V-Day
Tshe Hhelhy Baily Stett
CLEVELAND COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1894 TELEPHONES 1100
VOL. XL1I1—100
ASSOCIATED PRESS NEWS
SHELBY, N. C
MONDAY, MAY 7, 1946
TELEMAT PICTURES
SINGLE COPIES—Be
Greatest War
In All History
Comes To End
Surrender Of Reich To Western Allies And
Russia Made At Eisenhower Headquarters
By The Associated Press
LONDON, May 7.—The greatest war in histor)
ended today with the unconditional surrender of
Germany.
The surrender of the Reich to the Western Al
lies and Russia was made at Gen. Eisenhower's head
quarters at Reims, France by Col. Gen. Gustaf Jodi,
chief of staff for the German army.
This was announced officially after German broadcasts
told the German people that Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz
had ordered the capitaulation of all fighting forces, and call
ed off the U-boat war.
Joy at the news was tempered only by the realization
that the war against Japan remains to be resolved, with
many casualties still ahead.
The end of the European warfare, greatest, bloodiest
and costliest war in human history—It has claimed at least
40,000,000 casualties on both sides in killed, wounded, and
captured—came after five years, eight months, and six days
of strife and overspread the globe.
« Hitler's arrogant armies invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939,
ginning the agony that convulsed the world for 2,319 days.
GERMANY ADMITS DEFEAT
Unconditional surrender of the beaten remnants of his
legions first was announced by the Germans.
The historic news began breaking with a Danish broad
cast that Norway had been surrendered unconditionally by
its conquerors.
Then the new German foreign minister, Ludwig Schwer
in von Krosigk, announced to the German people, shortly aft
er 2 p.m. (8 a.m. Eastern War Time), that “after almost six
years struggle we have succumbed.”
Von Krosigk announced Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz
had “ordered the unconditional surrender of all fighting
German troops.”
The world waited tensely. Then at 9:35 A. M., E.W.T.,
came the Associated Press flash from Reims, France, tell
ing of the signing at Gen. Eisenhower’s headquarters of the
unconditional surrender at 2:41 A. M. French time (8:41
P. M., E.W.T.) Germany had given up to the western Al
lies and to Russia.
LONDON GOES WILD __ _
London went wild at the news. Crowds jammed Picca
dilly Circus. Smiling throngs poured out of subways and
lined the streets.
(Cheers went up in New York, too, and papers showered
down from skyscrapers.)
SOUR NOTES
A sour note came from the German-controlled
radio at Prague. A broadcast monitored by the
Czechoslovak government offices in London said
the German commander in Czechoslovakia did not
recognize the surrender of Admiral Doenitz and
would fight on until his forces “have secured free
passage for German troops out of the country.” But
the Prague radio earlier announced the capitulation
of Breslau, long besieged by Russian forces.
The BBC said telephone conversations were going on
between London, Washington and Moscow in order to fix
the exact hour of the V-E Day announcement by President
THIS IS HIS DAY!
How Allies Won; Cost In Lives, 30 Millions
Killed, Injured And Captured, On Both Sides
SHELBIANS
GIVE THANKS
Joyful Nows Of Victory In
Europe Spreads "Like
Wild Fire"
War weary and thankful Shelby
citizens rejoiced with the world to
day at the close of the European
war. The joyful news spread over
the city like wildfire soon after the
radios began telling the story this
morning.
It was a prayerful group
which met at the Cleveland
county courthouse this morn
ing at 11 o’clock to Join with
all the ministers of the city,
white and negro, In prayers of
I thanksgiving for victory.
Never has the old courthouse
bell in Cleveland rung under more
happy circumstances as it pealed
out the call to the assembly. Crowds
began to collect on the streets.
The fire siren whirred out the
news at 10 o’clock on the dot.
This was followed by the honking
of automobile horns, extra edition
of the Shelby Daily Star and a
deluge of telephone calls to the
Star Office.
THANKFUL PEOPLE
“Has Germany surrendered?”
came the query over the wire to
the newspaper office from more
than one voice.
“Germany has quit," always went
back the reply. “Thank God,” “O
Happy Day," and many such other
ejaculations were made over the
Marshal Karl Gerd von Rundstedt, whom General Eisen
hower once called “the greatest German strategist” of World
War II, tells why Germany lost the war. Captured by Ameri
can Seventh Army units near Bad Tolz in Bavaria, the stiff
necked, typically Prussian officer who had directed German
campaigns in North Africa, Italy and finally in western
Europe gave these reasons: (1) The Allies’ strategic and
tactical bombing campaigns; (2) Germany’s lack of oil and
gasoline for motorized transport; (3) The power of the Allies’
naval guns, which reached deep inland in the time of the
Normandy invasion, making impossible the bringing up of
reserves needed to hurl Allied invasion forces into the
channel.
“Had it not been for these fac
tors,” the 65-year-old Marshal said,
"and had I been able to draw divi
sions and reserves together I am;
positive that the first Allied land- |
ing would not have been successful j
and I could have knocked out the
Allies.” As it was, he continued, “the j
Allies’ terrific airpower” broke up
all bridges and pinned me down!
completely and the terrific power
of the naval guns made it absolutely
impossible for reserves to come up.
There was little petrol and every
thing had to be moved on foot and
in wagons.”
GUNS AND BOMBERS
These bitter words from the de
feated commander, along with his
comments on other phases of the
war, sketched the back ground of!
last week’s events on Europe’s bat- j
tlefields. Air power certainly had i
paved the way for them. In five1
years and eight months of war Am-!
erican and British bombers had ]
rained 2,500,000 tons on the fac-\
tories that made the weapons of the
Wehrmacht. It was air power and
sea power, too, that had first halt
ed Hitler’s jack-booted legions at
the English Channel in June, 1940.
Before the turn in the tide came,
the Wehrmacht had carried Mar
shal von Rundstedt and the other
such as Prussian militarism had
never known before. At their peak
the Nazi conquests stretched from
I the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia al
' most to the Nile, from the Bay Bis
| cay almost to the Caspian Sea.
What silenced the trumpets that
I had announced Nazi victories? In
| July, 1942, the British stopped
Rommel at El Alamein, despite the
Axis’ optimistic preparations for a
.triumphal march into Cairo. In
October the Russians dug into Stal
ingrad and fought to the death to
! hold the Germans at the Volga.
Thus both arms of the pincers that
was closing on the Middle East
were stopped. It was the highwater
mark of the Nazi conquest; Hitler
had overreached himself.
; The liberation of Sicily and the
invasion of Italy rounded out 1943,
I a year of burgeoning Allied hopes.
| D-Day—June 6. 1944—brought a
| great climacteric in the war. There
I after, as the Allies drove toward
the Reich from the west and the
! Russians from the east, it was only
. time that mattered. Axis Europe
fell apart.
! THE GIGANTIC COST
The war that Adolf Hitler be
gan on that black day—Sept. 1, 1939
—when his planes and tanks swept
eastward into Poland, has in its six
and material resources than any
conflict in history. The total cost
is beyond computation; it will take
: generations to draw up a balance
sheet. Yet here and there estimates
I by experts give clues to the vast
loss of life and treasure.
The most reliable estimates of
battle casualties indicate a death
toll of between nine and ten million
men in the European war. To these
are added another nine or ten mil
lion men permanently disabled,
besides millions more who suffered
slighter wounds. Prisoners are be
lieved to have numbered about
twelve million. Axis and Allied bat
tle loses are believed to have been
approximately equal, or about 15,
000,000 each. Some observers think
Germany may have suffered as
much as four-fifths of the Axis
losses. Russia, it appears, has sus
tained well over-two-thirds of the
Allied losses. American casualties in
the European theatres total about
700,000, of which about 145,000 are
battle deaths.
I _
CIVILIAN TOLL
The civilian casualties include the
millions who have succumbed to
disease and starvation or have been
murdered in Nazi concentration
camps. They include, too, other
millions who have survived but
whose minds and bodies will con
tinue to bear the marks of their
long ordeal. No accurate total is
possible but certain figures give
glimpses of the civilian toll. British
civilian casualties from enemy
bombings and the robot and V-2
weapons numbered about 145,000.
Of Poland’s pre-war population of
35.000. 000, it is believed that nearly
10.000. 000 have perished or “dis
appeared”—a large proportion of
them into Nazi death camps.
; War expenditures by the United
Nations by February of this year
were estimated to have reached
$500 billions. The cost to the United
Surrender Is
Signed 8:41 PM
E. W. T. Sunday
Signed At Eisenhower Headquarters By Rep
presentatives U. S., Germany. France.
Others
By EDWARD KENNEDY
REIMS, France, May 7.—IAP)—Germany sur
rendered unconditionally to the Western Allies end
Russia at 2:41 A. M. French time today.
(This was at 8:41 P. M., Eastern War Time
Sunday).
The surrender took place at a little red school
house which is the headquarters of Gen. Eisenhower.
The surrender which brought the war in Europe to A
formal end after five years, eight months and six days of
bloodshed and destruction was signed for Germany by CoL
Gen. Gustav-Jodi.
It was signed for the Supreme Allied command by Lieu
tenant General Walter Bedell Smith, chief of staff for Gen
eral Eisenhower.
It was also signed by General Ivan Susloparoff for Rus
sia and by General Francois Sevez for France.
General Eisenhower was not present at the signing, but
immediately afterward Jodi and his fellow delegate, General
Admiral Hans George Friedeburg, were received by the
Supreme Commander.
They were asked sternly if they understood the sur
render terms imposed upon Germany and if they would be
carried out by Germany.
They answered Yes.
Germany, which began the war with a ruthless attack
upon Poland, followed by successive aggressions and brutal
ity in internment camps, surrendered with an appeal to the
victors for mercy toward the German people and armed
forces.
After signing the full surrender, Jodi said he wanted to
speak and was given leave to do so.
“With this signature,” he said in soft-spoken German,
“the German people and armed forces are for better or worse
delivered into the victors’ hands.”
“In this war which has lasted more than five years
both have achieved and suffered more than perhaps any
other people in the world.”
By The Associated Press
Col. Gen. Gustav Jodi who signed the unconditional sur
render for Germany apparently is the same as Gen. Alfred
Jodi who was wounded last July 20 in the attempted assasin
ation of Adolf Hitler.
The surrender dispatch said Jodi was the new German
army chief of staff.
BESS'-. ~
Precisely when he became chief of staff was not clear
Col. Gen Heinz Gyderian had occupied that position until
the closing days of the siege of Berlin. His fate and wher
abouts has not been reported since Berlin fell.
On March 17, Jodi inspected the Bavarian redouv'
where the nazis had hoped to make their last stand. Back
in 1942, Jodi was rei