Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland
The Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland is a three-class breast decoration that is awarded for civil merit (1939–1945 also for war merit ).
The Cross of Merit was donated on June 23, 1923 by President Stanisław Wojciechowski . It was intended to reward those citizens who, since the re-establishment of Poland in 1918, have rendered special services to the state or its citizens by performing deeds that were not part of their ordinary duties. At the same time they wanted to limit the awards of the Polonia Restituta Order , which were becoming too numerous.
The Cross of Merit has three levels:
1. Golden Cross ("Złoty Krzyż Zasługi"), which is a red enameled paw cross . There are golden rays in the corners of the cross. The middle medallion shows the monogram "RP" (Republic of Poland) in a white field with a red frame. The middle medallion is surrounded by a golden laurel wreath. The back of the cross is smooth, with no enamel or inscriptions (for the first ten years, the lapel was engraved with the award number). The cross hangs on a ring in the shape of a golden laurel wreath and is worn on the left breast on a dark red (amaranthine) ribbon with blue stripes on both sides.
2. The Silver Cross (“Srebrny Krzyż Zasługi”) has the same appearance as the Golden Cross, except that all the details are made of silver instead of gold.
3. The bronze cross ("Brązowy Krzyż Zasługi") has the same appearance as the higher two steps, but is unenamelled and hangs on a simple ring instead of a laurel wreath.
Around 500 crosses of various levels were awarded annually until 1928, in that year (the tenth anniversary of independence) they were awarded to 5,500 people. In total, the cross was awarded to 14,320 people in the years 1923–1939. You could receive the cross four times. It was also awarded to corporations.
On March 7, 1928, President Ignacy Mościcki donated a variant of the Cross of Merit, which was awarded primarily to the military and police: the one-class "Cross of Merit for Bravery". It was the Silver Cross, the three upper arms of which bore the inscription “ Za dzielność ” (For bravery). Until 1938, this badge was awarded to 377 people. In 1992 it was renewed.
On October 19, 1942, the Polish government-in-exile donated the Cross of Merit with Swords in London . The Golden Cross was intended for officers; it was only allowed to be awarded to NCOs and ordinary soldiers in exceptional cases. The three levels and general appearance of the civilian merit cross were retained: the difference was that the new cross had two crossed swords under the laurel wreath of the suspension.
The awards of the two variants - the common cross and (rarely) the one with swords (to combatants) - were continued in the post-war period 1945–1990 by the London government in exile. All of these awards were recognized by the 3rd Polish Republic in 1990.
The communist government of Poland installed by Stalin renewed the civil merit cross on December 22, 1944. The old appearance was retained until 1952. In 1952 the state was renamed “ People's Republic of Poland ” and from 1960 the Cross of Merit contained the monogram “PRL” ( Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa , People's Republic of Poland) in the middle medallion.
In 1992, the 3rd Polish Republic resumed the Cross of Merit in the form it was in until 1952.
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| Cross of Merit | Cross of Merit with Swords |
Cross of Merit for bravery |
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| Silver |
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| Bronzes |
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