What caused the Germans to surrender?

Answer 1

On the eastern front, they were simply overrun by the Soviet troops. Hitler's defensive tactics moreover were totally unrealistic and only served to worsen the German Army's position. With Russia's capture of the capital Berlin and the ensuing death of Hitler, there was no point in fighting on for the Germans.

In the West the Allied forces proceeded much more cautiously but in numbers of equipment, air force and reserves they heavily outnumbered the German forces who were ever more unable to replace lost men and equipment. Their heavily motorized forces became moreover fatally short of petrol since Germany lost the Eastern European oil fields.

When the Germans in the West found that the Soviets threatened to overrun most of Germany behind their backs while they were fighting a losing war anyway, massive German surrenders to the Allies started because they were seen as the lesser of two evils anyway and it was also seen as a chance to keep at least a big part of Germany in the hands of 'civilized' victors.

Answer 2

On the eastern front, they were simply overrun by the Soviet troops. Hitler's defensive tactics moreover were totally unrealistic and only served to worsen the German Army's position. With Russia's capture of the capital Berlin and the ensuing death of Hitler, there was no point in fighting on for the Germans.

In the West the Allied forces proceeded much more cautiously but in numbers of equipment, air force and reserves they heavily outnumbered the German forces who were ever more unable to replace lost men and equipment. Their heavily motorized forces became moreover fatally short of petrol since Germany lost the Eastern European oil fields.

When the Germans in the West found that the Soviets threatened to overrun most of Germany behind their backs while they were fighting a losing war anyway, massive German surrenders to the Allies started because they were seen as the lesser of two evils anyway and it was also seen as a chance to keep at least a big part of Germany in the hands of 'civilized' victors.