Enunciated by President Franklin Roosevelt at the Casablanca
Conference, January 1943, the policy of “unconditional surrender”
brings about the total defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. On May 7, 1945,
at Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s
headquarters in Rheims, France, the German high command signed an
unconditional surrender document. Present to take photos at the
signing was Technical Sergeant Al Meserlin, General Eisenhower’s
wartime photographer. This presentation will detail the circumstances
leading up to the signing and enable you to actually witness history
via the photos Sgt. Meserlin took of the historic event. Victory in
Europe (VE) Day was officially declared the next day. PAUL E. ZIGO, a
history professor, author and military historian is the founder and
director, of the World War II Era Studies Institute. The institute is
dedicated to furthering one’s knowledge and understanding of the WW
II era and its impact on history. He is a graduate of Temple
University and the United States Army War College. He authored and
edited in 2009 Witnessing History: The Eisenhower Photographs
featuring all the photos of General Dwight D. Eisenhower taken by his
personal wartime photographer, Al Meserlin. Zigo was also the
executive producer and narrator of the cable network series Triumphant
Spirit: America’s World War II Generation Speaks from 2001 to 2004.
In 2014, he authored the book The Longest Walk: The Amazing Story of
the 29th Inf. Division on D-Day 6 June 1944 and in 2017, he
co-authored the book Bataan – When Men Have To Die, an accounting of
the fall of the Philippine Islands to the Japanese in 1942. Recently,
Mr. Zigo authored and published the book Unconditional Surrender:
Witnessing History – May 1945. He is a 30 year veteran of the United
States Army retiring as a Colonel and is a founding member of the
National Museum of the US Army. This program is free and open to all.
No registration needed.
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25/02/2020 Last update