On Saturday, October 18, the presentation of a new book, Quest for Freedom, took place at the Maczek Memorial in Breda. This book, written by Jack Didden (text) and designed by Maarten Swarts (layout), describes the operations of the 1st Polish Armoured Division from the beaches of France to the German surrender in May 1945.

What started as an idea for a modest 150-page booklet — as the author mentioned during the presentation — eventually turned into a substantial 450-page volume containing around 600 photos and over 100 maps. Richard Tieskens, chairman of the memorial, already referred to it as the “Magna Carta” of the division.

We will publish a more detailed review soon, but our first impression is that this is a beautifully produced and highly comprehensive work on the division. With the maps in hand, it also serves as a perfect guide for tracing the remnants of the past today.

Interested in the book? It is available for €65.00 at, or can be ordered from, the Maczek Memorial in Breda, as well as from bookstores both offline and online, such as bol.com.

Impression of the book and the well-attended book presentation on October 18 in Breda.

All photos © Poland in Beeld