How the end of World War II in Europe is rooted in French city of Reims

On 7 May,1945, the German High Command, led by General Alfred Jodl, signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces and effectively ended the Second World War. The signing took place in a no-frills war room in a school building in Reims in northeastern France.

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German General Alfred Jodl (3rd R), flanked by Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg (2nd R) and Colonel Wilhelm Oxenius (L), sign the unconditional German surrender document at the Allied headquarters in Reims, eastern France, on 7 May 1945. AFP - -

Today, the room is still standing and is now part of a museum.

"Nothing has changed in this room. The table, the chairs, the maps...everything is in the same state as it was on 7 May 1945," Marie Lefevre of the Musée de la Reddition, told RFI.

The Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) had their headquarters in Versailles, but moved to the school building next to the train station in Reims in February 1945 to better coordinate the final assault against Germany.

SHAEF remained there until the end of May and according to Lefevre the US army then handed the keys to the war room to the city of Reims.

"At the end of July 1945, the city of Reims officially opened the room to the public," she said.

The room in Reims where Germany signed the act of unconditional surrender on 7 May, 1945. © Dhananjay Khadilkar

Lefevre said that for decades, the war room was the only room that was visted. 

"It was only in 1985 that it was decided to create a whole museum (called Muséé de la Reddition) around this room. You can of course find objects and uniforms documenting the Second World War in France and especially in Reims," she said.

"But the most important thing to see here is this war room because it is absolutely unique."