Sprit of the Elbe

Eighty years ago, on April 25, 1945, the East met the West - Soviet and American soldiers, having passed through the hardships of war, stretched out their hands to each other on the half-destroyed bridge over the Elbe. They met as allies, united by the desire for peace and victory over the “brown plague”. The handshake, captured in black and white footage, became a symbol of the fact that even in the most difficult times mankind is able to find a common language, to unite in the name of common goals. Today, 80 years later, the meeting on the Elbe inspired the creation of the international public movement “Spirit of Elbe”.

The international public forum “Spirit of Elba: Bridge of Trust, Friendship and Cooperation” was held on April 15 at the headquarters of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly. It was joined online by public figures, scientists, journalists from the USA, Israel, Great Britain, Germany, France and other countries ready to participate in reviving the spirit of alliance for the sake of peace. More than 30 people took part in the forum. Among the proposals voiced was the need for broad public support for the peacekeeping efforts of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, the formation of a permanent international platform ElbaGlobalForum. As part of the forum, an open letter to the presidents of Russia and the United States in connection with the 80th anniversary of the meeting on Elba was adopted.

WON TOGETHER

"Eighty years have passed since April 1945, when American and Soviet soldiers met on the Elbe, but even now this meeting arouses interest, because we see a great desire to revise the lessons of history and to divide nations. We cannot agree with this," said Andrei Belyaninov, Secretary General of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly, opening the event. - This opinion is shared by those who have gathered today on both sides of the ocean to talk about the meeting on the Elbe and its significance”.

He also recalled that five years ago two presidents - Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin - signed a joint statement in connection with the 75th anniversary of the Elbe meeting and one of the tasks of the forum is to raise the issue of signing a new Statement by the leaders of Russia and the United States for the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Elbe meeting, which would confirm the revival of the Spirit of Elbe as an atmosphere of trust between peoples.

"The new world order requires a new attitude, but the memory must be common. We won together - we must not forget that. I am grateful to the Jewish people, who by virtue of their unity, do not let the Holocaust be forgotten. And this, in my opinion, is a very serious reference point in our work. If it were not for this fact, we would probably forget the Spirit of the Elbe, forget that there is a place called Torgau, where the soldiers of the American and Soviet armies met. There, the spirit of goodness and the spirit of winners must have reached its highest point. But then we got what we got. We should remember this meeting, this common victory and love each other through the prism of memory. It is very important to love, not hate - it is very important now, when the forces of evil have become more active," said Andrei Belyaninov.

He emphasized that the preservation of historical memory is one of the key areas of work of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly.

WIN-WIN

The moderator of the forum from the American side, Eduard Lozansky, President of the American University in Moscow, noted that the Spirit of Elba, which was born during the meeting of Soviet and American soldiers, the spirit of brotherhood, friendship, mutual assistance, is now an international movement and representatives of many countries take part in the forum.

"The question of war and peace is not a question of the United States and Russia. The Third World War in the modern era will affect many other countries. And everyone understands this," Eduard Lozansky emphasized.

He spoke about the activities of the American Institute in Moscow, which was founded in 1989, when, at the invitation of the Soviet leadership, a large American delegation came to Moscow to discuss how to get away from the threat of world war and move to mutually beneficial cooperation, what in English is called win-win. At that time, sculptor Ernst Neizvestny was among the delegation members. Moscow City Hall allocated a mansion on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, and at the same time the Russian House opened in Washington. The groups worked and created the document "Partnership between Russia and the United States. New Times - New Beginnings."

"There were so many areas in the document: space, military cooperation, education, culture, medicine, agriculture - everything you could imagine. This was real public diplomacy. And these were not just slogans, but concrete projects where both countries can work together," said Eduard Lozansky.

However, subsequently, relations between Russia and the United States began to cool down. According to the president of the American Institute in Moscow, there was a chance in 2001, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the United States, but it was lost.

The moderator of the forum urged its participants to join efforts to forget about confrontation and expressed confidence in the need for a meeting between the Russian and American presidents.

PEAK OF FRIENDSHIP

Peter Kuznick, a history professor at American University in Washington, has called the Elbe meeting the highest point of Soviet-American friendship during World War II.

“The soldiers celebrated, made toasts, talked about brotherhood ... It's sad how far we are from that relationship,” the professor said.

Peter Kuznick devoted his presentation to the history of tension and rapprochement in U.S.-Soviet and U.S.-Russian relations. He noted Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin, as well as John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev among the leaders of the countries seeking peace. The professor emphasized that Harry Truman's anti-Soviet rhetoric was not supported by American society: journalists wrote about the heroism of the Soviet people, the incredible bravery of the soldiers who saved the world from Nazi slavery.

"Now we are very close to nuclear war again. The cold wars that we had in the 60s are resuming again. We see what is happening in Iran, in Gaza, in Taiwan. But that doesn't mean that the situation is irreversible. We should try to meet, understand each other and build a new security architecture - it is in everyone's interest. I hope that we will have progressive peace and prosperity," Peter Kuznik said.

He supported the idea of a meeting between the US and Russian presidents and expressed hope that it would take place soon.

Natalia Koneva, daughter of Victory Marshal Ivan Konev, who met with General Bradley, also said that the meeting on Elba was memorable not only for official events and negotiations, but also for informal communication.

"Those times were a reference point. This constructive relationship played a big role later on. In the present time, it seems to me, the Spirit of Elba remains very relevant: the spirit of trust, the desire to find common ground in resolving contradictions still lives in the hearts of many descendants of the Allies today," Natalya Koneva noted.

THE RETURN OF NORMALITY

Andrei Gasiorovsky, president of the Helping Hand Foundation (Israel - USA), believes that today the world is filled with hatred, bigotry, people want to rewrite history and the worst human qualities are rising to the surface:

"In 1945, American and Soviet soldiers shook hands and together defeated Nazi tyranny. But then there was a shift to confrontation."

The expert said the forum is important to him personally. His father was liberated by American soldiers from a German concentration camp, and his mother was in occupied Poland, which was liberated by Soviet soldiers.

"My family lived through the black years, while many millions did not, and the ashes of horror remain with us. Today we gather to bring light to future generations. We bring together people from different nations, opposing countries, engage in public diplomacy and are tirelessly involved in dialog initiatives. We have different points of view, but we must build a good future for ourselves and our children. May the victory of the liberators be a blessing for us and may normality return to this world," said Andrei Gasiorovski.

Alexei Aleshkovsky, President of the Guild of Screenwriters of the Union of Russian Cinematographers, is sure that the world has never been perfect and will never be:

"It is developing in a fierce competition of ideas, technology, nations and states. Wars are becoming more and more terrible on the planet, which was recently lulled by fairy tales about the end of violence. More and more civilians are dying in these wars".

Alexei Aleshkovsky also noted that today, when President Trump's initiatives offer a chance to change the overload of Russia-US relations into a reset, it is important to understand what lessons of war and peace will determine our future and how public diplomacy can help make the Spirit of Elba the spirit of common freedom.

THE SPIRIT OF ELBA AS A BASIS FOR DIALOGUE

Valery Ruzin, Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly, President of the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio, noted that the joint statement signed on April 24, 2020, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Elba meeting could be called a step toward restoring trust. The statement says, among other things, that “Elba became a symbol of joint determination to overcome ideological and political differences for the sake of the highest goal - to save human civilization from the threat of total annihilation.” It also emphasized the commitment to “seek ways for dialogue and cooperation, building on the lessons of the past, to prevent any new conflicts”.

"These are the words of a statement that not only revived a memorable joint effort in the past, but also provided a basis for dialog in the face of the growing challenges of our times. The dialog did not take place. Despite the significance of the document, its implementation faced insurmountable difficulties, and there was an increase in tensions between the United States and Russia," Valery Ruzin noted. - There are many reasons why this happened. This is the last year of Trump's first presidency, but in no small part it is the lack of support from the Russian and American society, public opinion".

Valery Ruzin called on the public to appeal to the leaders of Russia and the United States with a proposal to sign a new statement, the draft of which has already been prepared:

"The Eurasian and African People’s Assembly is taking on this work, this commitment - to organize international public support for the implementation of the new statement. It seems to me that we should form a global forum - ElbaGlobalForum - a movement that would influence public life and political decisions, uniting all countries of the world on this platform."

LESSONS FROM HISTORY

Forum participants also shared modern projects and historical facts that are permeated by the Spirit of Elba - the desire to cooperate for common goals.

Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexei Semenov spoke about the activities of the International Foundation for the Survival and Development of Mankind, established on the initiative of Academician Evgeny Velikhov, the very name of which was the vector. He also emphasized scientific diplomacy, noted the difficulties with the publication of Russian scientists' research in foreign scientific publications and called for a return to scientific and educational cooperation.

Grigory Pelman, founder of One Future Forum, presented a project for the construction of a transportation, logistics and memorial complex across the Bering Strait connecting Alaska and Chukotka, which could be called “The Spirit of Elba.” In his opinion, the Spirit of Elba is not just words, but underlying values, chief among which are survival and development. The project envisions domes with blue roofs as a symbol of peaceful skies that could become beacons for humanity when it becomes multiplanetary and organizes settlements on other planets.

Sergey Khalkov, General Director of the Silk Road Media production center, told about the Europe-America-500 space mission that took place in 1992. On board the rocket launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome there were gifts from the residents of the American Seattle: toys, souvenirs, folk arts and crafts. The capsule was picked up in the Pacific Ocean and brought to port by a previously classified Russian ship. It was met by the city administration, city residents, schoolchildren, who received gifts and the opportunity to tour the ship, and Seattle residents welcomed Russian sailors in their homes.

Greetings to the forum participants also came from the cosmodrome - Fyodor Yurchikhin, cosmonaut, Hero of Russia, recorded his address on April 8 from Baikonur, the day of the launch of the American-Russian crew. He also reminded that there is another anniversary date this year - the 50th anniversary of the Soyuz-Apollo flight.

“Russian-American relations are experiencing far from the best days, but everything is in our hands,” the cosmonaut noted. 

Journalists, historians and teachers from the United States also sent addresses to the forum participants.