Description:

ALFRED JODL NEGOTIATES AND SIGNS GERMANY'S SURRENDER
ALFRED JODL (1890 - 1946) Hitler's Chief of Operations who signed the act of military surrender, tried at Nuremberg for war crimes and executed. Historically important lot of original carbons of three radiograms sent from SHAEF FORWARD in Reims from the day before and the day of the German surrender there, May 6th and 7th, 1945. Two of the radiograms are retained copies of messages (sent in English per Allied insistence) by Jodl desperately seeking Chancellor Donitz's approval of Eisenhower's surrender terms, the last telegram declaring the surrender very early on the morning of May 7, 1945. During negotiations with Lieut. General WALTER BEDELL SMITH and British Major Gen. KENNETH STRONG, Field Marshal Jodl was desperate to obtain a 48-hour delay before the official cessation of hostilities in order to move as many men westwards and away from Russian hands as possible. In the first message, sent to Donitz and Field Marshal WILHELM KEITEL on May 6th at 2135 hours, the desperate Jodl begs: 'TO GROSS ADMIRAL DOENITZ AND GENERAL FIELD MARSHALL KEITEL GENERAL EISENHOWER INSISTS WE SIGN TODAY OTHERWISE ALLIED LINES WILL BE CLOSED EVEN TO PERSONS ATTEMPTING TO SURRENDER INDIVIDUALLY AND NEGOTIATIONS BROKEN OFF SEE NO ALTERNATIVE OTHER THAN CHAOS OR SIGNATURE REQUEST IMMEDIATE RADIO CONFIRMATION WHETHER AUTHORIZATION FOR SIGNING THE CAPITULATION CAN BE PUT INTO EFFECT HOSTILITIES WILL CEASE ON 9 MAY O0001 HOURS OUR TIME'. Fifteen minutes later Jodl had his agreement and sent a cryptic follow-up message: 'ORDERS TO THOSE CONCERNED NECESSARY TO TAKE DIRECTION FRANKENSTRUB AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND AMICABLE JODL COLONEL GENERAL' 'Frankenstrub' was the German military's secret plan to move over 1.5 million Germans westward and effectively spare them from capture by the Russians and likely death at the hands of their captors. Finally, on May 7th at 0410 hours, the surrender is announced: 'FROM SHAEF FORWARD...TO (1) AGWAR (2) AMSSO (3) MILITARY MISSION, MOSCOW INFO (4) AFHW (5) SHAEF MAIN (6) SHAEF REAR...REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GERMAN HIGH COMMAND SIGNED THE PAREN TO COMBINE CHIEF OF STAFF AND TO BRITISH CHIEFS OF STAFF FOR ACTION SIGNED EISENHOWER PD THIS IS SCAF 347 PD...
UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER OF ALL GERMAN LAND CMA SEA AND AIR FORCES IN EUROPE TO THE ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCES AND SIMULTANEOUSLY TO
THE SOVIET HIGH COMMAND AT ZERO ONE FOUR ONE HOURS CENTRAL EUROPEAN TIME SEVEN MAY CHA NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE PD GENERAL SUSLOPAROFF AT TWO THREE ZERO ONE HOURS [C]ENTRAL EUROPEAN TIME EIGHT MAY AT WHICH TIME ALL ACTIVE OPERATIONS WILL CEASE PD PARA THREE PD REQUEST MISSION INFORM SOVIET HIGH COMMAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE PD PARA THIS HEADQUARTERS PENDING AN ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE THREE GOVERNMENTS PD' Very good condition. Thus, there could have been only one of these messages - the six recipients of the telegrams listed in the text of the last telegram would certainly have been the first to have been advised of the surrender!

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June 26, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

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