Ieder jaar, op 11 november, vieren de Polen onafhankelijkheidsdag. 11 november 1918 ging in het westen de wapenstilstand in waarmee er een einde kwam aan grootschalige gevechten in de Eerste Wereldoorlog. In Midden-Europa volgde nog aan aantal onrustige jaren en riepen Polen en de Baltische staten de onafhankelijkheid uit. Meer over deze periode lees je in 'De eerste jaren van Polen na 1918'.
In 1944 vierden de Poolse troepen die eind oktober Breda bevrijdde Onafhankelijkheidsdag in Breda. In het archief van het Imperial War Museum zijn onderstaande bewegende beelden daarvan bewaard gebleven:
Naast het bewegende beeld zijn in het archief ook de nodige foto's beschikbaar. Op sommige is te zien dat de censuur objecten op de achtergrond heeft doorgekrast om kenbaar te maken dat die niet zichtbaar mochten zijn. De meest foto's zijn gemaakt door Sergeant Wilkes No. 5 Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit.
THE POLISH ARMY IN THE NORTH-WEST EUROPE, 1944-1945 (KY 47258) General Stanislaw Maczek, the Commander of the 1st Polish Armoured Division, in conversation with Bartholomaeus Wouther Theodorus van Slobbe, the Mayor of Breda in Holland, after the ceremony of the Polish Independence Day in the city, 11 November 1944. The city was liberated by the Poles on 30 October 1944. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205409638 THE POLISH ARMY IN THE NORTH-WEST EUROPE CAMPAIGN, 1944-1945 (B 11834) 11th November is celebrated by the Poles as the National Independence Day, and celebrations in its honour were held at Breda in the presence of Mayor of Breda Bartholomaeus Wouther Theodorus van Slobbe and General Stanislaw Maczek, the Commander of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. A religious ceremony formed part of the service. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205239771 THE POLISH ARMY IN THE NORTH-WEST EUROPE CAMPAIGN, 1944-1945 (B 11838) 11th November is celebrated by the Poles as the National Independence Day, and celebrations in its honour were held at Breda in the presence of Mayor of Breda Bartholomaeus Wouther Theodorus van Slobbe and General Stanislaw Maczek, the Commander of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. A religious ceremony formed part of the service. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205239775 THE POLISH ARMY IN THE NORTH-WEST EUROPE CAMPAIGN, 1944-1945 (B 11835) 11th November is celebrated by the Poles as the National Independence Day, and celebrations in its honour were held at Breda in the presence of Mayor of Breda Bartholomaeus Wouther Theodorus van Slobbe and General Stanislaw Maczek, the Commander of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. A religious ceremony formed part of the service. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205239772 THE POLISH ARMY IN THE NORTH-WEST EUROPE CAMPAIGN, 1944-1945 (B 11837) 11th November is celebrated by the Poles as the National Independence Day, and celebrations in its honour were held at Breda in the presence of Mayor of Breda Bartholomaeus Wouther Theodorus van Slobbe and General Stanislaw Maczek, the Commander of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. A religious ceremony formed part of the service. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205239774 THE POLISH ARMY IN THE NORTH-WEST EUROPE CAMPAIGN, 1944-1945 (B 11833) 11th November is celebrated by the Poles as the National Independence Day, and celebrations in its honour were held at Breda in the presence of Mayor of Breda Bartholomaeus Wouther Theodorus van Slobbe and General Stanislaw Maczek, the Commander of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. A religious ceremony formed part of the service. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205239770 THE POLISH ARMY IN THE NORTH-WEST EUROPE CAMPAIGN, 1944-1945 (B 11836) 11th November is celebrated by the Poles as the National Independence Day, and celebrations in its honour were held at Breda in the presence of Mayor of Breda Bartholomaeus Wouther Theodorus van Slobbe and General Stanislaw Maczek, the Commander of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. A religious ceremony formed part of the service. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205239773 THE POLISH ARMY IN THE NORTH-WEST EUROPE CAMPAIGN, 1944-1945 (B 11832) 11th November is celebrated by the Poles as the National Independence Day, and celebrations in its honour were held at Breda in the presence of Mayor of Breda Bartholomaeus Wouther Theodorus van Slobbe and General Stanislaw Maczek, the Commander of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. A religious ceremony formed part of the service. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205239769 THE POLISH ARMY IN THE NORTH-WEST EUROPE CAMPAIGN, 1944-1945 (B 11831) Mayor van Slobbe and General Stanislaw Maczek (saluting), at the ceremony of the Polish Independence Day in Breda. Note a censor's mark obscuring any landmark points in the background. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205239768
