The Netherlands / Vector of Memory
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Wageningen was liberated on 17 April 1945 by troops of the British 49th Infantry Division. But nobody was there to celebrate. The city had been evacuated on 1 October 1944 and German troops had left Wageningen before the arrival of the Allies.
The capitulation of the German armies in the Netherlands, North-West Germany and Denmark was signed on 4 May 1945 on the Lüneburger Heide in Germany. From 5 May onwards, they had to follow the orders of the Allies.
The Allied orders were presented by the Canadian General Foulkes on 5 May 1945 in Hotel De Wereld to General Blaskowitz, commander of the German army in the Netherlands. Blaskowitz requested a day's postponement to gather the necessary information on the German troop strength, arms depots and ammunition stocks, among other things. The Orders to German Commanders on Surrender were therefore signed on 6 May, although the document bears the date 5 May 1945.