Home Army Cross
The Home Army Cross (Polish: Krzyż Armii Krajowej ) is an award in honor of the members of the Polish underground state from World War II.
The Order was founded on the 22nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising on August 1, 1966 by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski , former Commander of the Home Army and then Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Home Army Circle in London. The details of the award were printed in Dziennik Polski on September 2, 1966.
General Bór-Komorowski described the award during the AK congress in 1966: "The cross is a symbol of unlimited sacrifice and devotion in the fight against the occupier and at the same time a visible sign that a soldier's duty has been fulfilled through and through."
The elaboration of the home cross was prepared by a commission set up for this purpose, chaired by General Karol Ziemski. After holding a competition, the design of the order was chosen, whose author was Andrzej Bobrowski.
The Home Army Cross was erected separately from the pre-existing Home Army badge to which those who served in the Home Army for at least three months were entitled. In contrast, the award of the Home Army Cross was provided regardless of the length of service, as well as for people who took part in the fight against the occupiers and served this organization, although they were not formally part of the Home Army. Both Poles and foreigners could be honored with the award. The medal commemorates the efforts of the soldiers of the Polish underground from 1939 to 1945, that is, it was given not only to soldiers of the Home Army, but also to members of the organizations that preceded it (SZP, ZWZ).
The Home Army Cross was awarded in London. It was not awarded by the People's Republic of Poland . It was not recognized as a Polish Order of Military Merit until 1992 and was awarded by the Polish President until May 8, 1999.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Krzyż Armii Krajowej [historia, w:] JZ Sawicki, K. Krzywińska “Szuflady pamięci”, Lublin 2014, ISBN 978-83-63527-55-6 .
- ↑ a b c Krzyż Armii Krajowej . "Biuletyn". No. 2, p. 60, Listopad 1966. Koło Lwowian w Londynie.
- ↑ Władysław Pruchniak: CIAG dalszy moich Wspomnień. W: Andrzej Brygidyn, Magdalena Brygidyn-Paszkiewicz: Wspomnienia i relacje żołnierzy Sanockiego Obwodu Związku Walki Zbrojnej - Armii Krajowej 1939–1944. Sanok: 2012, p. 71. ISBN 978-83-903080-5-0 .