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On 29 October 2019, in celebration of 75 years of liberation, the Polish city of Wrocław (formerly Breslau), gave the city of Breda a work of art. An intriguing object, consisting of tracks in the ground.
Liberated by Polish soldiers, the Dutch city of Breda is twinned with the Polish city of Wrocław. The artwork was created by Tomasz Tomaszewski, a sculptor from Wrocław, and bears the name 'Pamięć' (pronounced pamjets), which means 'Remembrance' in Polish. It depicts the traces left behind by a Polish tank, and is formed by 'tracks' carved from stone.
With this artwork, Tomaszewski aimed to show that the liberation of Breda by Major-General Maczek's 1st Polish Armoured Division left physical traces first of all, but that there is also a second layer. After all, the liberation also left figurative traces in the city's history. It gave citizens back their freedom, and the long stay of Polish soldiers in the city during the winter of 1944 to 45 created bonds of friendship.
The artwork was installed on an existing path at the corner of Claudius Prinsenlaan and Wilhelminasingel. As a pedestrian, one can therefore simply walk over the artwork. The location is striking, however, for another reason. Presumably, in 2019, the municipality did not realise that it was precisely here, in the former Brabantpark, that the last German battle group held out on 29 October 1944.
Address
Brabantpark, 4816 JW Breda, Nederland, Noord-Brabant