Photo credit: Happy 2nd Lieutenant W. Robertson and Lieutenant A. S. Silvashko against the background of the inscription "East meets West", symbolizing the historic meeting of the allies on the Elbe / William E. Poulson / ru.wikipedia.org
The anniversary of the meeting on the Elbe was celebrated the day before, on April 25, in Germany, RIA Novosti reports. The ceremonies took place in Torgau and Beilrod, where soldiers of the Soviet and American armies met 76 years ago on the banks of the Elbe River.
The guests were greeted by Mayor Bailrode Rene Wetter. Russian diplomats came there to lay flowers at the monument, which is a T-34 tank on a pedestal. It was installed 46 years ago and renovated two years ago.
Larger celebrations took place in Torgau. The representatives of the USA, Great Britain, France, Belarus and Ukraine joined the Russian diplomats. Also flowers were laid by local parliamentarians and German military personnel.
The final point in the ceremony was set by children who released white doves into the sky as a symbol of peace.
In honor of the 76th anniversary of the meeting on the Elbe, the celebration took place overseas. Traditionally, flowers were brought to the monument "Spirit of the Elbe", which is located in the Arlington cemetery. The ceremony was attended by Russian diplomats, their colleagues from the CIS countries, World War II veterans and American officials.
Charge d'Affaires of the Russian Federation in Washington Sergei Koshelev called the meeting on the Elbe a special event of great importance for relations between Russia and the United States. He is confident that both countries must defend the Spirit of the Elbe.
One of the last living participants of the Meeting on the Elbe, retired US Army Colonel Frank Cohn, in turn, stressed the importance of the event, reminding the public that Russia and the United States were once allies.
On April 25, 1945, the advanced units of the 1st Ukrainian Front met with the reconnaissance groups of the 5th corps of the 1st American Army. As a result, the German fascist troops operating in Northern Germany were cut off from the troops stationed in the southern part of the country.
Russkiy Mir
