VVAM Newsletter 38 – 1990

SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF THE AIRBORNE MUSEUM OOSTERBEEK
Utrechtseweg 232, 6862 AZ OOSTERBEEK, The Netherlands
Representative in Great Britain: Mr. F.Young, 6,Kildown Gardens, Cliftonville, Kent CT 9 3 EG
Editor:Drs.R.P.G.A.Voskuil Translation:Mrs.A.Meeuwsen
Presentation of “De Polen van Priel” and opening of the exhibition.
The presentation of “De Polen van Driel,the first Polish Independent Parachute Brigade of General-Major Stanislaw Sosabowski during the Battle of Arnhem”,took place on Friday,March 23rd ,in the Airborne Museum. The author,Mr.George F.

Mr. G.H.Maassen is presented with the first copy of the book “De Polen van Driel” by its author,Mr. G.Cholewczynski.
(Photo:B.de Reus)

Cholewczynski.had come over from America especially for this. The first speaker was the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Airborne Museum,Mr. Verlinden.who welcomed the guests.Then followed Flora Bouman on behalf of the publishing firn.,LUNET of Naarden.She gave a short talk about the realization of the publication of this book.
Then the author presented the first copy of the book to Mr.G.H.Maasse Sr. It was Mr.Maassen who first took the initiative to gather and publicize infor mation about the Polish Para Brigade and the röle it played at ne . .
On behalf of the Dutch team which has been assisting Mr.Cholewczynski during the past six years,Mr.Voskuil presented the author with a special souvenir of the Battle of Arnhem.lt consist of a small piece of string belonging to a Polish parachute which was dropped on Zone K near Driel on September 21st,1944. This piece of string had been dug up again presentation,had been framed,surrounded by After the presentation it was time for the Polish Brigade by Mr. B.Lincewicz,a Polish
On Saturday,March 24th,the book was presented to the members of the Society, during the General Annual Meeting.A large number of the members present availed themselves of the opportunity to buy a copy of the book and to have it signed by the author who was present at the meeting.

10th Anniversary excursion on Sunday,June 10th.
This excursion was already mentioned in our last Newsletter.We can now give you the programma for this day:
10.00 hrs. Arrival of the participants at the mooring-pontoon of Heymen Ship- owners,on the Rijnkade at Arnhem. Coffee.
10.30 hrs. Walk around the Northern ascent of the John Frost Bridge.Mr.Drs.van
Iddekinge,who is the municipal archivist,will give information about the actions which took place in this area between September 17th and 21st,1944.
12.30 hrs. Return to the Rijnkade to board the excursion boat.
13.00 hrs. Lunch.During lunch the boat will travel up-river for some miles.
The excursion proper will begin after lunch, the boat will take us from Arnhem,along the Veluwezoom to Wageningen and back to Arnhem. During this trip a large number of points along the river can be observed which played a röle in the Battle of Arnhem.They can all be found in the special excursion guide.
17.00 hrs. Arrival at Arnhem.

Booking. The boat can accommodate 200 passengers. You are advised to book soon. The costs are ƒ 37,50 for (family)members and ƒ 42,50 for guests. Bookings are accepted via giro nr. 44 03 641 of Vereniging Vrienden van het Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek, mention “Rijnexcursie.”
The costs include the excursion,coffee on arrival, lunch and the excursion guide. The extensive guide contains 26 pages with a lot of photo’s and maps. Several members have helped to compile this guide.

Parking.As this excursion takes place on a Sunday,parking on the Rijnkade and along the river will offer no problems.There is also parking space on the Grote Markt between the St.Eusebius Church and the Provinciehuis.
If you come by train,the distance from the station to the Rijnkade is about a 10 minutes walk.
Members who do not live at Oosterbeek or Arnhem,will find enclosed with this Newsletter a small map with detailed information.
People who come from Nijmegen are advised to take‘the Nelson Mandela bridge,they will reach the Rijnkade via Weerdj esstraat and Vossenstraat.
If you are unable to take part in the mornino’e woiv …
At 12 30 hr morning walk,you can join the excursion at Iz.JU nrs tor the lunch on board and the boat-trip.

Society donates camera to Airborne Museum.

Sgt Smith, one of the three camera-men of AFPU who photographed the British actions at Arnhem. The Airborne Museum now possesses a ZEISS SUPER IKONTA camera of the same type as the one Sgt.Smith is using. In September 1944 this type of camera was used by  by the Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU) to take photographs of the actions at Wolfheze and Oosterbeek. The size of the negatives is 6 x 6 cm, each film supplies twelve photo’s.

On the occasion of the lOth Anniversary,the societ donated a ZEISS SUPER IKONTA photo camera to the Museum.In September 1944 this type of camera was used by the Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU) to take photographs of the
actions at Wolfheze and Oosterbeek. The size of the negatives is 6 x 6 cm, each film supplies twelve photo’s.

There was a special reason for the fact the the British Army photographers had been supplied with German camera’s: they came from Sweden. The Germans had exchanged a series of these camera’s for Swedish ball-bearings.Afterwards the Swedes sold these camera’s to Great Britain! They were then used to supply the AFPU with camera’s.
Although these camera’s produced good photographs,they had the disadvantage that one could only shoot twelve pictures with one film.The British camera-men had only taken films with them for two days’ shooting,when it appeared that the battle would not be over within two days,they could no longer use their camera’s.
The German army photographers of the “Propaganda Kompanien” used Leica 35 mm camera’s with 36 pictures on one film..
A figure representing the British camera man Gordon “Jock” Walker will be placed, holding the camera, in the diorama in the basement of the Museum. The figure is also a gift from the Society to the Museum.

“De Polen van Priel”:fllling a gap in the history of the Battle of Arnhem.
Much has been written about the Battle of Arnhem during the past 45 years. However, the röle of the Polish Para Brigade in this battle has always been a rather shadowy one. But now there is a book which has been dedicated to this Brigade.Is does not only describe the Battle of Arnhem, but also the previous history of the Brigade, its foundation, its training and also the history of its remarkable commander,General-Major Stanislaw Sosabowski.
The research for this book has taken more than six years.The American author Mr. George F. Cholewczynski interviewed tens of veterans and was allowed to study every report,both in English and in Polish, in the United States and in England.
All this has resulted in the appearance of a sound and very readable book. Although its title might suggest that it only describes the actions in and around Driel,the author does give extensive Information about the presence of the Polish troops in and near Oosterbeek.
The book is well-produced, it contains about 290 photographs,many of which have never been published before.
The publisher is LUNET of Naarden.The book costs ƒ 39,95.

Commemorative envelope.Towards the end of 1989,the Polish authorities issued a series of special stamps,depicting Polish commanders during the second world war. One of these stamps has been dedicated to General-Major Stanislaw Sosabowski and the Battle of Arnhem.

It took a lot of effort to obtain a sufficiënt number of these stamps but in the end they arrived in Oosterbeek. The Society has decided to use them for a special commemorative envelope which will be stamped in Warsaw. The envelopes will cost ƒ 5,- and be on sale at the Museum,during our excursion on June lOth, and of course via the giro account of our treasurer.
New books: Our member,Drs.A.Groeneweg,has translated Geoffry Powell’s book “The Devil’s Birthday into Dutch. See also Newsletter No. 37.
Hackett’s book “I was a stranger”, can now be bought at the Museum in a paper¬back edition. ƒ 28,70.
“De Polen van Driel” appears to be a best-seller.If you have not got it yet.you’d better hurry!
“Theirs is the glory”:we have been able to obtain some copies of this film on video.lt can be bought at the Museum, ƒ 87.50.
Stop-press : our excursion on June lOth. During the morning walk around the Northern aspect of the bridge,we will be able to visit the top floor of the B.A.S.F. building near the bridge. This will give us a marvellous view over the whole area. We are very happy that the Directors have been so kind as to open their building to us – on a Sunday,too! – and we know that the participants will appreciate this kind gesture very much.
The excursion has not yet been fully booked, but we advise you not to wait too long.The sooner we know the exact number,the sooner we can plan the catering,etc. Additional excursion guides can be obtained ,they cost ƒ 5 –

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