Bidspirit auction | Real photo postcard documenting the

Real photo postcard documenting the return of the ”Surrender Room” to the Municipality of Reims - July 7, 1945 - Real photo postcard documenting the ceremony marking the return of the ”Surrender Room, ” in which Nazi Germany signed the Instrument of Surrender with the Allied Powers, to the French authorities - with an official ink stamp from the site of the historic event in Reims, commemorating the ceremony of the room's transfer to the municipality - July 7, 1945, and a Liberation Day stamp. The photograph depicts the façade of the red-brick building of the Technical and Vocational School in the city of Reims, France, where General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe) established his Supreme Headquarters (SHAEF). On the first floor of the school was the famous room - the ”Surrender Room” (Salle de la Reddition). In this room, at 2:41 a.m. on May 7, 1945, the German Generaloberst Alfred Jodl signed the document of unconditional surrender of all Nazi German forces to the Allied Powers. Above the main entrance can be seen a sign bearing the name of the institution: Collège Moderne et Technique. On the reverse of the postcard appear two blue ink stamps. This is an official commemorative event stamp bearing the French text: ”SALLE DE LA REDDITION (7 MAI 1945 - REIMS) CÉRÉMONIE DE LA REMISE DE LA SALLE A LA VILLE - 7 JUIL 45” - ”Surrender Room (May 7, 1945) - Reims / Ceremony of the Transfer of the Room to the Municipality - July 7, 1945.” The stamp commemorates July 7, 1945 (exactly two months after the surrender), the day on which the Allied armies transferred the administration and ownership of this historic room back to the Municipality of Reims so that it could become a permanent historical museum. On the right appears the official French postage stamp with a face value of 4 francs (4F), printed in a reddish-brown color and depicting allegorical figures raising the French flag against the backdrop of the famous Cathedral of Reims. Printed across the stamp in bright red lettering is: ”RF LIBÉRATION” (the initials of République Française - the French Republic, alongside the word ”Liberation”). These were special stamps issued by the French postal service immediately after the liberation of the country from Nazi occupation. The postcard was postmarked on the day of the official ceremony within Eisenhower's headquarters and constitutes a rare relic from the moment when the war in Europe came to an end. 9x14 cm. Very good condition.