Fleas winners of wars

"The only winners of a war are the fleas. We fatten them with our flesh"

A German Lieutenant the day before the beginning of the battle at Kursk. Probably the most decisive tank battle of World War ll, which proved a stunning victory for the Soviet Army.

Sixty nine years ago this week the 'Instrument of Surrender' was signed in Reims and in Karlshorst.

In Reims on May 8, 1945 Generals Smith and Jodl signed.  At Soviet HQ on May 9 (Russian time) in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, Field Marshal General Georgii Zhukov accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, signed by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel.

Anyone who travels from Berlin Schönefled Airport to Berlin City Centre on the regional train will pass Karlshorst Station.

From 1945 until the unification of Germany a ceremonial guard of Soviet soldiers stood at the main entrance to the museum at Karlshorst  After the unification they were replaced by troops of the Bundeswehr. Today there are no soldiers at the historic site.

The room where the signing took place has been preserved as it was on May 8/9 1945, down to the seating arrangement.

Jodl and Keitel were executed after Nürnberg. In 1953 a German Court overturned the main charges against Jodl and his confiscated property was returned to hie wife.