In the early hours of 7 May 1945, the Chief-of-Staff of the German Armed Forces High Command, General Alfred Jodl, signed unconditional surrender documents to the Allies at the SHAEF headquarters in Rheims, France.
General Franz Bohme also announced the unconditional surrender of German troops in Norway on 7 May. It included the phrase "All forces under German control to cease active operations at 23:01 hours Central European Time on 8 May 1945." These documents of surrender ended the European conflict of World War II.
This most terrible of all wars was characterized by unspeakable atrocities, germ warfare, enormous civilian casualties, the genocide of 5,5 million European Jews, and the use of a new and terror-laden weapon of war, the atomic bomb. Estimates of the death toll attributable to the war for military and civilian losses have ranged upward to 60 million, with civilian losses at or more than 50 percent of that total. This is a stark contrast with the losses of WWI, in which such losses were no more than five percent.
The war had a far greater global reach than its predecessor, and over 50 countries or dependencies were listed as having some degree of involvement. This included South Africa, who fought on the side of the Allies. The South African force suffered approximately 9000 casualties and 14 000 injuries, and many soldiers were simply declared missing.
South Africa's contribution to World War II consisted mainly of supplying troops, men and material for the North African and Italian campaigns, with numerous volunteers who worked as pilots for the Royal Air Force.
It is important to note that almost all sources differ greatly on the exact number of casualties during the war.
