Wilhelm Wylenzek was born on 29 January 1916 in Poland.

 

Wilhelm arrived in Breda in October 1944 as a 28-year-old and never left. He married Geertruida Maria Vermeulenon on 29 September 1945, they had four children, ten grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

Until his retirement in 1977, Wilhelm worked as a programmer at Enka. The former soldier always championed the Polish community in Breda. In 1946 he co-founded the Polish Catholic Society, the forerunner of the Cultural Association Polonia. “They thought they would go back to Poland, and they wanted their new partners to get to know the culture,” says daughter Will van Lieshout.

In 1956, Wilhelm took over the management of the Polish school at the Keizerstraat in Breda, where children of former soldiers were given language lessons on Saturday. Because he was stateless for years, it took until 1960 before Wylenzek could return to Poland for family visits. “It was only in 1965 that we went to Poland with the whole family,” his daughter said.

In 1994, during the visit of the Polish president to the Netherlands, Wylenzek stood in front when Lech Walesa with Queen Beatrix unveiled a monument in Made.

Wilhelm was partly responsible for the current location of the General Maczek Museum and at his request the Committee Commemoration '44 was founded in Ginneken. The veteran received numerous awards and never skipped a memorial. He was an honorary citizen of Breda and Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Wilhelm Wylenzek and his wife spent their last years at the Tetering care centre Zuiderhout, where Gerry died in February 2014. Wilhelm passed away on 4 April 2015. With him, Breda loses the oldest veteran of the First Polish Armoured Division of World War II.

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Source: 1st Polish Armoured Division Facebook post

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