A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SURRENDER MEMORIAL AT LUNEBURG HEATH, SIGNED BY FIELD MARSHALL BERNARD MONTGOMERY
An ...

A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SURRENDER MEMORIAL AT LUNEBURG HEATH, SIGNED BY FIELD MARSHALL BERNARD MONTGOMERY
An excellent remembrance of the historic May 4, 1945 German surrender at Luneburg Heath, a photograph of the site of the surrender bearing a fine inscription and signature by the British signatory to the surrender, Field Marshal BERNARD LAW MONTGOMERY (1887-1976). The 11.5 x 14 inch photo (overall) depicts Montgomery gazing at the stone memorial with bronze plaque which reads: "Here, on 4th May 1945, a delegation from the German High Command surrendered unconditionally to Field-Marshal Montgomery all land, sea and air forces in north-west Germany, Denmark and Holland" At the top of the card, Montgomery has written: "Memorial of the German surrender on Luneburg Heath 4/5 May 1945". At bottom, he adds a Christmas, 1950 inscription to a friend and signs "Montgomery of Alamein Field-Marshal". Fine condition. Regrettably, that memorial would not remain at Luneburg Heath as long as most veterans would have hoped. It had replaced a wooden memorial placed there in November, 1945. Being on German soil and expecting the worst, five Germans were employed to guard the memorial night and day. By the end of 1955 the annual cost of security was over DM100,000 and the guard was withdrawn. The following month, the bronze text was stolen and the stonework defaced. A new bronze panel was produced and for three years the monument remained unguarded (and undamaged) but, in 1958, following a visit by Montgomery, the memorial was moved to the Sandhurst Military College where it now stands. Today all that remains of the site of the original memorial is a darkened patch of earth, and a simple German memorial has been put in its place. Color photo for illustrative purposes only and not included.