{"id":8381,"date":"2024-09-25T18:53:36","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T16:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.driel-polen.nl\/?page_id=8381"},"modified":"2024-09-25T18:53:36","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T16:53:36","slug":"2024-toespraak-burgemeester-p-hoytink-roubos","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.driel-polen.nl\/en\/herdenkingen\/herdenkingen-2015-2024\/2024-toespraak-burgemeester-p-hoytink-roubos\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 Speech by the Mayor of the municipality of Overbetuwe, Patricia Hoytink-Roubos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speech by the Mayor of the municipality of Overbetuwe, Patricia Hoytink-Roubos, during the 80th Commemoration of the contribution of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade to Operation Market Garden<\/strong>
\nDriel, September 21, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your Excellencies; Prime Minister Schoof, Minister Parell
\nLadies and gentlemen, boys and girls,<\/p>\n

Eighty years ago, more than a thousand Polish paratroopers jumped here from 73 Dakotas. On the fifth day of Operation Market Garden. They fell on the ground like ‘ripe autumn apples’. Under heavy enemy fire. With a jolt they landed in the Betuwe clay with their soldiers\u2019 boots. The imprints they left behind may have faded away after all these years, but they did not disappear.
\nCertainly not in Driel, where those imprints are still recognisable in so many places.
\nBut above all, the imprint of the Polish paratroopers is still vivedly visible in the eyes of their children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n

I think it is very special that some of them are here today, with us. Wholeheartedly welcome!<\/p>\n

One of them is Peter Lincewicz.
\nHis father Bazyli was mobilised in the Polish army in 1939. He ended joined a unit, riding on horses, that had to stop the German tanks. This unequal fight was soon over. The unit retreated towards eastern Poland, where they were attacked by the Red Army.<\/p>\n

Jozef Pietryga experienced the same fate. He found it terrible to hear the screaming of comrades being run over by tanks. That shriek has always stayed with him, his son Janko said. Janko is also here today. Jozef and Bazyli were held captive as prisoners of war in a Siberian war camp for more than two years. There they had to survive, having almost nothing to eat. Jozef pulled through thanks to a tobacco business that he set up. With the money he earned he could occasionally buy some extra food.
\nSometimes the temperature dropped to 60 degrees below zero. Prisoners who tried to escape were tied to a post with barbed wire. They died in the cold or were attacked by wolves.<\/p>\n

When Germany invaded Russia, the Polish soldiers were released. Jozef and Bazyli chose to join the Polish army in England. Via Iran and Iraq they ended up on the troop carrier ‘Ile de France’. With a detour they eventually reached Scotland. There they undertook training to become paratroopers in the First Polish Independent Parachute Brigade. During this training they often had to go to extremes; that was a motto of Major General Sosabowski:<\/p>\n

“Boredom is the soldier’s worst enemy \u2013 training is the answer…”<\/p>\n

That training paid off when Jozef and Bazyli were dropped here in Driel. The landing of the Polish paratroopers was such a big surprise for the Germans that they immediately moved five battalions. This fact alone allowed the British to continue their fight.<\/p>\n

With courage seen only in a few, the Polish soldiers resisted the Germans after landing and tried to strengthen the lines of the entrapped British. Jozef crossed the river in a rubber boot and reached safely to the other side. He knew he was extremely lucky, as many comrades of his were killed by the Germans\u2019 ferocious machine gun fire.<\/p>\n

Bazyli fired mortar shells from this side of the river to the opposite side. He himself almost faced death too. At one point a German mortar landed on their ammunition supply. Fortunately, it turned out to be a dud. The Polish paratroopers bravely held out for four days, allowing more than two thousand British paratroopers to escape.<\/p>\n

Dear all,<\/p>\n

After eighty years, the unconditional and courageous efforts of men like Jozef Pietryga and Bazyli Lincewicz and all the others are still an example. And it holds up a mirror to us. What imprint do we want to leave for our children? Are we willing to fight for something bigger than ourselves? Are we willing to make a sacrifice for that?<\/p>\n

This is what we still need to do today. We see that the war is closer and closer. Literally, through the fighting in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

But also when I look at our own country, the circumstances are somewhat similar to those in the 1920s. Also then there was polarisation, anti-Semitism, uncertainty and instability. This created fertile ground for the ideology of the Nazis.<\/p>\n

Let the outcome not be the same today. Let us prove the history wrong. Let us show that we can do it differently, even if the current situation resembles the one of the past.<\/p>\n

I am convinced that we all can contribute to peace and freedom.<\/p>\n

By continuing to tell the stories of the past. By working hard on substituting the word ‘I’ by the word ‘We’. By being open to others, regardless of origin or faith.<\/p>\n

Because the foundation of our society, in a democratic constitutional state, is precisely that everyone has a place. That is a great privilege and certainly not something to be taken for granted.. Great sacrifices have been made for that.<\/p>\n

Jozef and Bazyli lost many comrades. And after the war they could not return to Poland. They could not see their families and friends again, until decades later.
\nAlthough the war left painful memories, many Polish veterans did not look back in resentment. I will quote Bolek Ostrowski, the last living Polish veteran, \u201cThe commitment to freedom is an obligation, it is worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That attitude is still an example. With this spirit, Bolek, Jozef and Bazyli, and all those other brave paratroopers, have left an indelible imprint in the Betuwe clay, here in Driel.
\nLet us follow that example.
\nThank you.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speech by the Mayor of the municipality of Overbetuwe, Patricia Hoytink-Roubos, during the 80th Commemoration of the contribution of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade to Operation Market Garden Driel, September 21, 2024 Your Excellencies; Prime Minister Schoof, Minister Parell …<\/span> <\/p>\n

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