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Battleground Barony

until June 2, 2019

Battleground Barony

Fight and liberation

On 1 October 1944, the Allies entered the Barony and on 8 November they reached Moerdijk: all of West Brabant was liberated. Years of battle had preceded this liberation. Seven museums from the Barony of Breda present various aspects of this long struggle. Together with Stedelijk Museum Breda they present the exhibition Battleground Barony.

It provides a little preview of what will be on show in these museums in 2019 and 2020. The seven museums will each be commemorating World War II and the liberation in their own way. The exhibition provides a framework for their stories. The story begins with the mobilisation of the Dutch army in late August 1939. Fathers and sons from many families suddenly left as they were drafted into military service. On 10 May 1940, the war became a reality for the Dutch. For the military, but also for the civilians of Breda; they were evacuated to Antwerp. What followed was four and a half years of occupation and then, finally, in October and November 1944 the liberation by the Polish 1st Armoured Division led by Major General Maczek. The objects in the exhibition all have their own story to tell, opening a window to the imagination, ranging from daily life in wartime to heroic actions.

The participating museums of this joint exhibition are:

· Streekmuseum Alphen

· General Maczek Museum (GMM)

· Historische Verzameling (KMA)

· Nederlands Drukkerij Museum

· Heemkundig Museum Paulus van Daesdonck

· Princenhaags museum

· Mobilisatiemuseum ‘Weest op uw hoede’

The exhibition is an initiative of Streeknetwerk Landstad De Baronie (Barony museums Regional network) and made possible in part by the Mondriaan Fonds and Stedelijk Museum Breda.

Image: Festivities in Breda after the liberation by the Poles, 11 November 1944. Photographer unknown, coloured by Coloriginals