In the early hours of May 9, 1945, in the dining room of a school in Karlshorst, south of Berlin, the signing ceremony of Germany's surrender to the Allies was held. It is proceeding solemnly. On behalf of Germany in signing the surrender was German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel. Perhaps unwillingly, or deliberately showing disdain for the Allies, Keitel raised his scepter and gave a cold salute to the Allied officers after his appearance. Embarrassingly, no one in the Allies responded to the courtesy.
When he subsequently signed the document, Keitel had wanted his lieutenant to bring it to him.
(Zhukov)
But General Zhukov, who was surrendered on behalf of the Soviet Union, said: "Let them come to me and sign." ”
In desperation, Keitel had to silently walk up to Zhukov, quickly take off a glove, and hastily sign the surrender letter. Throughout the process, Keitel's face remained gloomy, as if he had been subjected to endless insults.
In fact, it's perfectly normal for Keitel to feel this way. Because in just two days, Germany surrendered to the Allies twice.
On May 7, 1945, the German representative Jodl formally signed the unconditional surrender at the Western Front headquarters of the Allied Forces in Reims, France. As far as the participants were concerned, the Anglo-American and French representatives were all senior generals, while the Soviet representative was only a major general. Obviously, Germany was more interested in surrendering to the Allies, led by the United States.
It is not surprising that the Germans had such considerations. After all, 4 years ago, the German armored iron horse had invaded the Soviet Union. The broad masses of the Soviet people also suffered great damage in the German offensive. Once the German army chose to surrender to the Soviet army, I am afraid that they would encounter endless difficulties.
However, for this surrender ceremony, Soviet leader Stalin did not approve. In his view, the Soviet Union was the main force in the battle against the German army, and Berlin was also captured by Soviet soldiers after a bloody battle. The Soviet Union, which had made great sacrifices for this, deserved to dominate the entire surrender ceremony. The surrender ceremony of the Allies on the Western Front obviously does not count.
Because of Stalin's tough attitude, the top brass of the American and British allies agreed to this demand after consultation.
Germany, as a loser, clearly has no way to refuse.
It is for this reason that Keitel behaves coldly and dismissively at the surrender ceremony. However, such a move brought him more shame.
(William Keitel)
Born in 1882, Keitel joined the German Artillery Regiment at the age of 19.
Later, Keitel fought in World War I as a lieutenant, where he performed mediocrely and did not get much promotion after the war.
After Hitler came to power, Keitel was appreciated. In the decade from 1931 to 1941, Keitel was promoted from colonel to marshal.
The reason for such a rapid promotion is mainly because Keitel was an avid supporter of Hitler, who was trained by Hitler as a confidant.
In 1938, Keitel was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht. Keitel advised Hitler not to attack Poland. Hitler did not take his advice, however, and the German army eventually swept Poland by lightning.
Before germany's war with the Soviet Union began, Keitel had also advised Hitler not to attack the Soviet Union at the moment. But Hitler did not adopt it.
Since the polish victory example preceded, Keitel also chose to believe in Hitler's ability to make military judgments.
After this incident, he began to obey Hitler's orders completely.
in Rommel
In the Soviet-German War, the German army began to fall into a passive defensive situation after the Battle of Stalingrad. At this time Hitler ordered the German troops to hold the Soviet offensive. During this time, whenever a German defensive line was breached by the Soviets, Keitel would always execute the commander of the front line for disobeying Hitler's orders.
Keitel's misdeeds of aiding and abetting eventually led to the complete collapse of the German Eastern Front. In the summer of 1944, Rommel told Keitel: There is no hope of victory in germany at present, and you should ask the Fuehrer to end the war as soon as possible.
Keitel also believed that there was no hope of victory in the war, but he always trusted hitler's genius leadership, and the war may have the potential to end in peace talks.
Eventually, after completing the signing ceremony for Germany's unconditional surrender, Keitel was arrested and imprisoned within a few days, becoming a prisoner of the order.
On October 1, 1946, Keitel was sentenced to death at the Nuremberg Military Tribunal. Keitel, who heard the verdict, had a calm face, and even fifteen days later, when he was sent to the gallows, Keitel did not make much expression.
Keitel is a typical foolish general. Unfortunately, the object of his allegiance was a demon who provoked a war against humanity. His loyalty helped him get lightning promotion, but it eventually led him to hell.
(Reference: History of the Second World War)