Illustrated: “The Mighty Endeavor: American Armed Forces in the European Theater in World War II” by Charles B. MacDonald, Oxford University Press, October 1969.

American soldiers dance with Russian women auxiliaries in celebration of the link-up at Torgau on the Elbe, April 1945. Elbe Day, April 25, 1945, is the day Soviet and American troops met at the Elbe River, 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.

Sheet: 4 7/8 x 6 3/4

Ferrotyped prints are processed in such a way that they are shiny. The print has a sensitive surface, usually thinner, because it was put through a press while still wet.

Ferrotyped prints have a sensitive surface, usually shiny and thinner, because they are put through a press while still wet. Ferrotyping makes the surface of the photograph smoother. Light does not scatter as much on a smoother surface, so this increases contrast. That makes ferrotyped images better for press photography.

This object has the following keywords:

• Celebrations
• Dancing
• Elbe Day
• Elbe River
• European Theater
• Link ups
• Soldiers
• Soviet Union
• Torgau
• United States
• Women in war
• World War II

• Image Dimensions: 4 1/2 x 5 1/4 in. (11.43 x 13.34 cm)

This object is a member of the following portfolios: