Elbe Day Elbe Day , April 25 , 1945 , is the day Soviet and American troops met at the River Elbe , near Torgau in Germany , marking an important step toward the end of World War II in Europe . This contact between the Soviets , advancing from the East , and the Americans , advancing from the West , meant that the two powers had effectively cut Germany in two . Elbe Day has never been an official holiday in any country , but in the years after 1945 the memory of this friendly encounter gained new significance in the context of the Cold War between the U . S . and the Soviet Union . History . The first contact between American and Soviet patrols occurred near Strehla , after First Lieutenant Albert Kotzebue , an American soldier , crossed the River Elbe in a boat with three men of an intelligence and reconnaissance platoon . On the east bank they met forward elements of a Soviet Guards rifle regiment of the First Ukrainian Front , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gardiev . The same day , another patrol under Second Lieutenant William Robertson with Frank Huff , James McDonnell and Paul Staub met a Soviet patrol commanded by Lieutenant Alexander Silvashko on the destroyed Elbe bridge of Torgau . On April 26 , the commanders of the 69th Infantry Division of the First Army and the 58th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Guards Army ( Soviet Union ) met at Torgau , southwest of Berlin . Arrangements were made for the formal " Handshake of Torgau " between Robertson and Silvashko in front of photographers the following day , April 27 . The Soviet , American , and British governments released simultaneous statements that evening in London , Moscow , and Washington , reaffirming the determination of the three Allied powers to complete the destruction of the Third Reich . Commemorations . Monuments at Torgau , Lorenzkirch , and Bad Liebenwerda commemorate the first encounters between U . S . and Soviet troops on Elbe Day . In the United States , a " Spirit of the Elbe " plaque at Arlington National Cemetery commemorates the day . In 1949 the Russian film studio Mosfilm commemorated Elbe Day in the black - and - white film " Encounter at the Elbe " . During the Cold War the meeting of the two armies was often recalled as a symbol of peace and friendship between the people of the two antagonistic superpowers . For example , in 1961 the popular Russian song " Do the Russians Want War ? " evoked the memory of American and Russian soldiers embracing at the Elbe River . Joseph Polowsky , an American soldier who met Soviet troops on Elbe Day , was deeply affected by the experience and devoted much of his life to opposing war . He commemorated Elbe Day each year in his hometown of Chicago and unsuccessfully petitioned the United Nations to make April 25 a " World Day of Peace . " His remains are buried in a cemetery in Torgau . American singer - songwriter Fred Small commemorated Joseph Polowsky and Elbe Day in his song " At The Elbe " . In 1988 a plaque titled " " Der Geist der Elbe " " ( " Spirit of the Elbe " ) was mounted on a stone near Torgau at the site of the encounter between troops of the U . S . 69th Infentry and the Soviet Guards . In 1995 the Russian Federation issued a three - ruble coin commemorating the 50th anniversary of Elbe Day . By 2010 , the 65th anniversary of the event , Elbe Day events in Torgau were held annually on the weekend closest to April 25 , attracting tourists to the city . Also in 2010 , the U . S . and Russian presidents for the first time issued a joint statement on April 25 commemorating Elbe Day and the " spirit of the Elbe " . The meeting at the Elbe is represented in the war strategy game R . U . S . E . , released in 2010 and 2011 and based loosely on World War II events .