Eisenhower's signed copy of Nazi surrender document that ended WWII on sale at ... trends now
A signed copy of the Nazi surrender document which ended the Second World War in Europe has gone on sale for $3.25 million (£2.69million).
The agreement, signed on May 7, 1945, in Reims, France was one of five copies of the historical document which brought an end to six years of fighting in Europe.
It was originally owned by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Eisenhower gifted it to a trusted member of staff who later sold it to a private collector who owned it for 36 years until his death last year.
Eisenhower refused to speak to the German delegation until the surrender document had been signed. It was signed in Reims, in France, in May 1945
The document is signed by German General Alfred Jodl, Lt. General Walter Bedell Smith on behalf of the British and Americans, Gen. Ivan Susloparov on behalf of the Soviet Union and Maj.General Francois Sevez for the French
Last night rare manuscript dealer Gary Zimet told the MoS: ‘This is one of the most important documents in 20th century history.
'There are only four other copies and they are in the National Archives of Great Britain, the United States, Russia and France.
'This is a unique piece of history and demonstrates that good triumphed over evil in a war which cost 60 million people their lives.’
The document was signed in a classroom of a small schoolhouse in Reims, 90 miles north of Paris, which served as the headquarters of General Eisenhower, then the Supreme Allied Commander. He would become US President in 1953.
Under the heading ‘Act of
