Monday
The surrender is signed, and nobody is allowed to say so
Germany signed at Reims at 2:41 in the morning. An AP correspondent broke the embargo, the world half-believed it for a whole day, and the official announcement was held until the next afternoon.
Opening the day…
The night of
Overnight and early morning
Jodl signed the act of military surrender at Allied headquarters in a schoolhouse at Reims. Thomas Cadett of the BBC was in the room and his account of witnessing the signing survives. The three governments had agreed to announce together on the 8th; the signature was hours old before anybody could legally say it.
Morning and midday
Edward Kennedy of the Associated Press broke the embargo and the story went round the world. Howard K. Smith reported the German surrender for CBS; NBC carried it; Kaltenborn commented on the end of the war in Europe; the CBC's Gerald Clark reported the unconditional signing and Canada started celebrating without official permission. The BBC said Berlin had fallen and then, in John Snagge's voice, that tomorrow would be V-E Day.
Afternoon and evening ET
AFRS put out a V-E Day special with a bill of stars for troops who were still in the field. The domestic schedule mostly held — Cavalcade of America, the Whistler, Lum and Abner — while the newsrooms sat on the biggest story of the decade waiting for three capitals to agree on a clock.
Where this comes from
