On May 4, 1945, at 18:30 hours, German forces in northwest Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands formally surrendered to Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery of the British 21st Army Group. The historic event took place at Montgomery’s tactical headquarters, located on Lüneburg Heath, approximately 50 kilometers southeast of Hamburg, Germany.
German High Command attending the unconditional surrender were Colonel General Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, who had become Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) after Admiral Dönitz succeeded Hitler as Reich President. Von Friedeburg led the German delegation and signed the surrender documents. He was accompanied by General Eberhard Kinzel representing the German Army High Command (OKH), Rear Admiral Gerhard Wagner, and other staff officers.
The surrender covered all German forces in the northwestern sector of the European theater, notably including General Blumentritt’s 1st Parachute Army, Colonel-General Kurt Student’s Army Group H, and remaining units of the German Navy and Luftwaffe in that region. The capitulation included over one million German troops, who laid down their arms to Montgomery’s forces.
Field Marshal Montgomery accepted the surrender with characteristic composure, standing beside his staff and Union Jack flags. The agreement stipulated that all hostilities in the specified areas would cease at 08:00 on May 5, 1945. This surrender was among the first major capitulations preceding Germany’s unconditional surrender to the Allied High Command in Reims and Berlin on May 7–8.
The highlight of this display is an original copy of the instrument of surrender of the German Army to Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery. Last minute additions to the document are in ink in Montgomery’s hand. This document was presented to LCol Trumbull Warren, OBE – a 48th Highlander and Field Marshall Montgomery’s Personal Assistant from early 1944 to the end of the war.
