Memorial of the Encounter Strehla

It was at this spot on the banks of the Elbe (in fact, on the other side) that the first encounter between US and Soviet military personnel took place on 25 April 1945.

It was here where an American patrol led by Lieutenant Albert Leon Kotzebue observed their Russian counterparts on the other side and crossed the river. A small memorial park with a monument has been set up to commemorate this event.

The monument consists of a 10-metre sculpture against the river quay with accompanying bronze plaques with texts in German, English and Russian. At the entrance to the park is a flagpole designed by a soldier of the 273rd Infantry Regiment with the flags of the US, Russia and Germany attached.

In addition to meeting, an information board tells about the disaster that had occurred at the same site a few days before, killing hundreds of fleeing civilians and soldiers.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Kevin Dokter
• - https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=1766&MemID=2319