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NAVAL HISTORY
and
HERITAGE COMMAND
The German and Japanese Surrender
Ceremonies, 1945: Student Packet
Essential Question
D Why were the German and Japanese surrender ceremonies at the end of World War II different?
Wallet card souvenir of the occasion, issued to Lieutenant Robert L. Balfour, USNR, for the
September 2, 1945, surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri. These cards were designed by
Chief Shipfitter Donald G. Droddy and produced by Missouri’s printshop. The cards show
the facsimile signatures of Captain Stuart S. Murray, the ship’s commanding officer; General
of the Army Douglas MacArthur; Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz; and Admiral William F.
Halsey (NH 100856-KN).
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 2
Student Packet:
The German and Japanese Surrender Ceremonies, 1945
Context
World War II
World War II ended in 1945, when the Germans and Japanese surrendered to the Allies, including the United States.
In Asia, the war had begun with the Japanese invasion of China in 1937. The war in Europe began in 1939, when the
Germans invaded Poland. That event transformed a series of unrelated conflicts into a global war involving Germany’s
allies, including Japan, and Poland’s allies, including France, Britain, and those countries’ overseas empires. In June 1941,
Germany invaded the Soviet Union, pulling Russia and the other Soviet republics into what became the most destructive
war in modern history. The United States remained neutral, however, while nonetheless pursuing a foreign policy that
would hurt German and Japanese chances of victory.
U.S. neutrality came to an end on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
gravely damaging the Pacific Fleet and killing thousands of Americans. The following day, Congress declared war on Japan.
Germany and Italy, in keeping with promises their leaders had made to Japan, declared war on the United States in turn.
For the next three and a half years, the United States and its allies fought a multifront war in the Pacific, North Africa,
and eventually Europe. These battles culminated in the defeat of Germany and Italy in spring 1945. German military
leaders surrendered at two separate ceremonies—one led by the Americans at Reims, France, and the other by the Soviets
at Berlin, Germany’s former capital. On the other side of the world, the Japanese fought on.
The nature of Japan’s defeat was less straightforward than that of Germany, with historians still debating the relative
importance of the factors—factors that include the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in August 1945. Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945, in a ceremony on board the battleship USS Missouri at
Tokyo Bay.
Surrender Ceremonies
Surrender ceremonies developed in different cultures and contexts over the course of thousands of years of recorded
history. What began as the need to organize the steps whereby two warring parties came together to conclude the legal
agreement of peace developed into a complex set of rituals and expectations: Who stands, who sits, who signs, who speaks?
Surrender ceremonies, worked out in advance and often at the sole discretion of the winning side of the war, ensured an
orderly transition from war to peace and also protected the dignity of both sides.
With the advent of mass media, these surrender ceremonies gained public attention. People wanted to see images of the
ceremonies in newspapers and on cinema screens; they wanted to read the eyewitness testimony in magazines and books.
Military officials therefore took pains to craft surrender ceremonies that would be meaningful to broad audiences in 1945
and afterward. The German and Japanese surrender ceremonies of 1945 reflect the new publicity of surrender ceremonies
more generally as well as the particular messages U.S. and Allied officials were trying to convey to the people back home.
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 3
Relevant Dates in 1945
The German and Japanese Surrender Ceremonies, 1945
May 7, 1945
Germany surrenders in a U.S.-led ceremony at Reims, France.
May 9, 1945
Germany surrenders again in a Soviet-led ceremony at Berlin.
July 26, 1945
The Allies communicate to Japan the “Potsdam Declaration,” which insists on Japan’s
unconditional surrender as the only way to stop the war.
August 6, 1945
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
August 9, 1945
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.
August 9, 1945
The Soviet Union invades Manchuria, the Japanese-held territory closest to the
Japanese Home Islands.
August 12, 1945
Emperor Hirohito of Japan tells that country’s military and civilian leaders that he
prefers to surrender rather than continue the war.
August 15, 1945
Emperor Hirohito addresses his people over the radio and tells them that the
war is lost.
August 19, 1945
Japanese officials fly to Manila to be briefed by the Americans on their plans for the
occupation of Japan.
August 28, 1945
The United States commences its occupation of Japan.
September 2, 1945
Japan surrenders in a formal ceremony on board USS Missouri.
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 4
Source 1. Photographs of the German Surrender at Reims, May 1945
About This Source
Who took these photographs? U.S. military photographers
What are they? photographs of the German surrender ceremony
Where were they taken? the Ecole Professionelle, a school in Reims, France
When were they taken? May 7, 1945
Why were they taken? to document and publicize the German surrender to the Allies
T
he press arrived at the Ecole Professionelle, a school in Reims, France, after midnight on May 7, 1945.
They waited in the school’s courtyard for the arrival of the German delegation, who would sign the
instrument of surrender ending Germany’s war against the Allies.
Eventually, around 2 a.m., a motorcade arrived in the school driveway, and the Germans and others entered
the building, followed by members of the press.
The proceedings took place in the so-called “War Room” of the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary
Force (SHAEF). Battle maps and casualty figures were affixed to the walls. The maps showed the Germans’ swift
retreat, and the casualty figures indicated the cost in Allied lives of the effort to push the German army back to
Berlin. Military photographers were positioned at various points in the brightly lit room to get the clearest shots
of what was about to happen. Allied representatives checked over the documents one last time (below, left), and an
aide brought in the pens (below, right).
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 5
An L-shaped table stood in the middle of the room and was surrounded by 13 chairs. Just before 2:30 a.m.,
the Allied representatives came in and moved toward their places. After several more minutes, General Walter
Bedell Smith, SHAEF Chief of Staff, gave some sort of signal for the Germans, waiting outside, to be admitted
to the room.
Escorted by Major General K. W. D. Strong, they entered in absolute silence: Colonel General Alfred Jodl,
chief of the Wehrmacht; Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, commander of the German navy; and Major
Wilhelm Oxenius, an aide. An American journalist present described Jodl’s face as “stiff, frozen, inscrutable,”
whereas Friedeburg “looked more relaxed,” and Oxenius, “ill at ease, like a schoolboy confronting the Board of
Education.”
1
An Allied officer showed the Germans where to sit, directly across from the principal Allied officers. Facing
each other, the parties stood at attention, bowed, and then took their seats.
Smith spoke, explaining that there would be four copies of the instrument of surrender to sign, as Strong
placed the documents within reach of the German officers. Strong then translated Smith’s explanation—that these
documents would officialize Germany’s unconditional surrender to the Allies, and were the German delegates
prepared to sign? Jodl nodded yes, and the signings commenced.
After each copy received its German signatures, it was passed across the table to receive Allied
countersignatures.
1. Relman Morin, “In a Schoolhouse at Rheims, Four Copies Were Signed,” in World War II: Unforgettable Stories and Photographs by
Correspondents of the Associated Press (New York: Rosetta Books, 2005), 179–80.
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 6
When the signing was over, Jodl stood and addressed the room, his eyes cast down toward the table: “General:
With this signature, the German people and German armed forces are, for better or worse, delivered into the
victor’s hands. In this war, which has lasted more than five years, both have achieved and suffered perhaps more
than any other people in the world. In this hour I can only express the hope that the victor will treat them with
generosity.”
2
There was no response.
Jodl, Friedeburg, and Oxenius were then escorted out of the room and down a corridor, to the office of
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, SHAEF’s commander, where he and his deputy, Chief Marshal Sir Arthur
Tedder, were waiting. Eisenhower asked the men whether they understood what they had just signed—the terms
of the unconditional surrender—and whether they would really do as those terms required: lay down all arms and
surrender all territory to the Allies without protest or further negotiation. On all counts, the answer was Yes, and
then, after a silence, the three Germans left the room and were escorted out of the building.
The Allied leaders stayed in the building and posed for photographs, Eisenhower holding the now historic set
of fountain pens and everyone smiling for the cameras.
3
2. Quoted in Forrest C. Pogue, United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations; The Supreme Command (Washington,
DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1954), 488. It is unclear from the sources whether Jodl made this statement in English or
German. If the latter, it would have been translated on the spot by Smith.
3. Photographs are from the collections of the National Archives and the Library of Congress, available online and for download
at https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-europe/german-surrender/signing-
instrument.html. Explanatory text by Adam Bisno, PhD, NHHC Communication and Outreach Division.
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 7
Glossary
instrument of surrender
a legal document that bound the Germans to accept defeat and end the fight against the Allies
Allies: the large group of nations fighting Germany and its allies (the Axis Powers) in World War II
Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, the Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon,
Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the
Philippines, Poland, South Africa, the Soviet Union, Syria, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay,
Venezuela, and Yugoslavia.
Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF)
The headquarters of the General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander, Allied forces in northwest Europe
Wehrmacht
The armed forces of Nazi Germany, including the army (Heer), the navy (Kriegsmarine), and the air force (Luftwaffe)
Unconditional surrender
Whereas some surrender agreements come with certain promises made by the victors to the vanquished,
unconditional surrender agreements contain no such promises. A country that surrenders unconditionally, as Germany
did on May 7, 1945, can expect an end to self-government and the imposition of military occupation by the victors.
The former nation-states known as Germany and Austria, as well as their capitals (Berlin and Vienna), were divided into
four zones of occupation in 1945—Soviet, American, British, and French. This arrangement lasted well into the 1950s,
and a U.S. military presence persists down to the present day, a direct result of the unconditional surrender of 1945.
Delivered into the victor’s hands
at the mercy of the Allies
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 8
Source 2. Firsthand Account of the Japanese Surrender Ceremony of
September 2, 1945
About This Source
Who created this?
Stuart S. Murray, the commanding officer of USS Missouri at the time of the Japanese
surrender of September 2, 1945, who was being interviewed by Etta-Belle Kitchen,
also a Navy officer
What is it? an oral history interview
Where was it written? Santa Barbara, California
When was it written? 1970–71
Why was it written?
to record Murray’s experience of these historic events for future generations,
especially historians, students, and Sailors
O
ur instructions had been that the Japanese delegation, which would be headed by [Mamoru] Shigemitsu, would
consist of 11 Japanese. Shigemitsu was [Foreign Minister] and representing the emperor of all the armed forces of
the Japanese Empire. Then there would be three representatives of the civilian government of Japan, three from the
Imperial Army and three from the Imperial Navy. So it would be a total of 11 Japanese.
We also found out from what we had already known that Shigemitsu had a wooden leg; his leg had been blown off in
Shanghai several years before. That presented a problem. General MacArthur had said that he didn't want the Japanese
aboard the Missouri on its weather deck more than five seconds, and he didn’t want them to be even a fraction of a second
late in getting up there. Well, it's kind of hard to try to run something within five seconds. Walking up a gangway, then
across a deck, and then up another deck, and about 20 feet more to get into position, so the only way we figured we could
do it was two parties. So we took young Sailors and took a swab handle and put it down their trousers’ legs so they couldn’t
bend their legs, strap it on them, and they’d get in a small boat just exactly like the one that the delegation would come over
in, and there would be Shigemitsu.
Well, we practiced this about twenty times—how long it took them to get them out of the boat from sitting in it, get up
on the bottom platform of the forward gangway, come up the gangway then onto the ship, across the quarter deck to the
ladder up to the verandah deck, where the surrender would be signed, in front of my cabin. These Sailors were pretty good.
The slowest time in about 20 attempts was one and a half minutes. I figured these Sailors were more ambitious than the
Japanese would be—Shigemitsu’s heart’s not going to be in it—so I doubled the time and figured that three minutes was
the minimum time we had to allow. We can’t allow much more than that or they’ll get there too soon. We thought we had
that all set.
On board Missouri, we fixed up a platform just forward of the surrender deck, as we got to calling it, [for] about 12 or 15
photographers, so they would be right there, in good position. We put another one, but smaller, to hold about 8 or 10, on
the starboard side of it. Then we fixed up [an additional] platform. We could get about 6 or 8 more in there. The rest of the
photographers were placed around in places above.
We had anchored in Tokyo Bay, off Yokosuka, [at] the same spot where Perry had been in 1853. A flag which
Commodore Perry had flown on his ship out in that same location 82 years before: It was flown out in its glass case from
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 9
the Naval Academy Museum. An officer messenger brought it out. We put it on the surrender deck so that everyone there
could see it. It was facing the Japanese. This was a 31-star flag. That’s all the states we had in 1853. I imagine that the
Japanese looked at that when they came up. Since I was behind them, I can’t be sure.
While we were getting ready, someone, I don't know who, suggested that it would be awfully nice to have a card
certifying attendance aboard the Missouri for the ceremony. So a very nice card was made up. It read, on the Rising Sun
background: “This certifies that blank was aboard the USS Missouri at the time the surrender was signed by the Japanese.
Tokyo Bay, September 2, 1945.” We made these cards up so that there would be only one for each person who was
physically aboard the Missouri at that time, and that included the whole crew.
The newspaper correspondents and the photographers arrived at about 7:30. They were told to show their assignment
to the escorts and were taken directly to their places and told to stay there. The escorts stayed all during the ceremony, so
there wouldn’t be any correspondents wandering around, as we knew they would want to do. The photographers, the same
thing: They were taken to their places.
The Japanese were allowed to have a newsreel photographer. My recollection is that there was only one newsreel
photographer (but there might have been two), and he was assigned a position on a gun platform some distance away
from everyone else. I thought there was a possibility he might try to pull a fancy trick with his camera or something, or be
a hero or a kamikaze by taking with him some of the central people. So I had two Marines keep a hand on the leg of the
Jap, put him in his place, and tell him to stay there. And each Marine, with one hand on the Jap’s leg, since the Marines
were down about three or four feet lower, had his other hand on the butt of his Colt .45. There was no question that the
Jap got the word, and it was clear that he didn’t trust those Marines at all, because he was really shivering. He was in his
place, but he was shaking, so I don't know how good his pictures would have been. There was no question he was kept well
under control.
When the Japanese arrived, I was standing at the gangway. I could see where they were. I thought Shigemitsu would
never get moving out of that boat; he must have sat there and wiggled for a full 30 seconds before he made any motion,
it seemed, of getting out. But finally he started up and really and truly just crept out of that boat and up the gangway and
across the deck with the other 10 in the delegation following him, of course, as he was the emperor’s direct representative.
The Japanese proceeded on up and took their positions in line. General MacArthur came out and down and took his
position near the surrender table. He made a few remarks about hoping this would usher in permanent peace and so forth.
Then he turned to the Japanese and asked them please to come forward. He said, “The Japanese emissaries will now come
forward and sign the surrender documents.” Shigemitsu, who was accompanied by one of his civilian representatives, sat in
the big chair, or got into it rather awkwardly.
He seemed to have quite a bit of trouble due to confusion, which, I supposed, under the circumstances, isn’t surprising,
as to where he was to sign. He was kind of fumbling around, and finally, General MacArthur, after what I suppose seemed
like an hour and was probably 5 or 10 seconds, said, “Sutherland, show him where to sign.” So General Sutherland,
MacArthur’s chief of staff, came over from where he had been standing and pointed out the place to sign.
Shigemitsu signed. Then he signed the other document, since one copy was for the Allies and the other was to be taken
back by the Japanese as their official copy.
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 10
Japanese representatives during the surrender ceremony,
September 2, 1945. Standing in front: Foreign Minister
Mamoru Shigemitsu (left) and General Yoshijiru Umezu,
of the Japanese army (right). Behind them are three
representatives each from the Foreign Ministry, the army,
and the navy (USA-C-2719).
Photographers, journalists, and Allied personnel
aboard Missouri for the Japanese surrender ceremony,
September 2, 1945 (NH 2015.30.01).
Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs
the Instrument of Surrender, September 2, 1945, with
Foreign Ministry representative Toshikazu Kase assisting.
Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland, USA, watches
from the opposite side of the table (SC 213700).
Navy carrier planes fly in formation over the U.S.
and British fleets in Tokyo Bay during the Japanese
surrender ceremony, September 2, 1945. Left, USS
Missouri (BB-63), where the ceremonies took place
(80-G-421130).
Just as the ceremony was over, when the Japanese were on their way back to land, there was a fly-by of U.S.
planes overhead. It was really quite a sight to see them flying by.
4
4. Source: Stewart S. Murray, interview with Etta-Belle Kitchen, courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute, recorded from May 1970
through May 1971, issued in 1974, available in the Navy Department Library (Washington, DC) and courtesy of U.S. Naval Institute.
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 11
Glossary
Colt .45
a small firearm
got the word
understood the message
Jap
a shortened form of “Japanese,” derogatory, in normal usage during and after World War II
kamikaze
a Japanese airplane full of explosives, crashed by its pilot deliberately into a target; a suicide attacker
Marines
members of the U.S. Marine Corps, troops trained to fight at sea and on land, especially the shores
newsreel photographer
a cameraman (motion pictures) Delivered into the victor’s hands
swab handle
the long handle of a mop
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 12
Name Date
Worksheet (Formative Assessment)
Directions: Write your answers in complete sentences.
1. Make a list of the main events recorded in Source 1.
2. Why do you think the Allies insisted on photographing the German surrender?
3. What about the photographs and narrative of the German surrender tells you that the people involved knew that
this was a historic event?
4. Why do you think it was so important to rehearse the arrival of the Japanese delegation (Source 2)?
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 13
5. What might Murray mean by the statement, “I figured these sailors were more ambitious than the Japanese would be,”
and what might he be assuming about the Japanese delegation (Source 2)?
6. What can you infer about the meaning of the surrender ceremony for the U.S. Navy Sailors who attended? In your
answer, use at least two specific points from Source 2.
7. Why do you think the U.S. Navy allowed Japanese newsreel photographers (cameramen) on board (Source 2)?
8. What were the assumptions Murray makes about the Japanese cameraman and why (Source 2)?
9. Use Sources 1 and 2 to list the main differences between the surrender ceremony on May 7, 1945, in France, and the
surrender ceremony on September 2, 1945, in Japan.
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 14
Homework (Summative Assessment)
Why were the German and Japanese surrender ceremonies different?
Directions:
Step 1: Read the table below and rank each set of facts from most to least plausible as explanations for the differences
between the two surrender ceremonies. Do so by writing 1 (most plausible), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 (leaset plausible) in
each space.
Step 2: Write a paragraph explaining your top choice. The paragraph should contain a topic sentence, at least one example
from Source 1, and at least two examples from Source 2.
Step 3: Write a paragraph explaining your second choice. The paragraph should contain a topic sentence, at least two
examples from source 1, and at least one example from Source 2.
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 15
Conventional bombing of German
and Japanese cities during
World War II
The United States participated in
the British-led campaign to destroy
Germany’s cities through aerial
bombardment.
The United States led its
own campaign to destroy
Japan’s cities through aerial
bombardment.
Atomic bombing of cities The United States did not drop an
atomic bomb on Germany.
The United States dropped two
atomic bombs on Japan.
Racism against people of German
or Japanese descent before and
during World War II
The United States did not have a
history of racism against people of
German descent, and race played
no role in anti-German propaganda
during World War II.
The United States had a long
history of racism against
people of East Asian descent,
including Japanese people, and
race played a large role in anti-
Japanese propaganda during
World War II.
Policies toward Americans of
German or Japanese descent
during World War II
The United States did not pursue
the imprisonment of Americans of
German ancestry.
The United States imprisoned
Americans of Japanese ancestry
for much of the war.
Timing of each surrender ceremony The German ceremony at Reims
(May 7) happened about one week
after Germany’s leaders began
to communicate their intention
to surrender.
The Japanese ceremony
happened about three weeks
after Japan’s leaders began to
communicate their intention to
surrender.
The nature of the future
occupations of Germany and Japan
According to an agreement
among the Allies, Germany
would be divided into four zones
of occupation, with the Soviet
Union taking a large part of the
northeastern part of the country.
According to an agreement
among the Allies, the United
States would be the main
occupying power, and the Soviet
Union would have no role.
Step 1. Rank the Facts
Facts Related to the Surrender Ceremonies of Germany and Japan in 1945
Rank Topic The German Facts The Japanese Facts
Circumstances of the U.S. entry
into World War II in 1941
German leaders were reluctant to go
to war against the United States and
did so only after Japan attacked the
United States on December 7, 1941.
Japan attacked a U.S. naval base
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on
December 7, 1941.
Circumstances of the U.S. victory
over Germany and Japan in 1945
The Soviet Union fought the largest,
most destructive parts of the land
war against Germany, with assistance
from the United States and other
Allied countries.
The United States fought
the largest, most destructive
parts of the naval war against
Japan, with assistance from the
United Kingdom and other
Allied nations.
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 16
Step 2. Write the paragraph about your top choice.
Step 3. Write the paragraph about your second choice.
Naval History and Heritage Command p. 17
Extension Exercise
Why were the German and Japanese surrender ceremonies different?
Directions:
Write a five-paragraph essay answering the question above. You may incorporate the two paragraphs you wrote
for homework.
Be sure to support your argument by using examples from the sources above and examples from your textbook and/or
other assigned readings that touch on U.S. and world history in the first half of the 20th century.
Limit your response to three pages, 1-inch margins, double-spaced, Times New Roman font, size 12.
