The Maczek Memorial Breda is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands. It tells the story of the liberation of Breda in 1944 by the

First Polish Armoured Division The Polish 1st Armoured Division ( Polish ''1 Dywizja Pancerna'') was an armoured division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. Created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland, it was commanded by Major General Stanisła ...

led by General

Stanisław Maczek Lieutenant General Stanisław Maczek (; 31 March 1892 – 11 December 1994) was a Polish tank commander of World War II, whose division was instrumental in the Allied liberation of France, closing the Falaise pocket, resulting in the destructio ...

. The museum was opened in 2020.

The museum

History

The Maczek Memorial Breda was The Maczek Memorial Breda originates from the Generaal Maczek Museum, which until 2015 was located in building -R- on the Trip van Zoudtlandtkazerne. The General Maczek Museum was founded on October 27, 1997, and had a large collection of objects related to

World War Two World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and the liberation of Breda. After it was no longer possible to house the museum in the Trip van Zoudtlandtkazerne, they started looking for a new location. A site was chosen behind the Polish Military Cemetery on the Ettensebaan in Breda.

Opening

On 27 mei 2019 construction on the Maczek Memorial started. The opening was scheduled for March 31, 2020, the birthday of General Maczek. This could not take place due to the corona crisis. The official opening was therefore moved to 24 October 2020, close the commemoration day of the liberation of Breda.

Collection and building

The permanent collection of the Maczek Memorial Breda includes the original uniform of General Maczek, which was donated by his children. Various original weapons and items from the Second World War are also on display. In addition, the Memorial houses an information and documentation center and a Chambre de Reflection.

References

External links

Maczek Memorial Breda
{{coord, 51.58186, 4.74745, format=dms, type:landmark_region:NL, display=title Museums in the Netherlands Buildings and structures in Breda Netherlands–Poland relations Netherlands in World War II Buildings and structures completed in 2020 1997 establishments in the Netherlands 20th-century architecture in the Netherlands