ALLIES AND GERMANS SIGN AN ARMISTICE TO AIR-DROP FOOD TO SAVE STARVING HOLLAND (GERMAN SIGNED COPY)
THE ...

ALLIES AND GERMANS SIGN AN ARMISTICE TO AIR-DROP FOOD TO SAVE STARVING HOLLAND (GERMAN SIGNED COPY)
THE FIRST ALLIED/AXIS "PEACE" OF WORLD WAR II

Historic typed document signed by senior representatives of the Allies and Nazi Germany which would set the stage for Allied humanitarian airborne food drops to some of the three million starving Dutch trapped behind German lines. The document offered here, 1page, 8.25 x 13 in., was negotiated and drafted in tiny Achterveld, Holland and is signed at the conclusion by Major-General SIR FRANCIS "FREDDIE" DE GUINGAND (1900�1979), Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's most senior staff officer, and by the German representative, ERNST-AUGUST SCHWEBEL (1886-1955), a German lawyer and representative to Reichskommissar Artur Seyss-Inquart. This document, a fully executed copy in German, created a de facto armistice between Germany and the Allies eight days before the war would officially end, and it would last in western Holland until the final German capitulation. It sets forth the essentials of the joint plan for British and American airdrops of food by unarmed aircraft to starving Dutch civilians trapped behind the German lines. The typed agreement reads in part: "TOP SECRET�A meeting was held on 28th April between representatives of the Allies and of the German civil administration in Holland�[nine representatives of the Allies and Germany are listed, along with their ranks/titles]�It was agreed that a meeting should be held at 1800 hours�on Monday, 30th April, 1945, with Lieut-General W. Bedell-Smith�and Reichskommissar Seyss-Inquart�The Dutch Director-General of Food�would accompany the German delegates. General Crerar, the commander of the First Canadian Army, would be present if possible�After this agreement, Allied experts were called in to explain to the German delegation what methods of feeding the Dutch civilian population the Allies proposed. The German delegation agreed to refer these details to their experts�so that [the meeting] should proceed expeditiously. These discussions will be kept secret�" Signatures of de Guingand and Schwebel appear at bottom and are dated April 28, 1945. Signatures are slightly lightened, and the document bears a few scattered toned spots, else very good. Before the parties could meet again, the British commenced their "mercy flights" code-named Operation Manna the very next day. The Americans would commence their flights, Operation Chowhound, on May 1, and a total of over 11,000 tons of food would be dropped to the starving Dutch within only a few days. This historic agreement was the catalyst for the cessation of hostilities in Holland, in addition to saving many thousands of lives, civilian and military. Photo for illustrative purposes only and not included.