{"id":8757,"date":"2025-11-10T19:09:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T18:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.driel-polen.nl\/?page_id=8757"},"modified":"2025-11-10T19:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T18:09:09","slug":"2025-toespraak-burgemeester-van-overbetuwe-patricia-hoytink-roubos","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.driel-polen.nl\/en\/herdenkingen\/herdenkingen-2025-2034\/2025-toespraak-burgemeester-van-overbetuwe-patricia-hoytink-roubos\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Speech by Mayor of Overbetuwe Patricia Hoytink-Roubos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lord Coaker, Excellencies,
\nLadies and gentlemen, Boys and girls,<\/strong><\/p>\n

81 years ago, more than a thousand Polish paratroopers jumped here above Driel.
\nFor many of them the journey had been long.
\nFrom their home villages in Poland, via Siberia, Iran and Scotland, to the orchards and meadows of the Betuwe.
\nIt was a journey full of hunger, cold, detours and uncertainty.
\nAnd yet: here they came.
\nWith an impossible mission.
\nThat journey did not end in 1944.
\nFor after the war it turned out that their efforts were barely recognised.
\nThe paratroopers who survived often could not return to their families.
\nSome saw their relatives again only decades later.
\nOthers never at all.<\/p>\n

Their journey was no longer a military mission, it changed into a lifelong quest for recognition and justice.
\nToday, 81 years later, there are no Polish veterans left.
\nBut their children and grandchildren are here.<\/p>\n

You carry with you the stories, the loss and the strength of your fathers and grandfathers.
\nAnd you let us see that war never ends with an armistice.
\nThe scars continue, from generation to generation.
\nBut so does the pride.
\nPride in their courage, their sacrifices, and in the freedom they made possible.<\/p>\n

War does not end with those who experienced it themselves.
\nResearch shows that trauma, loss and resilience are often passed on from generation to generation.
\nIn stories, in silences, and in the way families shape their lives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen,
\nDriel too was part of that journey.
\nThe paratroopers landed in our fields.
\nThey fought for days in our streets.
\nHere they found people who helped them.
\nAnd later they also found here long awaited recognition.
\nFor when Polish veterans returned to Driel for the first time, they were welcomed here with open arms.
\nFriendships arose, aid transports started, host families welcomed the veterans.
\nThe bond between Poland and Driel became stronger than ever.
\nCora Baltussen was absolutely the face of that solidarity.
\nShe saw the paratroopers land, helped to care for the wounded, and never let go of their fate.<\/p>\n

Her lifelong commitment to gain recognition paved the way to this very moment today.
\nThat hospitality and compassion are not only history.
\nThey are the way Driel and the municipality of Overbetuwe still stand in the world today.
\nThey are our contribution to the journey of freedom and solidarity that never ends.
\nToday we add a new step to that journey.
\nThe recognition that the Polish paratroopers and their families have awaited for so long takes shape here and now. After a journey of 81 years.<\/p>\n

Last year, at the initiative of the Driel-Poland Foundation and together with our partners in the Airborne Region, we sent a letter to the British government.
\nWith the appeal that commitment to freedom is never a loss.
\nCommitment to freedom is always a gain.                        <\/p>\n

Today that conviction is reaffirmed.
\nThis moment also teaches us something about ourselves.
\nThat justice sometimes takes time.
\nThat freedom can never be taken for granted.
\nAnd that recognition \u2013 however late \u2013 is of an immeasurable value.<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen,
\nThe paratroopers of General Sosabowski left their footprints in the clay of the Betuwe.
\nThose footprints have never disappeared.<\/p>\n

We follow them in the memories of Driel.
\nThrough the bond between Poland, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
\nAnd in the eyes of their children and grandchildren, who are present here today.<\/p>\n

Their journey began 81 years ago with a jump above Driel.
\nToday, with the recognition of the British government, that journey gains a new destination.
\nAnd with it, a task for us:
\nto keep that legacy alive.<\/p>\n

Let us cherish that legacy.
\nLet us continue to tell and live the stories.
\nAnd let us together, in the spirit of those Polish paratroopers, do justice to our freedom every single day.
\nNow more than ever.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lord Coaker, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, Boys and girls, 81 years ago, more than a thousand Polish paratroopers jumped here above Driel. For many of them the journey had been long. From their home villages in Poland, via Siberia, Iran …<\/span> <\/p>\n

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