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INSTRUMENT of SURRENDER of all German armed forces in Holland, in northwest Germany including all islands, and in Denmark to Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, General Commanding in Chief, 21st Army Group

Near Luneburg. May 4, 1945. [1]

1. The German Command agrees to the surrender of all German armed forces in Holland, in northwest Germany including the Frisian Islands and Heligoland and all other islands, in Schleswig-Holstein, and in Denmark, to the C.-in-C. 21 Army Group. This to include all naval ships in these areas. These forces to lay down their arms and to surrender unconditionally.

2. All hostilities on land, on sea, or in the air by German forces in the above areas to cease at 0800 hrs. British Double Summer Time on Saturday 5 May 1945.

[1] This first instrument of surrender by Germany of the areas indicated
was superseded by the Rheims instrument of May 7 and the Berlin instrument 
of May 8 (see following documents). Department of State Bulletin, 
July 22, 1945. 

3. The German command to carry out at once, and without argument or comment, all further orders that will be issued by the Allied Powers on any subject.

4. Disobedience of orders, or failure to comply with them, will be regarded as a breach of these surrender terms and will be dealt with by the Allied Powers in accordance with the accepted laws and usages of war.

5. This instrument of surrender is independent of, without prejudice to, and will be superseded by any general instrument of surrender imposed by or on behalf of the Allied Powers and applicable to Germany and the German armed forces as a whole.

6. This instrument of surrender is written in English and in German. The English version is the authentic text.

7. The decision of the Allied Powers will be final if any doubt or dispute arises as to the meaning or interpretation of the surrender terms.

                                            FRIEDEBURG.
B. L. MONTGOMERY                            KINSEL.
    Field-Marshal                           G. WAGNER.
  4 May 1945                                POLECK
    1830 hrs.                               FRIEDEL

INSTRUMENT of SURRENDER of all German forces to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, and to the Soviet High Command

Rheims. May 7, 1945. [2]

1. We the undersigned, acting by authority of the German High Command, hereby surrender unconditionally to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command all forces on land, sea, and in the air who are at this date under German control.

2. The German High Command will at once issue orders to all German military, naval and air authorities and to all forces under German control to cease active operations at 2301 hours Central European time on 8 May and to remain in the positions occupied at that time. No ship, vessel, or aircraft is to be scuttled, or any damage done to their hull, machinery or equipment.

3. The German High Command will at once issue to the appropriate commanders, and ensure the carrying out of any further orders issued by the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and by the Soviet High Command.

4. This act of military surrender is without prejudice to, and will be superseded by any general instrument of surrender imposed by, or on behalf of the

[2] Department of State Bulletin, July 22, 1945. 

United Nations and applicable to GERMANY and the German armed forces as a whole.

5. In the event of the German High Command or any of the forces under their control failing to act in accordance with this Act of Surrender, the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and the Soviet High Command will take such punitive or other action as they deem appropriate.

Signed at Rheims, France, at 0241 on the 7th day of May, 1945.

On behalf of the German High Command.
             JODL

                    IN THE PRESENCE OF: 
On behalf of the Supreme Commander, On behalf of the Soviet High Command
   Allied Expeditionary Force           SOUSLOPAROV.
     W. B. SMITH
F SEVEZ
   Major General, French Army
      (Witness)

Berlin. May 8, 1945. [3]

1. We the undersigned, acting by authority of the German High Command, hereby surrender unconditionally to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and simultaneously to the Supreme

[3] Department of State Bulletin, July 22, 1945. 

High Command of the Red Army all forces on land, at sea, and in the air who are at this date under German control.

2. The German High Command will at once issue orders to all German military, naval and air authorities and to all forces under German control to cease active operations at 2301 hours Central European time on 8th May 1945, to remain in the positions occupied at that time and to disarm completely, handing over their weapons and equipment to the local allied commanders or officers designated by Representatives of the Allied Supreme Commands. No ship, vessel, or aircraft is to be scuttled, or any damage done to their hull, machinery or equipment, and also to machines of all kinds, armament, apparatus, and all the technical means of prosecution of war in general.

3. The German High Command will at once issue to the appropriate commanders, and ensure the carrying out of any further orders issued by the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and by the Supreme High Command of the Red Army.

4. This act of military surrender is without prejudice to, and will be superseded by any general instrument of surrender imposed by, or on behalf of the United Nations and applicable to GERMANY and the German armed forces as a whole.

5. In the event of the German High Command or any of the forces under their control failing to act in accordance with this Act of Surrender, the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force and the Supreme High Command of the Red Army will take such punitive or other action as they deem appropriate.

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6. This Act is drawn up in the English, Russian and German languages. The English and Russian are the only authentic texts.

Signed at Berlin on the 8th day of May, 1945

FRIEDEBURG  KEITEL  STUMPF
On behalf of the German High Command

IN THE PRESENCE OF:
On behalf of the Supreme Commander On behalf of the Supreme High Command
   Allied Expeditionary Force         of the Red Army
      A W TEDDER                         G ZHUKOV

At the signing also were present as witnesses:

F. de LATTRE-TASSIGNY                  CARL SPAATZ
General Commanding in Chief First      General, Commanding United States
   French Army                            Strategic Air Forces

Proclamation by GENERAL EISENHOWER on the unconditional surrender of Germany.

Paris. May 8, 1945. [4]

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,

[4] New York Times, May 9, 1945. 

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 team-work, team-work 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.

"Nazi Germany Has Been Defeated"

Statement by PRESIDENT TRUMAN on the surrender of Nazi Germany.

The White House. May 8, 1945. [5]

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

[5] Department of State Bulletin, July 22, 1945.

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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.

"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."

Radio address and proclamation by PRESIDENT TRUMAN.

Washington. May 8, 1945. [6]

This is a solemn but a glorious hour. I only wish that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day. General 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

[6] Congressional Record, May 10, 1945. 

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 heartbreak 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, 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.

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And now I want to read to you my formal proclamation of this occasion:

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 5 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 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.

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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 8th 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.

[SEAL]                                                HARRY S. TRUMAN.
By the President: 

                                                   JOSEPH C. GREW,
                                              Acting Secretary of State. 

". . . 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."

GENERAL EISENHOWER'S Order of the Day to the Troops.

Paris. May 8, 1945. [7]

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 ingenuity and

[7] New York Times, May 9, 1945. 

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

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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.

". . . In the hope that one day our children may lead a free and secure existence in a peaceful Europe."

Radio address to the German people by GRAND ADMIRAL KARL DOENITZ, [8] President of the German Reich, on the unconditional surrender of Germany.

Flensburg. May 8, 1945. [9]

German men and women: When I addressed the German nation on May 1 telling it that the Fuehrer had appointed me his successor, I said that my foremost task was to save the lives of the German people. In order to achieve this goal, I ordered the German High Command during the night of May 6-7 to sign the unconditional surrender for all fronts.

On May 8 at 23 hours (11 P. M.) the arms will be silent.

German soldiers, veterans of countless battles, are now treading the bitter path of captivity, and thereby making the last sacrifice for the life of our women and children, and for the future of our nation.

[8] Admiral Doenitz was appointed President of the Reich and Supreme 
Commander of the Armed Forces by Hitler on April 29, 1945. Hitler was 
reported to have committed suicide at his command post in the Chancellory 
in Berlin on Tuesday, May 1, 1945. New York Times, May 2, 3, 
December 31, 1945.
[9] New York Times, May 9, 1945. 

We bow to all who have fallen. I have pledged myself to the German people that in the coming times of want I will help courageous women and children, as far as I humanly can, to alleviate their conditions. Whether this will be possible I do not know.

We must face facts squarely. The unity of state and party does not exist any more. The party has left the scene of its activities.

With the occupation of Germany, the power has been transferred to the occupying authorities. It is up to them to confirm me in my function and the Government I have appointed or decide whether to appoint a different one. Should I be required to help our Fatherland, I will remain at my post.

Should the will of the German people express itself in the appointment of a head of state, or should the powers of occupation make it impossible for me to continue in my office remains to be seen.

Duty keeps me in my difficult post for the sake of Germany. I will not remain one hour more than can be reconciled with the dignity of the Reich. I will disregard my person in this matter.

All of us have to face a difficult path. We have to walk it with dignity, courage and discipline which those demand of us who sacrificed their all for us. We must walk it by making the greatest efforts to create a firm basis for our future lives.

We will walk it unitedly. Without this unity we shall not be able to overcome the misery of the times to come. We will walk it in the hope that one day our children may lead a free and secure existence in a peaceful Europe.

On this thorny path, which we all will have to

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tread, I will try to help you as much as is possible, should I remain at my post. Should we succeed in going this way together, this step will be a service to the nation and to the Reich.

Allied statement on defeat and occupation terms for Germany

Washington Release. June 5, 1945. [10]

Statement by the Governments of the United States of America, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and the Provisional Government of the French Republic on consultation with Governments of other United Nations.

By the declaration made at Berlin on June 5 the Governments of the United States, United Kingdom and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Provisional Government of the French Republic have assumed supreme authority with respect to Germany. The Governments of the four powers hereby announce that it is their intention to consult with the Governments of other United Nations in connection with the exercise of this authority.

[10] New York Times, June 6, 1945.

Statement by the Governments of the United States of America, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and the Provisional Government of the French Republic on zones of occupation in Germany.

1. Germany, within her frontiers as they were on Dec. 31, 1937, will, for the purposes of occupation, be divided into four zones, one to be allotted to each power as follows:

An eastern zone to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics;

A northwestern zone to the United Kingdom;

A southwestern zone to the United States of America;

A western zone to France.

The occupying forces in each zone will be under a commander in chief designated by the responsible power. Each of the four powers may, at its discretion, include among the forces assigned to occupation duties under the command of its commander in chief, auxiliary contingents from the forces of any other Allied power which has actively participated in military operations against Germany.

2. The area of "Greater Berlin" will be occupied by forces of each of the four powers. An inter-Allied governing authority (in Russian, Komendatura) consisting of four commandants, appointed by their respective commanders-in-chief, will be established to direct jointly its administration.

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Statement by the Governments of the United States of America, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom, and the Provisional Government of the French Republic on control of machinery in Germany.

1. In the period when Germany is carrying out the basic requirements of unconditional surrender, supreme authority in Germany will be exercised, on instructions from their Governments, by the Soviet, British, United States and French commanders-in-chief, each in his own zone of occupation, and also jointly, in matters affecting Germany as a whole. The four commanders-in-chief will together constitute the Control Council. Each commander-in-chief will be assisted by a political adviser.

2. The Control Council, whose decisions shall be unanimous, will ensure appropriate uniformity of action by the commanders-in-chief in their respective zones of occupation and will reach agreed decisions on the chief questions affecting Germany as a whole.

3. Under the Control Council, there will be a permanent coordinating committee composed of one representative of each of the four commanders-in-chief and a control staff organized in the following divisions (which are subject to adjustment in the light of experience): Military; naval; air; transport; political; economic; finance; reparation, deliveries and restitution; internal affairs and communications; legal; prisoners of war and displaced persons; manpower. There will be four heads of each division, one designated by each power. The staffs of the divisions may include civilian as well as military personnel, and may also in special cases include nationals

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of other United Nations appointed in a personal capacity.

4. The functions of the coordinating committee and of the control staff will be to advise the Control Council, to carry out the council's decisions and to transmit them to appropriate German organs, and to supervise and control the day-to-day activities of the latter.

5. Liaison with the other United Nations Governments chiefly interested will be established through the appointment by such governments of military missions (which may include civilian members) to the Control Council. These missions will have access through the appropriate channels to the organs of control.

6. United Nations organizations will, if admitted by the Control Council to operate in Germany, be subordinate to the Allied control machinery and answerable to it.

7. The administration of the "Greater Berlin" area will be directed by an inter-allied governing authority, which will operate under the general direction of the Control Council, and will consist of four commandants, each of whom will serve in rotation as chief commandant. They will be assisted by a technical staff which will supervise and control the activities of the local German organs.

8. The arrangements outlined above will operate during the period of occupation following German surrender, when Germany is carrying out the basic requirements of unconditional surrender. Arrangements for the subsequent period will be the subject of a separate agreement.

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Declaration regarding the defeat of Germany and the assumption of supreme authority with respect to Germany by the Governments of the United States of America, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United Kingdom, and the Provisional Government of the French Republic.

The German armed forces on land, at sea and in the air have been completely defeated and have surrendered unconditionally and Germany, which bears responsibility for the war, is no longer capable of resisting the will of the victorious powers. The unconditional surrender of Germany has thereby been effected, and Germany has become subject to such requirements as may now or hereafter be imposed upon her.

There is no central government or authority in Germany capable of accepting responsibility for the maintenance of order, the administration of the country and compliance with the requirements of the victorious powers.

It is in these circumstances necessary, without prejudice to any subsequent decisions that may be taken respecting Germany, to make provision for the cessation of any further hostilities on the part of the German armed forces, for the maintenance of order in Germany and for the administration of the country, and to announce the immediate requirements with which Germany must comply.

The representatives of the supreme commands of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and the French Republic, hereinafter called the "Allied representatives," acting by authority of their respective

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Governments and in the interests of the United Nations, accordingly make the following declaration:

The Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom, and the Provisional Government of the French Republic, hereby assume supreme authority with respect to Germany, including all the powers possessed by the German Government, the High Command and any state, municipal or local government or authority. The assumption, for the purposes stated above, of the said authority and powers does not effect the annexation of Germany.

The Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom, and the Provisional Government of the French Republic, will hereafter determine the boundaries of Germany or any part thereof and the status of Germany or of any area at present being part of German territory.

In virtue of the supreme authority and powers thus assumed by the four Governments, the Allied representatives announce the following requirements, arising from the complete defeat and unconditional surrender of Germany with which Germany must comply:

Germany, and all German military, naval and air authorities and all forces under German control shall immediately cease hostilities in all theatres of war against the forces of the United Nations on land, at sea and in the air.

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(A) All armed forces of Germany or under German control, wherever they may be situated, including land, air, anti-aircraft and naval forces, the SS, SA and Gestapo, and all other forces or auxiliary organizations equipped with weapons, shall be completely disarmed, handing over their weapons and equipment to local Allied commanders or to officers designated by the Allied representatives.

(B) The personnel of the formations and units of all forces referred to in Paragraph (A) above shall, at the discretion of the Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the Allied state concerned, be declared to be prisoners of war, pending further decisions, and shall be subject to such conditions and directions as may be prescribed by the respective Allied representatives.

(C) All forces referred to in Paragraph (A) above, wherever they may be, will remain in their present positions pending instructions from the Allied representatives.

(D) Evacuation by the said forces of all territories outside the frontiers of Germany as they existed on Dec. 31, 1937, will proceed according to instructions to be given by the Allied representatives.

(E) Detachments of civil police to be armed with small arms only, for the maintenance of order and for guard duties, will be designated by the Allied representatives.

(A) All aircraft of any kind or nationality in Germany or German-occupied or controlled territories or waters, military, naval or civil, other than aircraft

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in the service of the Allies, will remain on the ground, on the water or aboard ships pending further instructions.

(B) All German or German-controlled aircraft in or over territories or waters not occupied or controlled by Germany will proceed to Germany or to such other place or places as may be specified by the Allied representatives.

(A) All German or German-controlled naval vessels, surface and submarine, auxiliary naval craft, and merchant and other shipping, wherever such vessels may be at the time of this declaration, and all other merchant ships of whatever nationality in German ports, will remain in or proceed immediately to ports and bases as specified by the Allied representatives. The crews of such vessels will remain on board pending further instructions.

(B) All ships and vessels of the United Nations, whether or not title has been transferred as the result of prize court or other proceedings, which are at the disposal of Germany or under German control at the time of this declaration, will proceed at the dates and to the ports or bases specified by the Allied representatives.

(A) All or any of the following articles in the possession of the German armed forces or under German control or at German disposal will be held intact and in good condition at the disposal of the Allied representatives, for such purposes and at such times and places as they may prescribe:

I. All arms, ammunition, explosives, military

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equipment, stores and supplies and other implements of war of all kinds and all other war material;

II. All naval vessels of all classes, both surface and submarine, auxiliary naval craft and all merchant shipping, whether afloat, under repair or construction, built or building;

III. All aircraft of all kinds, aviation and antiaircraft equipment and devices;

IV. All transportation and communications facilities and equipment, by land, water or air;

V. All military installations and establishments, including airfields, seaplane bases, ports and naval bases, storage depots, permanent and temporary land and coast fortifications, fortresses and other fortified areas, together with plans and drawings of all such fortifications, installations and establishments;

VI. All factories, plants, shops, research institutions, laboratories, testing stations, technical data, patents, plans, drawings and inventions, designed or intended to produce or to facilitate the production or use of the articles, materials, and facilities referred to in Sub-Paragraphs I, II, III, IV and V above or otherwise to further the conduct of war.

(B) At the demand of the Allied representatives the following will be furnished:

I. The labor, services and plant required for the maintenance or operation of any of the six categories mentioned in Paragraph (A) above; and

II. Any information or records that may be required by the Allied representatives in connection with the same.

(C) At the demand of the Allied representatives all facilities will be provided for the movement of

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Allied troops and agencies, their equipment and supplies, on the railways, roads and other land communications or by sea, river or air. All means of transportation will be maintained in good order and repair, and the labor, services and plant necessary therefor will be furnished.

(A) The German authorities will release to the Allied representatives, in accordance with the procedure to be laid down by them, all prisoners of war at present in their power, belonging to the forces of the United Nations, and will furnish full lists of these persons, indicating the places of their detention in Germany or territory occupied by Germany. Pending the release of such prisoners of war, the German authorities and people will protect them in their persons and property and provide them with adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical attention, and money in accordance with their rank or official position.

(B) The German authorities and people will in like manner provide for and release all other nationals of the United Nations who are confined, interned or otherwise under restraint, and all other persons who may be confined, interned or otherwise under restraint for political reasons or as a result of any Nazi action, law or regulation which discriminates on the ground of race, color, creed or political belief.

(C) The German authorities will, at the demand of the Allied representatives, hand over control of places of detention to such officers as may be designated for the purpose by the Allied representatives.

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The German authorities concerned will furnish to the Allied representatives:

(A) Full information regarding the forces referred to in Article 2 (A), and, in particular, will furnish forthwith all information which the Allied representatives may require concerning the numbers, locations and dispositions of such forces, whether located inside or outside Germany; (B) Complete and detailed information concerning mines, minefields and other obstacles to movement by land, sea or air, and the safety lanes in connection therewith. All such safety lanes will be kept open and clearly marked; all mines, minefields and other dangerous obstacles will as far as possible be rendered safe, and all aids to navigation will be reinstated. Unarmed German military and civilian personnel with the necessary equipment will be made available and utilized for the above purpose and for the removal of mines, minefields and other obstacles as directed by the Allied representatives.

There shall be no destruction, removal, concealment, transfer or scuttling of, or damage to, any military, naval, air, shipping, port, industrial and other like property and facilities and all records and archives, wherever they may be situated, except as may be directed by the Allied representatives.

Pending the institution of control by the Allied representatives over all means of communication, all

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radio and telecommunication installations and other forms of wire or wireless communications, whether ashore or afloat, under German control, will cease transmission except as directed by the Allied representatives.

The forces, nationals, ships, aircraft, military equipment and other property in Germany or in German control or service or at German disposal, of any other country at war with any of the Allies, will be subject to the provisions of this declaration and of any of the proclamations, orders, ordinances or instructions issued thereunder.

(A) The principal Nazi leaders as specified by the Allied representatives, and all persons from time to time named or designated by rank, office or employment by the Allied representatives as being suspected of having committed, ordered or abetted war crimes or analogous offenses, will be apprehended and surrendered to the Allied representatives.

(B) The same will apply in the case of any national of any of the United Nations who is alleged to have committed any offense against his national law, and who may at any time be named or designated by rank, office or employment by the Allied representatives.

(C) The German authorities and people will comply with any instructions given by the Allied representatives for the apprehension and surrender of such persons.

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The Allied representatives will station forces and civil agencies in any or all parts of Germany as they may determine.

(A) In the exercise of the supreme authority with respect to Germany assumed by the Government of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United Kingdom, and the Provisional Government of the French Republic, the four Allied Governments will take such steps, including the complete disarmament and demilitarization of Germany, as they deem requisite for future peace and security.

(B) The Allied representatives will impose on Germany additional political, administrative, economic, financial, military and other requirements arising from the complete defeat of Germany. The Allied representatives, or persons or agencies duly designated to act on their authority, will issue proclamations, orders, ordinances and instructions for the purpose of laying down such additional requirements, and of giving effect to the other provisions of this declaration. All German authorities and the German people shall carry out unconditionally the requirements of the Allied representatives, and shall fully comply with all such proclamations, orders, ordinances and instructions.

This declaration enters into force and effect at the date and hour set forth below. In the event of failure on the part of the German authorities or

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people promptly and completely to fulfill their obligations hereby or hereafter imposed, the Allied representatives will take whatever action may be deemed by them to be appropriate under the circumstances.

This declaration is drawn up in English, Russian, French and German languages. The English, Russian and French are the only authentic texts.

BERLIN, JUNE 5, 1945.

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