaffen. Ob ich dazu beitragen kann, Euch in dieser harten Zeit zu helfen, weiß ich nicht.
Wir müssen den Tatsachen klar ins Gesicht sehen. Die Grundlagen, auf denen das Deutsche Reich sich aufbaute, sind zerborsten. Die Einheit von Staat und Partei besteht nicht mehr. Die Partei ist vom Schauplatz ihrer Wirksamkeit abgetreten. Mit der Besetzung Deutschlands liegt die Macht bei den Besatzungsmächten. Es liegt in ihrer Hand, ob ich und die von mir bestellte Reichsregierung tätig sein kann oder nicht. Kann ich durch meine Amtstätigkeit unserem Vaterland nützen und helfen, dann bleibe ich im diesem Amt, bis der Wille des deutschen Volkes in der Bestellung eines Staatsoberhauptes Ausdruck finden kann oder die Besatzungsmächte mir die Fortführung meines Amtes unmöglich machen. Denn mich halten nur die Liebe zu Deutschland und die Pflicht auf meinem schweren Posten. Ich bleibe nicht eine Stunde länger, als ich ohne Rücksicht auf meine Person, es mit der Würde vereinbaren kann, die ich dem Reiche schulde, dessen oberster Repräsentant ich bin.
Wir haben alle einen schweren Weg vor uns. Wir müssen ihn in der Würde, der Tapferkeit und der Disziplin gehen, die das Andenken unserer Gefallenen von uns fordert. Wir müssen ihn mit dem Willen zur Anspornung aller unserer Arbeits- und Leistungskraft gehen, ohne die wir uns keine Lebensgrundlage schaffen können. Wir wollen ihn in der Einigkeit und Gerechtigkeit gehen, ohne die wir die Not der kommenden Zeit nicht überwinden können. Wir dürfen ihn in der Hoffnung gehen, daß unsere Kinder einmal in einem befriedeten Europa ein freies und gesichertes Dasein haben werden. Ich will auf diesem dornenreichen Weg nicht hinter Euch zurückbleiben. Gebietet mir die Pflicht, in meinem Amt zu bleiben, dann werde ich versuchen euch zu helfen, soweit ich irgend kann. Gebietet mir die Pflicht zu gehen, so soll auch dieser Schritt ein Dienst an Volk und Reich sein.
News Conference with President Truman on V-E Day
May 8, 1945, 8:35 a.m. EWT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I want to start off by reading you a little statement here. I want you to understand, at the very beginning, that this press conference is held with the understanding that any and all information given you here is for release at 9 a.m. this morning, Eastern War Time. There should be no indication of the news given here, or speculation about it, either in the press or on the radio before 9 o’clock this morning.
The radio – my radio remarks, and telegrams of congratulation to the Allied military leaders, are for release at the same time. Mr. Daniels has copies of my remarks, available for you in the lobby as you go out, and also one or two releases here.
Now, for your benefit, because you won’t get a chance to listen over the radio, I am going to read you the proclamation, and the principal remarks. It won’t take but 7 minutes, so you needn’t be uneasy. You have plenty of time. [Laughter]
“This is a solemn but glorious hour. General Eisenhower informs me that the forces of Germany have surrendered to the United Nations. The flags of freedom fly all over Europe.”
It’s celebrating my birthday, too – today, too.
Voices: Happy birthday, Mr. President! [Laughter]
THE PRESIDENT. "For this victory, we join in offering our thanks to the Providence which has guided and sustained us through the dark days of adversity. Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have paid to rid the world of Hitler and his evil band. Let us not forget, my fellow Americans, the sorrow and the heartache which today abide in the homes of so many of our neighbors – neighbors whose most priceless possession has been rendered as a sacrifice to redeem our liberty.
“We can repay the debt which we owe to our God, to our dead, and to our children, only by work, by ceaseless devotion to the responsibilities which lie ahead of us. If I could give you a single watchword for the coming months, that word is work, work, and more work. We must work to finish the war. Our victory is only half over.”
Now, we have got another little release here, which doesn’t go into the speech, but it informs the Japanese what they can expect. We are going to be in a position where we can turn the greatest war machine in the history of the world loose on the Japanese; and I am informed by the Chiefs of Staff, by the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Navy, that Japan is going to have a terrible time from now on. This release here, I will read it.
"The Japanese people have felt the weight of our land, air, and naval attacks. So long as their leaders and the armed forces continue the war, the striking power and intensity of our blows will steadily increase, and will bring utter destruction to Japan’s industrial war production, to its shipping, and to everything that supports its military activity.
"The longer the war lasts, the greater will be the suffering and hardships which the people of Japan will undergo – all in vain. Our blows will not cease until the Japanese military and naval forces lay down their arms in unconditional surrender.
"Just what does the unconditional surrender of the armed forces mean for the Japanese people?
"It means the end of the war.
"It means the termination of the influence of the military leaders who brought Japan to the present brink of disaster.
"It means provision for the return of soldiers and sailors to their families, their farms, and their jobs.
"And it means not prolonging the present agony and suffering of the Japanese in the vain hope of victory.
“Unconditional surrender does not mean the extermination or enslavement of the Japanese people.”
Now, you will have copies of that when you go out.
Mr. Daniels: Mr. President, will you point out that that is marked immediate release, but that it is for 9 o’clock ?
THE PRESIDENT. That is for 9 o’clock. It is marked immediate release, but it was to be released after the proclamation this morning. But I thought it was so important that we released it at the same time; and while this release is marked immediate release, it wants to be released at 9 o’clock, after the other release.
[Continues reading his address]: "The West is free, but the East is still in bondage to the treacherous tyranny of the Japanese. When the last Japanese division has surrendered unconditionally, then only will our fighting job be done.
“We must work to bind up the wounds of a suffering world–to build an abiding peace, a peace rooted in justice and in law.”
You remember, it has been emphasized here all the time that we want a peace of justice and law. That’s what we are trying to get, at San Francisco–what we are going to get–the framework for a peace in justice and law. We have got terrific problems facing us. While we have been prepared for this thing for several days, I think ever since last Saturday night, if I remember correctly–[laughter]–we have had other things to think about, besides this formal proclamation which we are issuing this morning. We are facing a situation that we can either go the whole way and make the world the happiest place it has ever been in which to live, or we can go the wrong way and spoil the whole thing. So we are thinking all the time of the problems which we have to face.
[Continues reading his address]: "We can build such a peace only by hard, toilsome, painstaking work–by understanding and working with our Allies in peace as we have worked with them in war.
"The job ahead is no less important, no less urgent, no less difficult than the task which now happily is done.
“I call upon every American to stick to his post until the last battle is won. Until that day, let no man abandon his post or slacken his efforts.”
Now, I want to read to you the formal proclamation.
"A Proclamation: The Allied armies, through sacrifice and devotion and with God’s help, have wrung from Germany a final and unconditional surrender. The western world has been freed of the evil forces which for five years and longer have imprisoned the bodies and broken the lives of millions upon millions of free-born men. They have violated their churches, destroyed their homes, corrupted their children, and murdered their loved ones. Our Armies of Liberation have restored freedom to these suffering peoples, whose spirit and will the oppressors could never enslave.
“Much remains to be done. The victory won in the West must now be won in the East.”
I want that emphasized time after time, that we are only half through.
“The whole world must be cleansed of the evil from which half the world has been freed. United, the peace-loving nations have demonstrated in the West that their arms are stronger by far than the might of dictators or the tyranny of military cliques that once called us soft and weak.”
I would like to know what the Germans think about that now. [Laughter]
"The power of our peoples to defend themselves against all enemies will be proved in the Pacific war as it has been proved in Europe.
"For the triumph of spirit and of arms which we have won, and for its promise to peoples everywhere who join us in the love of freedom, it is fitting that we, as a nation, give thanks to Almighty God, who has strengthened us and given us the victory.
“Now, therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, do hereby appoint Sunday, May 13, 1945, to be a day of prayer.”
And it’s exceedingly fitting that that is Mother’s Day, too.
"I call upon the people of the United States, whatever their faith, to unite in offering joyful thanks to God for the victory we have won and to pray that He will support us to the end of our present struggle and guide us into the way of peace.
"I also call upon my countrymen to dedicate this day of prayer to the memory of those who have given their lives to make possible our victory.
“In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.”
And I have sent messages to Prime Minister Churchill, Marshal Stalin, and General Eisenhower and General de Gaulle. This is the message to–to General Eisenhower, and I will let you read the rest of them from the release which will be given you. I want you to read every one of them.
Mr. Daniels: Mr. President–the time is getting late, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT. I’ll just read the one [to General Eisenhower]: "In recognition of the unconditional surrender–unconditional and abject surrender of the Nazi barbarians, please accept the fervent congratulations and appreciation of myself, and of the American people, for the heroic achievements of your Allied Army, Navy, and Air Forces. By their sacrifices, skill, and courage they have saved and exalted the cause of freedom throughout the world. All of us owe you, and to your men of many nations, a debt beyond appraisal for their high contribution to the conquest of Naziism.
"I send also my personal appreciation of the superb leadership shown by you and your commanders in directing the valiant legions of our own country, and of our Allies, to this historic victory.
“Please transmit this message to the appropriate officers of your command, and publish it to all Allied forces in your theaters of operation.”
And in the message to Marshal Stalin, we asked him to do the same thing for the Russian commanders and Russian troops.
Reporter: Thank you, Mr. President.
Address by President Truman Announcing the Surrender of Germany
May 8, 1945, 9:00 a.m. EWT
Broadcast audio (NBC):
This is a solemn but a glorious hour. I only wish that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day. Gen. Eisenhower informs me that the forces of Germany have surrendered to the United Nations. The flags of freedom fly over all Europe.
For this victory, we join in offering our thanks to the Providence which has guided and sustained us through the dark days of adversity.
Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have paid to rid the world of Hitler and his evil band. Let us not forget, my fellow Americans, the sorrow and the heartache which today abide in the homes of so many of our neighbors-neighbors whose most priceless possession has been rendered as a sacrifice to redeem our liberty.
We can repay the debt which we owe to our God, to our dead and to our children only by work – by ceaseless devotion to the responsibilities which lie ahead of us. If I could give you a single watchword for the coming months, that word is – work, work, and more work.
We must work to finish the war. Our victory is but half-won. The West is free, but the East is still in bondage to the treacherous tyranny of the Japanese. When the last Japanese division has surrendered unconditionally, then only will our fighting job be done.
We must work to bind up the wounds of a suffering world – to build an abiding peace, a peace rooted in justice and in law. We can build such a peace only by hard, toilsome, painstaking work – by understanding and working with our allies in peace as we have in war.
The job ahead is no less important, no less urgent, no less difficult than the task which now happily is done.
I call upon every American to stick to his post until the last battle is won. Until that day, let no man abandon his post or slacken his efforts. And now, I want to read to you my formal proclamation of this occasion:
PROCLAMATION 2651
Victory in Europe: Day of PrayerBy the President of the United States of America
A ProclamationFor Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary May 8, 1945The Allied armies, through sacrifice and devotion and with God’s help, have wrung from Germany a final and unconditional surrender. The western world has been freed of the evil forces which for five years and longer have imprisoned the bodies and broken the lives of millions upon millions of free-born men. They have violated their churches, destroyed their homes, corrupted their children, and murdered their loved ones. Our Armies of Liberation have restored freedom to these suffering peoples, whose spirit and will the oppressors could never enslave.
Much remains to be done. The victory won in the West must now be won in the East. The whole world must be cleansed of the evil from which half the world has been freed. United, the peace-loving nations have demonstrated in the West that their arms are stronger by far than the might of dictators or the tyranny of military cliques that once called us soft and weak. The power of our people to defend themselves against all enemies will be proved in the Pacific war as it has been proved in Europe.
For the triumph of spirit and of arms which we have won, and for its promise to peoples everywhere who join us in the love of freedom, it is fitting that we, as a nation, give thanks to Almighty God, who has strengthened us and given us the victory.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, HARRY S. TRUMAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby appoint Sunday, May 13, 1945, to be a day of prayer.
I call upon the people of the United States, whatever their faith, to unite in offering joyful thanks to God for the victory we have won and to pray that He will support us to the end of our present struggle and guide us into the way of peace.
I also call upon my countrymen to dedicate this day of prayer to the memory of those who have given their lives to make possible our victory.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
DONE at the City of Washington this eighth day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-five and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-ninth.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
By the President: JOSEPH C. GREW Acting Secretary of State
Statement by President Truman Calling for Unconditional Surrender of Japan
May 8, 1945
Nazi Germany has been defeated.
The Japanese people have felt the weight of our land, air and naval attacks. So long as their leaders and the armed forces continue the war the striking power and intensity of our blows will steadily increase and will bring utter destruction to Japan’s industrial war production, to its shipping, and to everything that supports its military activity.
The longer the war lasts, the greater will be the suffering and hardships which the people of Japan will undergo – all in vain. Our blows will not cease until the Japanese military and naval forces lay down their arms in unconditional surrender.
Just what does the unconditional surrender of the armed forces mean for the Japanese people?
It means the end of the war.
It means the termination of the influence of the military leaders who have brought Japan to the present brink of disaster.
It means provision for the return of soldiers and sailors to their families, their farms, their jobs.
It means not prolonging the present agony and suffering of the Japanese in the vain hope of victory.
Unconditional surrender does not mean the extermination or enslavement of the Japanese people.
Messages from President Truman to Allied Leaders and Gen. Eisenhower on Surrender of Germany
May 8, 1945
To Prime Minister Churchill:
With the unconditional surrender of all the armies of Nazidom and the liberation of the oppressed people of Europe from the evils of barbarism, I wish to express to you, and through you to Britain’s heroic Army, Navy and Air Forces, our congratulations on their achievements. The Government of the United States is deeply appreciative of the splendid contribution of all the British Empire forces and of the British people to this magnificent victory. With warm affection, we hail our comrades-in-arms across the Atlantic.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
To Marshal Stalin:
Now that the Nazi armies of aggression have been forced by the coordinated efforts of Soviet-Anglo-American forces to an unconditional surrender, I wish to express to you and through you to your heroic Army the appreciation and congratulations of the United States Government on its splendid contribution to the cause of civilization and liberty.
You have demonstrated in all your campaigns what it is possible to accomplish when a free people under superlative leadership and with unfailing courage rise against the forces of barbarism.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
To Gen. Eisenhower:
In recognition of the unconditional and abject surrender of the Nazi barbarians, please accept the fervent congratulations and appreciation of myself and of the American people for the heroic achievements of your Allied Army, Navy and Air Forces. By their sacrifices, skill and courage they have saved and exalted the cause of freedom throughout the world. All of us owe to you and to your men of many nations a debt beyond appraisal for their high contribution to the conquest of Naziism.
I send also my personal appreciation of the superb leadership shown by you and your commanders in directing the valiant legions of our own country and of our allies to this historic victory.
Please transmit this message to the appropriate officers of your command and publish it to all allied forces in your theaters of operation.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
To Gen. de Gaulle:
The Nazi forces of barbarian aggression having now been driven into an unconditional surrender by our allied armies, this is an appropriate time to send through you America’s congratulations to the people of France on their permanent liberation from the oppression they have endured with high courage for so long.
I wish also to send to you this expression of our appreciation of the contribution made by valiant soldiers of France to our Allied victory.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
Victory Order of the Day from Gen. Eisenhower and His Proclamation on Germany’s Defeat
May 8, 1945
The crusade on which we embarked in the early summer of 1944 has reached its glorious conclusion. It is my especial privilege, in the name of all nations represented in this theatre of war, to commend each of you for the valiant performance of duty.
Though these words are feeble, they come from the bottom of a heart overflowing with pride in your loyal service and admiration for you as warriors. Your accomplishments at sea, in the air, on the ground and in the field of supply have astonished the world.
Even before the final week of the conflict you had put 5,000,000 of the enemy permanently out of the war. You have taken in stride military tasks so difficult as to be classed by many doubters as impossible. You have confused, defeated and destroyed your savagely fighting foe. On the road to victory you have endured every discomfort and privation and have surmounted every obstacle that ingenuity and desperation could throw in your path. You did not pause until our front was firmly joined up with the great Red Army coming from the east and other Allied forces coming from the south.
Full victory in Europe has been attained. Working and fighting together in single and indestructible partnership you have achieved a perfection in the unification of air, ground and naval power that will stand as a model in our time.
The route you have traveled through hundreds of miles is marked by the graves of former comrades. From them have been exacted the ultimate sacrifice. The blood of many nations-American, British, Canadian, French, Polish and others-has helped to gain the victory. Each of the fallen died as a member of a team to which you belong, bound together by a common love of liberty and a refusal to submit to enslavement. No monument of stone, no memorial of whatever magnitude could so well express our respect and veneration for their sacrifice as would the perpetuation of the spirit of comradeship in which they died.
As we celebrate victory in Europe let us remind ourselves that our common problems of the immediate and distant future can be best solved in the same conceptions of cooperation and devotion to the cause of human freedom as have made this Expeditionary Force such a mighty engine of righteous destruction. Let us have no part in the profitless quarrels in which other men will inevitably engage as to what country and what service won the European war.
Every man and every woman of every nation here represented has served according to his or her ability and efforts and each has contributed to the outcome. This we shall remember and in doing so we shall be revering each honored grave and be sending comfort to the loved ones of comrades who could not live to see this day.
Commander’s Proclamation
In 1943 the late President Roosevelt and Premier Churchill met in Casablanca. There they pronounced the formula of unconditional surrender for the Axis Powers.
In Europe that formula has now been fulfilled. The Allied force which invaded Europe on June 6, 1944, has, with its great Russian Ally and the forces advancing from the south, utterly defeated the Germans on land, sea and air.
This unconditional surrender has been achieved by teamwork, teamwork not only among all the Allies participating but among all the services, land, sea and air.
To every subordinate that has been in this command of almost 5,000,000 Allies I owe a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. The only repayment that can be made to them is the deep appreciation and lasting gratitude of all the free citizens of all the United Nations.
Announcement by British Prime Minister Churchill to Parliament
May 8, 1945
Mr. Speaker, I have just had the duty of making an official statement to the nation and the British Empire and Commonwealth, and I thought it might perhaps be convenient to the House if I repeated it.
Broadcast audio (BBC):
Yesterday morning, at 2.41, at General Eisenhower’s headquarters, General Jodl, the representative of the German High Command and of Grand Admiral Doenitz, the designated head of the German State, signed the act of unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces in Europe to the Allied Expeditionary Force, and, simultaneously, to the Soviet High Command. General Bedell Smith, who is the Chief of the Staff to the Allied Expeditionary Force – and not, as I stated in a slip just now, Chief of the Staff to the United States Army – and General François Sevez, signed the document on behalf of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, and General Susloparoff signed on behalf of the Russian High Command.
Today this agreement will be ratified and confirmed at Berlin, where Air Chief Marshal Tedder, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, and General de Lattre de Tassigny, representing the French Republic, will sign on behalf of General Eisenhower, and General Zhukov will sign on behalf of the Soviet High Command. The German representatives will be Field Marshal Keitel, Chief of the High Command, and the Commanders-in-Chief of the German Army, Navy, and Air forces.
Hostilities will end officially at one minute after midnight to-night, Tuesday, 8th May, but in the interests of saving lives the “Cease Fire” began yesterday to be sounded all along the fronts, and I should not forget to mention that our dear Channel Islands, the only part of His Majesty’s Dominions that has been in the hands of the German foe, are also to be freed to-day. The Germans are still in places resisting Russian troops, but should they continue to do so after midnight, they will, of course, deprive themselves of the protection of the laws of war and will be attacked from all quarters by the Allied troops. It is not surprising that on such long fronts and in the existing disorder of the enemy that the orders of the German High Command should not in every case have been obeyed. This does not, in our opinion, constitute any reason for withholding from the nation the facts communicated to us by General Eisenhower of the unconditional surrender already signed at Rheims, nor should it prevent us from celebrating today, and tomorrow – Wednesday – as Victory-in-Europe Days, and I think that to-morrow it may be specially desirable for us to emphasise the debt we owe to our Soviet Ally, whose main celebrations will be taking place to-morrow.
The German war, Mr. Speaker, is therefore at an end. After years of intense preparation Germany hurled herself on Poland at the beginning of September, 1939, and in pursuance of our guarantee to Poland, and in common action with the French Republic, Great Britain and the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations declared war against this foul aggression. After gallant France had been struck down we from this Island and from our united Empire maintained the struggle single-handed for a whole year until we were joined by the military might of Soviet Russia and later by the overwhelming power and resources of the United States of America. Finally almost the whole world was combined against the evildoers, who are now prostrate before us. Sir, our gratitude to our splendid Allies goes forth from all our hearts. We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing, but let us not forget for a moment the toils and efforts that lie ahead. Japan, with all her treachery and greed, remains unsubdued. The injuries she has inflicted upon Great Britain, the United States and other countries and her detestable cruelties call forth justice and retribution. We must now devote all our strength and resources to the completion of our tasks both at home and abroad. Advance Britannia! Long Live the Cause of Freedom! God Save the King!
Sir, that is the message which I have been instructed to deliver to the British Nation and Commonwealth. I have only two or three sentences to add. They will convey to the House my deep gratitude to this House of Commons which has proved itself the strongest foundation for waging war that has ever been seen in the whole of our long history. We have all of us made our mistakes, but the strength of the Parliamentary institution has been shown to enable it at the same moment to preserve all the title deeds of democracy while waging war in the most stern and protracted form. I wish to give my hearty thanks to men of all Parties, to everyone in every part of the House where they sit, for the way in which the liveliness of Parliamentary institutions has been maintained under the fire of the enemy and for the way in which we have been able to persevere – and we could have persevered much longer if the need had been – till all the objectives which we set before us of the procuring of the unlimited and unconditional surrender of the enemy had been achieved. I recollect well at the end of the last war, more than a quarter of a century ago, that the House, when it heard the long list of the surrender terms, the armistice terms, which had been imposed upon the Germans did not feel inclined for debate or business but desired to offer thanks to Almighty God, to the Great Power which seems to shape and design the fortunes of nations and the destiny of man, and I therefore beg, Sir, with your permission to move:
“That this House do now attend at the Church of St. Margaret, Westminster, to give humble and reverent thanks to Almighty God for our deliverance from the threat of German domination.”
This is the identical Motion which was moved in former times.
Winston Churchill at the Ministry of Health Building (BBC):
Address by British Prime Minister Churchill to V-E Crowds in London
May 8, 1945, 3:00 p.m. BDST
My dear friends, this is your hour. This is not victory of a party or of any class. It’s a victory of the great British nation as a whole. We were the first, in this ancient island, to draw the sword against tyranny. After a while we were left all alone against the most tremendous military power that has been seen. We were all alone for a whole year.
There we stood, alone. Did anyone want to give in? [The crowd shouted “No.”] Were we downhearted? [“No!”] The lights went out and the bombs came down. But every man, woman and child in the country had no thought of quitting the struggle. London can take it. So we came back after long months from the jaws of death, out of the mouth of hell, while all the world wondered. When shall the reputation and faith of this generation of English men and women fail? I say that in the long years to come not only will the people of this island but of the world, wherever the bird of freedom chirps in human hearts, look back to what we’ve done and they will say “do not despair, do not yield to violence and tyranny, march straight forward and die if need be – unconquered.” Now we have emerged from one deadly struggle – a terrible foe has been cast on the ground and awaits our judgment and our mercy.
But there is another foe who occupies large portions of the British Empire, a foe stained with cruelty and greed – the Japanese. I rejoice we can all take a night off today and another day tomorrow. Tomorrow our great Russian Allies will also be celebrating victory and after that we must begin the task of rebuilding our hearth and homes, doing our utmost to make this country a land in which all have a chance, in which all have a duty, and we must turn ourselves to fulfill our duty to our own countrymen, and to our gallant Allies of the United States who were so foully and treacherously attacked by Japan. We will go hand and hand with them. Even if it is a hard struggle we will not be the ones who will fail.
Address by French General de Gaulle to the French People
May 8, 1945, 3:00 p.m. CET
La guerre est gagnée. Voici la victoire. C’est la victoire des Nations Unies et c’est la victoire de la France. L’ennemi allemand vient de capituler devant les armées alliées de l’Ouest et de l’Est. Le commandement français était présent et partie à l’acte de capitulation.
Dans l’état de désorganisation où se trouvent les pouvoirs publics et le commandement militaire allemand, il est possible que certains groupes ennemis veuillent, ça et là, prolonger pour leur propre compte, une résistance sans issue. Mais l’Allemagne est abattue et elle a signé son désastre.
Tandis que les rayons de la gloire vont, une fois de plus, resplendir au drapeau, la patrie porte sa pensée et son amour, d’abord, vers ceux qui sont morts pour elle, ensuite, vers ceux qui ont, pour son service, tant combattu et tant souffert. Pas un effort de ces soldats, de ces marins, de ces aviateurs, pas un acte de courage ou d’abnégation de ses fils et de ses filles, pas une souffrance de ces hommes et de ces femmes prisonniers, pas un deuil, pas un sacrifice, pas une larme n’auront donc été perdus.
Dans la joie et dans la fierté nationale, le peuple français adresse son fraternel salut à ses vaillants alliés qui, comme lui, pour la même cause que lui, ont durement, longuement prodigué leurs peines. A leurs héroïques armées et aux chefs qui les commandent, à tous ces hommes et à toutes ces femmes qui, dans le monde, ont lutté, pâti, travaillé pour que l’emportent, à la fin des fins, la justice et la liberté.
Honneur ! Honneur pour toujours à nos armées et à leurs chefs, Honneur à notre peuple que des épreuves terribles n’ont pu réduire ni fléchir, Honneur aux Nations Unies qui ont mêlé leur sang à notre sang, leurs peines à nos peines, leur espérance à notre espérance et qui, aujourd’hui, triomphent avec nous.
Ah, vive la France !
Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (May 8, 1945)
FROM
(A) SHAEF MAIN
ORIGINATOR
PRD, Communique Section
DATE-TIME OF ORIGIN
081505B May
TO FOR ACTION
(1) AGWAR
(2) NAVY DEPARTMENT
TO (W) FOR INFORMATION (INFO)
(3) TAC HQ 12 ARMY GP
(4) MAIN 12 ARMY GP
(5) AIR STAFF MAIN
(6) ANCXF
(7) EXFOR MAIN
(8) EXFOR REAR
(9) DEFENSOR, OTTAWA
(10) CANADIAN C/S, OTTAWA
(11) WAR OFFICE
(12) ADMIRALTY
(13) AIR MINISTRY
(14) UNITED KINGDOM BASE
(15) SACSEA
(16) CMHQ (Pass to RCAF & RCN)
(17) COM ZONE
(18) SHAEF REAR
(19) SHAEF MAIN
(20) HQ SIXTH ARMY GP
(21) WOIA FOR OWI WASHINGTON FOR RELEASE TO COMBINED US AND CANADIAN PRESS AND RADIO AT 0900 HOURS GMT
(22) AFHQ ROME FOR PWB
(REF NO.)
NONE
(CLASSIFICATION)
IN THE CLEAR
Special Communiqué No. 8
UNCLASSIFIED: All German Land, Sea and Air forces in Europe were unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Expeditionary Force and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command, at 0141 hours Central European Time, May 7.
The surrender terms, which will become effective at 2301 Central European Time, May 8, were signed by an officer of the German High Command.
Allied Expeditionary Forces have been ordered to cease offensive operations, but will maintain their present positions until the surrender becomes effective.
COORDINATED WITH: G-2, G-3 to C/S
THIS MESSAGE MAY BE SENT IN CLEAR BY ANY MEANS
/s/
Precedence
“OP” - AGWAR
“P” - Others
ORIGINATING DIVISION
PRD, Communique Section
NAME AND RANK TYPED. TEL. NO.
D. R. JORDAN, Lt Col FA4655
AUTHENTICATING SIGNATURE
/s/
U.S. Navy Department (May 8, 1945)
Statement to the Men of the U.S. Navy and Army by the Secretary of the Navy
For Immediate Release
May 8, 1945
You and your Allies have won a great victory. The price was high; it has been won by determination, sacrifice and blood. With this victory you have won something more: the admiration and gratitude of America and the world.
The task has now been half accomplished. Another powerful enemy remains. It will require all our resolution and fortitude to destroy him. Only by so doing can we keep faith with those who have fallen. Let us now go forward to speedy and complete victory in the Pacific.
Memorandum to the Press
For Immediate Release
May 8, 1945
The following are casualty figures for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard sustained in the Atlantic-Mediterranean theaters, including the European theater. Data for the Navy are through April 26; those for the Marine Corps are through April 10; those for the Coast Guard are through May 5. The Coast Guard keeps no breakdown by theaters for casualties other than dead. Totals include combatant as well as non-combatant casualties. Navy totals for the combined Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters include casualties which might have been sustained on the continents of Europe and Africa. The Coast Guard totals for the “Atlantic” theater cover all operations against the European enemy.
NAVY:
| Atlantic | Mediterranean | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dead | 6,415 | 1,930 | 8,346 |
| Missing | 594 | 78 | 672 |
| Wounded or Injured | 3,612 | 1,689 | 5,301 |
| Prisoners of War | 29 | 0 | 29 |
| TOTAL | 10,650 | 3,697 | 14,347 |
MARINE CORPS:
| Atlantic | Mediterranean | Eastern Theatre of Operations | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dead | 32 | 2 | 0 | 34 |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Wounded or Injured | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Prisoners of War | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 2 | 4 | 39 |
Coast Guard: 508
CINCPOA Communiqué No. 356
Battleships and cruisers of the U.S. Pacific Fleet delivered heavy fire in support of the Marine III Amphibious Corps and the XXIV Army Corps in southern Okinawa on May 7 (East Longitude Date) destroying gun emplacements, some artillery and a number of mortars. During the night of May 7-8, surface craft fired several hundred rounds of illumination which effectively reduced the enemy’s attempts at infiltration into our lines. Adverse weather limited our operations on the island during May 8 and there were no substantial changes in the lines.
No enemy aircraft activity was noted in the Ryukyus during the night and day of May 7-8. As of that date, summaries of damage to the enemy show that fighters of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing have shot down 209 Japanese aircraft since they commenced operation from captured fields on Okinawa.
Escort carrier aircraft of the U.S. Pacific Fleet continued to neutralize airfields in the Sakishima group on May 7.
Concentrations of shipping in the coastal waters around Korea were attacked on May 7 by search planes of Fleet Air Wing One and an estimated 14,000 tons of shipping were sunk and 3,500 tons damaged as follows
SUNK:
- One small freighter transport
- One large fleet oiler
DAMAGED:
- One trawler set afire
- One small freight transport set afire and listing
- One small freighter left listing and dead in water
Planes of FlAirWing 18 in attacks on shipping south of the island of Honshu on May 8 inflicted the following damage on the enemy:
SUNK:
- Two small cargo ships
- One large fishing craft
- One coastal cargo ship
DAMAGED:
- Four small cargo ships
- Four large fishing craft
- One coastal cargo ship
Search planes of this wing shot down a four-engine flying boat near the Honshu coast on the same date.
Night flying Mitchells of the 4th MarAirWing damaged a small ship with rockets south of Honshu on May 7.
Thunderbolts of the 7th Army Air Force strafed and bombed gun positions and radio installations on Truk in the Carolines through intense anti-aircraft fire on May 7. On the same date, Liberators of this force bombed the runways on Marcus Island.