On this date, 8 May 1945, Dönitz authorised Keitel to sign an unconditional surrender in Berlin. Although Germany had surrendered to the Allies a day earlier, Stalin had insisted on a second surrender ceremony in Berlin.
I will post information about this Field Marshal AKA Lackeitel, Wilhelm Keitel from Wikipedia and other links.
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Wilhelm Keitel |
Birth name | Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel |
Nickname(s) | "Lakeitel" |
Born | 22 September 1882 Helmscherode, Brunswick, German Empire |
Died | 16 October 1946 (aged 64) Nuremberg, Allied-occupied Germany |
Allegiance | German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany (to 1945) |
Service/branch | |
Years of service | 1901–1945 |
Rank | |
Commands held | OKW |
Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Wound Badge of 20 July 1944 (in black) Golden Party Badge |
Relations | Bodewin Keitel (brother) |
Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (22 September 1882 – 16 October 1946) was a German field marshal, chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces), and also served as Minister of War. At the Allied court at Nuremberg he was tried, sentenced to death, and hanged as a war criminal. He was the highest-ranking German officer to be tried at Nuremberg.
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