A new memorial pole will be unveiled on Saturday at the Molenweg near Slootdorp. On that spot, 80 years ago, on June 6, 1942, a Wellington bomber crashed with six Polish crew members on board. The Hollands Kroon Memorial Poles hopes that Polish people who now live and/or work here in the region will come and pay their respects to the men.
“Many Poles live in this region, but it is quite difficult to reach them all,” explains Mark Hakvoort of the Hollands Kroon Memorial Foundation. “We have already put up posters at the Polish supermarkets in the region and at the ‘hotel’ at Agriport in the Wieringermeer, of course in Polish. And maybe this message will also reach them via via. Hopefully people will attend the unveiling on Saturday .”
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The Polish crew was on their way to Essen by plane for a bombing raid. It was intercepted en route by a German night fighter. The plane was set on fire, flew on for a while and then crashed at a farm on the Molenweg near Slootdorp. The flames spread and the farm also went up in flames. The crew was buried by the Germans in Huisduinen. After the war they were reburied in the war cemetery in Bergen op Zoom.
“We also hope to connect with the Polish people here via Facebook. We want to give them the opportunity to be present at the unveiling of the memorial pole. The crew died for our freedom. ‘Lest we forget’,” says Hakvoort. The commemoration is next Saturday and starts at 2 p.m. in the Cultuurschuur in Wieringerwerf. The monument will be unveiled at 3 p.m. at Molenweg 38, Slootdorp.