May 1945
Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945. By April 1945, Germany was caught in a vice
as U.S. and British forces moved in from the west and Soviet forces moved in
from the east. U.S. and Soviet troops met on April 25, 1945 at Torgau on the
Elbe River about 60 miles southwest of Berlin. Soviet troops took Berlin on May
2. Two days earlier, Hitler had committed suicide in his underground bunker in
Berlin. On May 7, German military leaders surrendered unconditionally to U.S.
General Dwight Eisenhower in Rheims, France. On May 8, the United States and
Europe celebrated VE (Victory in Europe) Day.
The United States and Britain, however, were still at war with Japan.
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