Following the German surrender on May 9, 1945, the American zone of occupation contained over 40,000 square miles of land and was home to 16 million Germans. Additionally, it contained 1,400 miles of international and regional boundaries. With German municipal and regional police forces diminished and mistrusted by much of the population, it was left to the American military government to maintain law and order in the zone. For any other civil programs to succeed, the occupiers first had to ensure public safety.