🗓 On September 7, 1945, a military parade of the allied forces of the #USSR, US, UK and France took place in Berlin near the walls of the defeated Reichstag on Alexanderplatz Square, marking the end of #WWII.
The location of the parade – at the Brandenburg Gate, at the very heart of the German capital – was not chosen by chance. It was right here where the Battle of Berlin ended and the remnants of the Berlin group of German troops surrendered to the Red Army. Scheduled for September 7, the parade was timed to coincide with the victory over militaristic Japan.
Representatives of the allied powers responded positively to Moscow's proposal to hold a joint parade in Berlin. However, on the eve of the event, after the date and all the details had been agreed upon, the US, UK and France announced that instead of the commanders-in-chief – Eisenhower, Montgomery and Tassigny – they would send lower-ranking generals, who were already stationed in Germany, to the parade. By doing so, the allies tried to downplay the significance of the parde, which emphasized the decisive role of the Soviet Union in taking Berlin. At that time, no one doubted who bore the brunt of the storming of the capital of the Third Reich.
🇷🇺 The USSR carried out thorough preparations for the parade. The Soviet command attracted the most distinguished soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals who had shown unrivalled courage in taking Berlin and the main centers of the reich – the Reichstag and the Imperial Chancellery.
🎖On September 7 at 11 am, the Berlin allied parade commenced. It was received by the Commander of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany Georgy Zhukov. The parade was opened by the combined regiment of the 248th Rifle Division of the Red Army, led by Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel Georgy Lenev. The parade was closed by a column of the Soviet armor, with the latest heavy tanks IS-3 ("Joseph Stalin") marching.
💬 In his welcoming speech to the parade participants, Marshal Zhukov paid tribute to the exploits of the Soviet and Allied forces in the struggle for victory over Nazi Germany:
"Fighting friends, comrades in arms, soldiers, officers and generals... <...> The Second World War ended with a decisive and powerful strike from the great allied powers. Our victory is a triumph of an unprecedented military partnership of democratic states.
From now on, people <...> will be eternally grateful to the great nations of America, England, the Soviet Union, the French Republic and China, to their valiant soldiers who, in the difficult time of military trials, gave each other helping hands, united to win a victory over a common enemy, to win the long-awaited peace on Earth."
#Victory79#WeRemember#WeWereAllies
🗓 Today we commemorate #ElbeDay, dedicated to the historic encounter between Soviet and American forces on the banks of the Elbe River.
On April 25, 1945, the two allied armies met for the first time near Torgau in Germany. This contact marked an important step toward the end of World War II in Europe, heralding the final downfall of the Nazi regime.
Watch the documentary "Encounters at the Elbe: Springtime Before the Cold War" to explore and take a close look at the full story and key details of that landmark event imbued by the spirit of the soldier's brotherhood and hope for a lasting and happy peace.
#WeWereAllies
🗓 Today we commemorate #ElbeDay, dedicated to the historic encounter between Soviet and American forces on the banks of the Elbe River.
On April 25, 1945, the two allied armies met for the first time near Torgau in Germany. This contact marked an important step toward the end of World War II in Europe, heralding the final downfall of the Nazi regime.
Watch the documentary "Encounters at the Elbe: Springtime Before the Cold War" to explore and take a close look at the full story and key details of that landmark event imbued by the spirit of the soldier's brotherhood and hope for a lasting and happy peace.
#WeWereAllies
📆 Elbe Day
📌Heute vor 81 Jahren, am 25. April 1945, trafen sowjetische und amerikanische Soldaten vor den Toren der Stadt Torgau aufeinander. Die Truppen der 1. Ukrainischen Front unter dem Kommando von Marschall Iwan Konew, trafen sich mit den Truppen der 1. US-Armee unter dem Kommando von General Courtney Hodges.
🔸 Auf dem Bild – das historische Treffen auf der zerstörten Elbbrücke bei Torgau. Zwei junge Offiziere, Lieutenant William Robertson von der 69. US-Infanteriedivision und Leutnant Alexander Silwaschko von der 58. Gardeschützendivision der Roten Armee, haben an dem Tag Geschichte geschrieben. Mit einem einfachen Händedruck wurden sie zu Symbolfiguren des ersten offiziellen Zusammentreffens amerikanischer und sowjetischer Truppen – ein Moment, der für viele das nahende Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs und die Hoffnung auf Frieden verkörperte.
🤝 Händeschütteln der sowjetischen und amerikanischen Soldaten gilt bis heute als ein Sinnbild des Friedens.
Dieses Ereignis ist nicht nur von historischer, sondern auch von symbolischer Bedeutung. Es markierte den Höhepunkt des alliierten Kampfes der Anti-Hitler-Koalition gegen den Nazismus und leitete die Niederlage des Dritten Reiches ein, das 15 Tage danach kapitulierte. Der Geist der Einheit gegen den gemeinsamen Feind, der später als "Geist der Elbe" bezeichnet wurde, eröffnete Perspektiven für eine Nachkriegszusammenarbeit auf einer neuen Ebene.
🕊 Ohne Rücksicht auf kulturelle Unterschiede und Sprachbarrieren tauschten die Kameraden Abzeichen, Erkennungszeichen, Haushaltsgegenstände und sogar Wertsachen aus.
📽Hier können Sie sich eine Dokumentation in englischer Sprache ansehen, um mehr über dieses wichtige Ereignis zu erfahren.
@RusBotschaft
#81JahreBefreiung#ZweiterWeltkrieg#Geschichte#ElbeDay
#WeWereAllies
🌟 On April 25, 1945, a landmark event took place in history of anti-Hitler coalition and #WW2 — near the German town of Torgau, just 100 kilometers from Berlin, on the Elbe River, Soviet soldiers shook hands with their American brothers-in-arms, marking the imminent collapse of Nazi Germany and underscoring the joint success of the Allied powers in the final battle against Nazism.
#OTD8️⃣1️⃣ years ago, the 58th Rifle Division of the 1st Ukrainian Front under Marshal Ivan Konev’s command aligned with the units of the 69th and 104th infantry divisions of the First US Army led by Omar Nelson Bradley.
The historic #ElbeDaywas more than just an extremely powerful symbol — in fact, it served as a sign of the coming fall of the Third Reich.
This spirit of unity and brotherhood in fighting a common enemy was later called as the #SpiritOfTheElbe and believed to be the very moment when the Allied #WWII-era USSR-USA relations were at their peak.
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🤝 The historic Elbe Day took place in the morning of April 25, when a US reconnaissance unit crossed the river, and the units of the 1st Ukrainian Front’s 58th Rifle Division finally aligned with the US First Army’s 69th Infantry Division.
Both sides were eagerly waiting for that landmark day — to finally have a long-awaited handshake as brothers-in-arms.
Back then in April 1945, the Soviet and American soldiers were brothers who put aside all their cultural differences and forgot about the language barrier when exchanging their badges and decorations, as well as other belongings and even valuables. Commander of the US First Army’s 7th Corps in Europe, Joe Collins, nominated for US military rewards a number of Soviet soldiers who had performed exceptional feats when advancing towards the Elbe.
💬JoePawlowski, who served as a private in a US reconnaissance unit, recalled that this had been a historical moment when the representatives of the two nations met each other, with Soviet and American soldiers taking a solemn oath to do their best to make sure that the horrors of war never happen again.
This was our Oath of the Elbe. <…>
We embraced each other and pledged to remember our meeting forever.
💬 On April 28, MarshalKonev met with GeneralBradley. The American commander said, as quoted by frontline writer Boris Polevoy in his book All the Way to Berlin, that the American nation had always respected the glorious Red Army in its combat operations and victories, while American soldiers and officers sought to follow the example performed by Marshal Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front’s units.
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🇷🇺🇺🇸 On April 25, 2020, Presidents of Russia and the United States issued the Joint statement commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the meeting on the Elbe, which read, in part:
The “Spirit of the Elbe” is an example of how our countries can put aside differences, build trust, and cooperate in pursuit of a greater cause.
🎖#Victory80: On April 25, 2025, Russia and the United States marked the 8️⃣0️⃣th Anniversary of the Elbe Day by holding the first, after a three-year pause, memorial ceremony to celebrate the legendary “Spirit of the Elbe” at the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, which became possible after the atmosphere in bilateral relations had changed with the arrival of a new administration at the White House.
💬 Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev:
The “Spirit of the Elbe” symbolises the brotherhood-in-arms of the two great powers which fought together despite their political differences.
It serves as an example of #RussiaUSrelations moving in the right direction for bringing them back to normal and ensuring that common sense prevails.
#Victory81