Selected Events 2008    

Deputy Chief Of Mission John Koenig Celebrates Elbe Day In Torgau

Deputy Chief of Mission John Koenig and Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Edie Backman at Torgau

April 25, 2008. On the 63rd anniversary of the historic Elbe River meeting of the U.S. and Soviet armies on April 25, 1945, photographs of which have become an iconic image of the end of WWII, Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) John Koenig and Leipzig Consul for Political and Economic Affairs Edie Backman represented the U.S. at the annual commemoration ceremonies in Torgau, Saxony. Along with representatives of the Russian and Belarusian armies and local officials, Koenig and Backman participated in the raising of the German, U.S. and Russian flags and laid flowers at the grave of Joe Polowsky, a U.S. veteran who contributed to the ongoing "Spirit of Torgau" during his lifetime. During the reception hosted by Mayor Andrea Staude, DCM John Koenig and Edie Backman talked to the American family of a Soviet veteran who emigrated to the U.S. after the war. The Elbe Day events celebrate the hope for peace that marked the end of World War II in Europe. The Friday ceremonies were followed by a weekend-long city festival, which presented various American musical performers.