The German capitulation

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The German capitulation

  • Point of Interest
  • 5 Mei Plein 1, 6703 CD Wageningen, Pays-Bas

On 5 May 1945 German commander general Blaskowitz met with Canadian general Foulkes in Hotel de Wereld in Wageningen. There they negotiated the surrender document for all German forces in the Netherlands, which they signed the next day. The occupation of the Netherlands had come to an end.

In May 1940 the German army launched its offensive against France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Using Blitzkrieg (sudden and overwhelming) tactics the German armed forces overran the Allied forces and achieved a spectacular victory. The Dutch army held out for five days but was in the end unable to halt the German advance. The German occupation of the Netherlands, which was to last for five years, had begun.

In June 1944 the Allies launched their invasion of Western Europe in Normandy. After breaking out from the Normandy beachheads they made remarkable progress. In September 1944 the liberation of the Netherlands seemed close at hand. The Allies launched Operation Market Garden that liberated much of the Southern part of the country. At Arnhem the German forces thwarted the Allied advance. As a result the Northern part of the country remained German-occupied until the spring of 1945.

By May 1945 the situation for Nazi-Germany became untenable. Russian forces had taken most of Berlin, Adolf Hitler had committed suicide and German military resistance was crumbling everywhere.

On 4 May Field Marshal Montgomery accepted the surrender of all German forces in Northwest-Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. Because it was feared that the German 25th Army would continue to hold out in the Netherlands its commander general Blaskowitz met with Canadian general Foulkes in Hotel de Wereld in Wageningen. On 5 May they negotiated a more detailed surrender document for all German forces in the Netherlands, which they signed the next day. The occupation of the Netherlands had come to an end.

The German capitulation

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