Two young men climbed up Omaha Beach into Normandy on a crisp morning, beginning an epic journey across Europe. After passing through Paris, the men traversed into Bastogne, Belgium, site of the Battle of the Bulge. After crossing the Rhine, they entered Germany and reached Buchenwald, where American troops helped 21,000 Holocaust survivors liberate the concentration camp. From Buchenwald, the men traveled to Torgau on the Elbe River, where American troops met the Red Army coming from the east. Finally, the two men arrived in the city of Leipzig, where 21-year-old Raymond Bowman from New York was shot by a sniper on April 18, 1945, and remembered as the last man to die in WWII.
The two young men, Alex and Leon, were not American soldiers fighting in WWII. They were German social media communicators retracing the routes taken by American and Allied troops, as part of Spirit of America’s “Road to Freedom” campaign to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day).
Throughout April 2025, Alex and Leon followed in the footsteps of US troops from Normandy to Leipzig and captured their stories for audiences on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Alex and Leon did more than honor the past; they also experienced partnership of the present, visiting Ramstein Air Force base to meet American airmen working today alongside Germans as friends and allies.
The story of American troops in WWII isn’t a story we tell alone. It’s a story told by people in Germany and across Europe who understand the price of freedom. When I first arrived in Leipzig, Germany, I met Simon Raulf, a historian and political scientist who works at Capa House, a historical society dedicated to the memory of American war photographer Robert Capa, who took the final photo of fallen American soldier Raymond Bowman. Simon and his team understand why this history should never be forgotten — Capa House is connected to a publishing house dedicated to Jewish history and culture.
Simon told me that for decades before the fall of the Berlin wall, schools in communist East Germany had minimized the story of American troops in the liberation of Germany. As a result, many people grew up unaware that Americans had liberated large parts of central Germany, including Leipzig and as far east as the Elbe River. Simon wanted to ensure the full story of liberation was not forgotten. He had an idea to research the routes taken by US troops from 1944–1945 and produce an interactive digital map that could be accessed by anyone, including German schoolteachers for use in their history classes.
The US Embassy in Berlin asked if our team at Spirit of America could help tell the story of American troops as we approach the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. We worked with Simon to upgrade Capa House’s research and website project, build an education curriculum for schools, and organize a public exhibit. To reach even broader audiences, we partnered with an independent German communications agency to launch the “Road to Freedom” social media campaign with Alex and Leon. All along the route, US Embassies in Germany, France, Belgium, Ramstein Air Force Base, the US Consulate General in Leipzig, and the Normandy American Cemetery provided incredible support to get Alex and Leon unparalleled access to historic sites, so their followers could experience the story along with them.
We’ve already seen an incredible response to the campaign – and not only on social media. German digital and traditional print media outlets have widely published news about the project, attracting over 170 million online visits to related news stories. The Leipzig school system has shared Simon’s educational material to teachers across the state. Alex and Leon are preparing to publish full-length “Road to Freedom” films on YouTube on May 8, and their followers are already giving moving feedback to initial content. One German Instagram follower put it best: “It really gives you goosebumps. Back then, they sailed across the ocean to fight, risked their lives, and far too many even lost theirs so that we can live here today in freedom and peace.”
As we look ahead to the 250th anniversary of American independence next year, the Road to Freedom campaign reminds us that America’s story continues to inspire people around the world who share the values our country was built on. Spirit of America is proud to play a part in telling that story, on V-E Day and beyond.
