On November 1st – All Saints’ Day – Poles visit cemeteries to place a candle at graves of their loved ones. In the Netherlands, this often means that on this day, lights are also lit at the graves of Poles who fought for our freedom.
With this message pictures taken at the war cemetery in Oosterbeek where all Polish graves had one or more lights. It remains an impressive sight.
The Poles who died in September 1944 have been buried on the Oosterbeek War Cemetery. The Poles who were first buried in Driel near the church or in their field graves were also buried here in 1947. They lie at the back in a row left and right of the entrance. They are somewhat in the back and are often missed the moment you walk onto the cemetery.
The manager of the cemetery has now adjusted this. It is now possible to turn left and right immediately after the entrance and the space behind the two small buildings there is now more open. This makes the graves stand out more. Also, the grass field there now has a hard surface. This is because this spot under the trees was often wet, as can be seen from the green deposits on the graves themselves.
Below are two more photos and a short film impression that we made on this sunny day.
Video impression of the graves. More Poles are buried among the other graves, mostly on the south side of the field.
