On May 7, Dönitz authorized General Alfred Jodl, to sign the unconditional surrender of German forces in [[the West]] to the American and British forces in [[Reims]]. On May 9, shortly after midnight Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signed the surrender document to the Russian forces. | On May 7, Dönitz authorized General Alfred Jodl, to sign the unconditional surrender of German forces in [[the West]] to the American and British forces in [[Reims]]. On May 9, shortly after midnight Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signed the surrender document to the Russian forces. |