Address by Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, 31 May 2006

Toespraak | 31-05-2006

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am happy to welcome you all most cordially to this ceremony, at which two prestigious Dutch honours will be conferred on Polish heroes who played an important role in liberating our country at the end of the Second World War.

It is a particular pleasure to first of all greet the Polish veterans who are here this morning. Today we honour through them the ninety-three Polish soldiers who died during the Battle of Arnhem, or who later succumbed to their wounds. We honour too those who have died since then, and those who are unable to attend the ceremony today.

I should also like to warmly welcome the members of General Stanislaw Sosabowski's family, in particular his grandsons, who have agreed to accept the decoration awarded to him posthumously on their grandfather's behalf.

I also greet the members of the Sixth Polish Air Assault Brigade, which continues the tradition of the First Independent Polish Parachute Brigade and whose commanding officer will receive the award on behalf of the Brigade.

Furthermore, I greatly appreciate that representatives of the Polish Government and Armed Forces, who emphasise with their presence the value attached to this tribute in Poland.

I should like to say a word of thanks to the holders of the Militaire Willemsorde - both individuals and units - and of the Bronze Lion who, by being here, bear witness to their commitment. That applies in particular to the representatives of the Eighty-Second US Airborne Division, who also fought in Operation Market Garden and are in our midst today to pay their respects to our Polish liberators. We greatly appreciate you all joining us to mark this occasion.

Since the war we have remembered our dead and celebrated our liberation every year. After the fall of the old regime when Poland resumed its place as a democratic country among the European nations, the Polish and the Dutch could come together for the first time in a solemn ceremony. In celebrating our liberation, we also express the value we attach to freedom and our awareness that freedom is never without commitment and should never be taken for granted.

Gratitude to our liberators is deeply felt in the Netherlands and is expressed anew each year. Sad to say, however, the courageous actions of General Sosabowski and his First Polish Parachute Brigade at the Battle of Arnhem and the great service they rendered in the cause of liberating the Netherlands have never been formally recognised.

Queen Wilhelmina, my grandmother, did express the wish for such recognition at that time, and my father, Prince Bernhard, often urged that the valour of the Poles be acknowledged. Unfortunately, their wishes were not carried out at the time. The immense changes that took place in Europe after the war and the terrible consequences they had for Poland played a part in this omission.

The award by the Dutch Government of the two highest decorations for bravery our country can confer, the Militaire Willemsorde to the First Independent Polish Parachute Brigade, and the Bronze Lion, posthumously, to its commanding officer, General Sosabowski, redresses this historical error. This decision finally does justice to the Polish forces who fought for the liberation of the Netherlands and to the exceptional courage they displayed. We honour, above all, those who sacrificed their lives in that conflict.

You will understand that it gives me especial pleasure to be able to fulfil today at last the wish cherished by my grandmother and my father.

May I now ask the commanding officer of the Sixth Polish Air Assault Brigade to come forward and accept the insignia of the Militaire Willemsorde for conspicuous bravery, leadership and devotion to duty on behalf of the First Independent Polish Parachute Brigade.

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I should now like to ask the grandsons of General Sosabowski to come forward and to accept, in the name of their grandfather, the insignia of the Bronze Lion for acts of conspicuous bravery and leadership.

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Thank you.