Musée de la Reddition — Attraction in Reims

We arrived at this place one late afternoon in January and the place was empty of all other visitors - we were the only ones. You pay 5 euros to be directed into a small cinema and watch a short video on the significance of Reims in WW2.

After that, you walk up the stairs and walk around a few small rooms displaying French/US/British/Soviet mannequins wearing various military dress. There are also other various war trinkets on display such as newspaper clippings, aeroplane wreckages and detailed ship/submarine models.

You arrive at the war room where the official surrender of the Nazis in WW2 in 1945 occurred. The room is impressive. The walls are covered from floor to ceiling of the original (or very good replicas?) war maps displaying the varying air, train, supply chain networks and battle lines etc in Europe and other key parts of the globe.

Finally, at the end of the room you see the original table where the surrender of the Germans occurred; three German leaders on one side of the table and 8 or 9, or so, Allied leaders on the otherside.

I recommend this museum even to those with out much interest in the second world war as the visual impact of the room is impressive and does a fantastic job of putting you right there in that...

Everybody knows that the 2nd World War ended May 8th 45, at Berlin, right? WRONG, Eisenhower made the Germans sign an unconditional surrender in the early hours of May 7th, at the Allied Forces HQs secretly installed at an inconspicuous lycée at Reims, Champagne region's largest city in France.

After that, Stalin demanded an official signing to placate the Red Army's honour, so it was agreed to happen the next day, becoming the official holiday in many countries, 8th of May.

But you will discover that story and many others in this authentic museum, set up just after the war, maintaining the original mais and seats, takes and ashtrays in the War Room, where General Jodl signed the surrender. The collection hold photos, objects, weapons, uniforms of both Allies and Germans.

You can see a movie in French or English, the whole visit may take 1 hour to 1 hour and a half, or even a bit more if you read everything. All of that just behind Reims' central train station, for 5 to 10 dollars per person....

A must-visit in Reims. A well-preserved moment of history. Allow 45-60 minutes. It begins with a very informative film which provides to background about how the signing occurred in Reims. The room in which the unconditional surrender was signed looks exactly like the photographs from May 7, 1945.

You will be impressed by how small the space is, as well as how little pretense there was surrounding the event.

We visited 2 days before the 80th Anniversary of VE Day. It was a Monday, and the high school next door was in session. Teenagers were everywhere outside, but don't let that fool you. Very few people were in the museum the day we went, and most were an elementary school class on a field trip, and they were incredibly quiet...