Members of a historical re-enactment group dressed as U.S. and Soviet Army soldiers take part in Elbe Day celebrations, in eastern German city of Torgau at the river Elbe. (Photo by Stefanie Loos/Reuters)
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UPDATED 10:08 AM PT – Monday, April 26, 2021
Military veterans and government officials meet with diplomats from Russia and other post-Soviet countries to mark the anniversary of a key event in the World War II. The ceremony took place Sunday at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
“The encounter of the Soviet and American troops on April 25th, 1945 in the center of Germany is a special day for Russian-U.S. relations,” stated Sergei Koshelev, Russia’s Charge d’Affaires in U.S. “Last of historic struggle against the Nazi aggression of thunder during those days.”
American and British troops met with their Soviet counterparts face-to-face for the first time on April 25, 1945 at the river Elbe in Germany after several final victories over the Third Reich.
“The Soviet Union became the first state in the world that managed to slow down and then to stop Hitler’s expansion,” Koshelev continued. “This had a fundamental importance for the entire course of the world.”
#OTD 75 years ago, officer WM Robertson of the 1st @USArmy shook hands with a #Russian soldier just outside #Torgau on the Elbe River. #American & #Soviet forces had cut Nazi #Germany in two, bringing a closer step to Allied victory in #Europe during #WWII. #ElbeDay #Berlin #WW2 pic.twitter.com/X2ugdc9mRO
— Berlin Guides Association (BBS) (@GuidesBerlin) April 25, 2021
Diplomats also noted, the poor mutual relations of today are a far cry from the spirit of cooperation and allied commitment at that historic meeting.
