On Monday 30 October 1945, a festive ceremony took place in Wilhelmina Park. The day before, a large military flatbed truck had arrived carrying a German Panther tank. This was donated to the city by the Polish liberators, as a thank you for the warm relationship between the Polish soldiers and Breda.

At the time, the 1st Polish Armoured Division was in the Ems Valley (Germany). They found, amid other vehicles at a tank testing ground near Meppen (Germany), a German Panther type tank, a tank which some experts say was the best tank of World War II. The tank was an old model and bore the tactical number 534, so it most likely fought somewhere on the front at some point. To be clear: never against the Polish and never in or around Breda!

At the ceremony in Breda, the tank was handed over to Mayor Van Slobbe by Division Commander Major-General Klemens Rudnicki. This was followed by a church service and wreath laying.

Unfortunately, fairly soon the first problems arose around the tank, which was called a 'difficult war trophy'. Breda's Director of Plantations wanted to move the tank as early as 1946, but B&W did not go along with this yet. In 1949, with the placement of the Polish Monument, this changed. The monument was placed on the site of the tank, opposite number 44. The Panther was transferred to the Seelig Barracks, but this made it more difficult for the population and for Polish veterans to see. The latter group felt hurt and started to lobby, successfully, the municipal administration. In 1952, the tank was returned to Wilhelmina Park, and now stands on the corner with Paul Windhausenweg. Thus, a unique (and now precious) piece of war history was preserved for posterity.