Stunde Null is the German language equivalent of "zero hour", a term taken from military planning that indicates the beginning of some operation or event. In Germany, Stunde Null has a particular reference: midnight on May 8, 1945, when the capitulation of the Nazi forces' high command came into effect, marking the end of World War II in Europe. The period immediately thereafter became known as the Nachkriegszeit ("time after the war")