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 and Scotland, to the orchards and meadows of the Betuwe.
It was a journey full of hunger, cold, detours and uncertainty.
And yet: here they came.
With an impossible mission.
That journey did not end in 1944.
For after the war it turned out that their efforts were barely recognised.
The paratroopers who survived often could not return to their families.
Some saw their relatives again only decades later.
Others never at all.

Their journey was no longer a military mission, it changed into a lifelong quest for recognition and justice.
Today, 81 years later, there are no Polish veterans left.
But their children and grandchildren are here.

You carry with you the stories, the loss and the strength of your fathers and grandfathers.
And you let us see that war never ends with an armistice.
The scars continue, from generation to generation.
But so does the pride.
Pride in their courage, their sacrifices, and in the freedom they made possible.

War does not end with those who experienced it themselves.
Research shows that trauma, loss and resilience are often passed on from generation to generation.
In stories, in silences, and in the way families shape their lives.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,
Driel too was part of that journey.
The paratroopers landed in our fields.
They fought for days in our streets.
Here they found people who helped them.
And later they also found here long awaited recognition.
For when Polish veterans returned to Driel for the first time, they were welcomed here with open arms.
Friendships arose, aid transports started, host families welcomed the veterans.
The bond between Poland and Driel became stronger than ever.
Cora Baltussen was absolutely the face of that solidarity.
She saw the paratroopers land, helped to care for the wounded, and never let go of their fate.

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

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.
With the appeal that commitment to freedom is never a loss.
Commitment to freedom is always a gain.                        

Today that conviction is reaffirmed.
This moment also teaches us something about ourselves.
That justice sometimes takes time.
That freedom can never be taken for granted.
And that recognition – however late – is of an immeasurable value.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The paratroopers of General Sosabowski left their footprints in the clay of the Betuwe.
Those footprints have never disappeared.

We follow them in the memories of Driel.
Through the bond between Poland, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
And in the eyes of their children and grandchildren, who are present here today.

Their journey began 81 years ago with a jump above Driel.
Today, with the recognition of the British government, that journey gains a new destination.
And with it, a task for us:
to keep that legacy alive.

Let us cherish that legacy.
Let us continue to tell and live the stories.
And let us together, in the spirit of those Polish paratroopers, do justice to our freedom every single day.
Now more than ever.

Thank you.