Short answers, pulled from the story.
Elbe Day took place on the 25th of April 1945, when American and Soviet troops met at the Elbe River near Torgau, Germany. The first contact occurred at 11:30am near Strehla, when First Lieutenant Albert Kotzebue crossed the river with three men and encountered a Soviet patrol.
The formal handshake on the destroyed Torgau bridge on April 27 was arranged between Second Lieutenant William Robertson and Soviet Lieutenant Alexander Silvashko. Among those photographed at the bridge were Soviet Lieutenant Charles Thau and U.S. Army Technician Fifth Grade Bernard Kirschenbaum.
The Spirit of the Elbe refers to the brief period of cooperation and mutual recognition between American and Soviet forces at their meeting on the 25th of April 1945. The phrase describes the ability of individuals from opposing political systems to find shared purpose in defeating Nazi Germany.
Monuments at Torgau, Lorenzkirch, and Bad Liebenwerda mark the first encounter sites, and a plaque at Arlington National Cemetery commemorates the day in the United States. In 1995, Russia issued a three-ruble coin for the 50th anniversary, and by 2010 annual events in Torgau attracted tourists each year around April 25.
Joseph Polowsky was an American soldier who took part in the Elbe Day meeting in 1945 and was deeply affected by the experience. He spent much of his life opposing war, commemorating Elbe Day each year in Chicago, and unsuccessfully petitioning the United Nations to declare April 25 a World Day of Peace. His remains are buried in Torgau.
Elbe Day has never been observed as an official holiday in any country. Annual commemorations are held in Torgau, Germany, and in 2010 the presidents of the United States and Russia issued their first joint statement marking the occasion.