Speech by the mayor of the municipality of Overbetuwe, Patricia Hoytink-Roubos, at the 78th Commemoration of the contribution of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade to Operation Market Garden.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It has been 78 years since the events of September 1944. And there are no more Polish veterans today with us who can tell their story at first hand. However, there are still a few residents of Driel with us who experienced it up close at that time.
Two weeks ago I visited the family van den Broek.
They had lived in Driel for 28 years.
In Vredesteinstraat, number 4.
They moved to Zetten and they have been living there for some time now.
I was there because of their 60th wedding anniversary.
Soon enough we started talking about the war .
Over the years, Mr. van den Broek delved further into the theme of the war.
He has still the images of September 1944 in front of his eyes.
Mr van den Broek is with us today.
He is 87 years old.
Mr. van den Broek, I think it is very important and valuable that I am allowed to tell your story.
During the war, Mr. van den Broek lived with his family on a farm against the railway embankment.
Just a few miles east of here.
From April 1943 a Jewish couple had gone into hiding on their farm.
It was instilled in Mr. van den Broek that he should, at all costs, keep it a secret.
But still every time someone in uniform passed by, he was absolutely frightened.
That is what war does to you.
The fear that people experienced and were taught was carried by them till the end of their lives.
Mr. van den Broek remembers well that on 17 September 1944, the sky went black with bombers.
Operation Market Garden had begun.
Behind each bomber they saw a cable with a glider attached to it.
They had never seen that before.
Above Heteren and Driel the cables were disconnected and they saw the gliders descending towards Heelsum and Ede.
Then suddenly the hatches of the bombers opened and the sky was full of parachutes in all kinds of colours.
First, Heelsum and Renkum were liberated.
Then Oosterbeek.
The sound of cheering people could be heard here.
The inhabitants of Driel were sitting in the front row.
They thought that de Betuwe will not be involved .
Until Thursday 21 September.
Now the inhabitants of Driel were no longer the spectators, they were in the middle of the fight.
Again there were transport planes to be spotted.
And again paratroopers were in the air.
Mr. van den Broek was at the farm of the Bierman family at that time.
That farm turned out to be just on the edge of the landing area.
It all happened so fast that Mr. van den Broek and his father had no time to reach the bomb shelter.
They hid behind the kitchen counter.
A German soldier happened to be in that house too.
And yes, this is not made up, this German soldier was of Polish descent.
And he hid behind the same counter too.
The paratroopers approached the farm from all sides.
One of the Polish paratroopers landed just 15 metres away from their hiding place.
That German soldier of the Polish descent stood up willing to do what he had been trained to do: shoot.
At that moment, Mr. van den Broek’s father intervened.
He pushed the soldier down and made it clear him that he should not shoot.
Hereby the words that Mr. van den Broek used describing that situation – I quote:
“My father’s action probably saved our lives. The paratroopers had hand grenades hanging on their chests. If that soldier had fired, they would have filled the farmhouse with hand grenades and I would not have been here. In this way we were miraculously spared.”
After some time, the van den Broek family was evacuated.
Just like all other inhabitants of Driel.
They could only take the bare essentials.
In Eindhoven, Mr. van den Broek was accommodated in the Philips light bulb factory.
The factory was filled up with long rows of straw cots to sleep on.
Later, Mr. van den Broek lived for almost eight months in an empty shed before he and his family could return to the Betuwe.
Once back they saw that everyting was shattered and shot into pieces.
On the verges and in the meadows they saw many white crosses marking the makeshift graves of the fallen soldiers.
These were the images we never hoped to see again in Europe.
But what have we been confronted with since February this year?
Now we hear the stories of the Ukrainian refugees.
Refugees who were forced to leave everything behind.
The fear of the violence of war has scarred them for life.
We do hope they can still go back.
But what will they find there?
Just like here in the Betuwe, the process of rebuilding will take years.
Until then, let’s keep looking after the Ukrainian refugees.
And after all of those who have come to the Netherlands for whatever reason.
As the municipality of Overbetuwe, we do everything in our power to help.
During last months I have been impressed by all the volunteers who stand up for the refugees.
Just like the soldiers of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade stood up for us.
For our freedom.
They faced an impossible task.
To cross the river and reinforce the British lines.
Only a few dozen Polish soldiers succeeded.
Among them Corporal Lewicki.
But soon he had to withdraw.
The positions around Oosterbeek had become untenable.
The German resistance was too strong.
From left and right, soldiers were killed trying to reach the other side of the river.
Corporal Lewicki managed, unscathed.
Then he, together with his remaining comrades, reported for duty with his commander.
Corporal Lewicki wrote in a battle report:
“We are counting to check how many of us managed to get by. However, many will never return to us. They died fighting for freedom and integrity of Poland, and they marked the way to the goal with graves and blood.” – end of quote.
We cannot and should not underestimate the significance of past events.
We must not forget their stories.
Let’s continue to listen candidly to each other.
The heroic efforts of the Polish military continue to inspire us not to take freedom for granted.
They gave their lives for our freedom.
And today we look back and commemorate, with gratitude and respect.
Thank you