Inside the Reich

Germany has been defeated, but not yet occupied; while the Red Army is already at the Oder, the Allies in the West are making slow progress.

On April 27th, American units and the Red Army celebrated "Elbe Day", the first meeting of their troops near Torgau.

Nuremberg has capitulated after bloody urban warfare; at the end of April, the city and its surroundings are a preferred area of operation for camera teams.

On May 6, 1945, Maj. Kirke B. Lawton receives special permission for a ceremony at the Allied headquarters in Reims; the Wehrmacht signs an unconditional surrender on all fronts; WWII ends two days later.

Color archive footage of the events at the end of World War II.