Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945
The Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945 (Polish Medal Zwycięstwa i Wolności 1945 ) is a military award from Poland, which was passed by the Polish National Council on October 26, 1945 by a decree of the Council of Ministers "... to commemorate the victory of the Polish nation and its allies on the National Socialist barbarism and the triumph of the idea of democratic freedom and for awards for people who, through their actions or sufferings in Poland or abroad, contributed to this victory and triumph up to May 9, 1945 ... ".
Requirements for the award
According to the regulations drawn up by the Medal Commission, this medal should be awarded to:
- Soldiers of the Polish People's Army
- Soldiers who took part in the Defense War in 1939
- Soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces in the West after returning to Poland
- Poles who fought with Germany in the ranks of the Allied armies
- Partisans who take part in battles at home and abroad
- Participants of the Soviet, Yugoslav and French resistance partisans
- also those who contributed to the common victory by May 9, 1945 within three months of their service in units supporting combat units.
The medal was awarded once by the Prime Minister on behalf of the Presidium of the National National Council, which delegated part of its powers to the Minister for National Defense and the main board of the Association of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy. From 1958 the medal was awarded by the State Council.
Originally the medal was called: Victory and Freedom Medal 1945. In the law of February 17, 1960, the medal was recognized in the Polish system of awards as the Victory and Freedom Medal in 1945 and recognized as a reward for those who contributed to the victory over Nazi fascism in 1945, of the war from 1939 to 1945.
The Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945 replaced the Polish award after the medal for Oder, Neisse, Baltic Sea .
The new Ordinance and Decorations Act, which came into force on December 23, 1992, did not contain the medal (repeal of the earlier Ordinance and Decorations Act of 1960), which is why its award (like most medals and decorations of the war for previous merits) was considered complete.
Appearance and texture
The badge of the Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945 in the first version was a bronze disc with a diameter of 33 mm. On the front there was a state eagle surrounded by an oak leaf border, the inscription KRN in the upper part, but this version was not introduced. The final version, approved by regulations in 1946, is a patinated bronze 33 mm in diameter, on the front of which there is a state eagle and around the medal there is an inscription: KRAJOWA RADA NARODOWA. There are two bound oak leaves at the bottom of the coin. On the reverse of the medal there is an inscription in four lines separated by horizontal lines: RP - ZWYCIĘSTWO - I WOLNOŚĆ - 9.V.1945.
In 1945, a band was set up with a red and white color in the vertical line. From 1946 the medal ribbon was 35 mm wide and consisted of 3 red stripes and 2 white stripes with a width of 7 mm, which were arranged alternately. From 1960 the band width was 33 mm. The first awards of the medal were held on May 9, 1946, and then the medal was awarded to Bolesław Bierut, Marshal of Poland Michał Rola-Żymierski, Stanisław Mikołajczyk, Edward Osóbka-Morawski.
According to the Office for State Orders of the State Chancellery and the Office of Orders of the State Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, 739,633 medals were awarded until 1987, then an additional 7,734 medals; total - 747 367 medals.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Decree of October 26, 1945 establishing the "Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945" (Journal of Laws of 1945 No. 50, point 286)
- ↑ Art. 2 of the decree of October 26, 1945 establishing the "Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945" (Journal of Laws of 1945 No. 50, point 286)
- ↑ Art. 1 of the decree of August 19, 1946 amending the decree of October 26, 1945 on the establishment of the "Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945" (Journal of Laws of 1946, No. 44, point 256)
- ↑ Wojciech Stela: Polish Orders and Decorations (Vol. I). Warsaw: 2008, p. 20.