#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.

#OTD 8️⃣1️⃣ 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 #ElbeDay was 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.

💬 Joe Pawlowski, 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, Marshal Konev met with General Bradley. 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 #RussiaUS relations moving in the right direction for bringing them back to normal and ensuring that common sense prevails.

#Victory81