Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( Polish Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej ) was re-established in 1992 by the Polish Sejm as a continuation of the earlier “Order of Merit of the People's Republic of Poland”.
history
The Communist Order of Merit was created on April 10, 1974 by the State Council of the "People's Republic". For a long time it was thought to revive the Order of the White Eagle . Since this was too “feudalistic” and since the highest honor was the Order of the Builders of People's Poland, the Order of Merit was finally donated, which was worn on the blue ribbon of the White Eagle Order.
The new foundation in 1992 changed the appearance of the order only marginally: instead of the eagle of the People's Republic, the crowned eagle of the republic was introduced, the plaque bears the cipher RP(Republic of Poland). The order received a new, cobalt gray ribbon. As in the past, the order is only awarded to foreigners and Poles abroad. The five classes were retained.
Order classes
The order consists of five classes:
-
Grand Cross
-
Commander with a star
-
Commander
-
officer
-
Knight or also known as a cavalier
Order decoration
The medal is a five-armed star of the Legion of Honor type with red enameled arms with white edging and golden rays between the arms. The republic's white state eagle is in the center of the medal. The medal of all classes hangs on a round golden plaque with the letters RP(Republic of Poland) (before 1992: PRL- People's Republic of Poland, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa ), from which golden rays emanate on both sides.
The silver breast star of the Grand and Grand Commander's cross is also five-pointed and has a red enamelled round medallion with the state eagle in the center, underlaid with five golden bundles of rays. The smooth gold back of classes 1–4 bore the state monogram in the middle. The knight's cross, on the other hand, is silver and without enamel.
Known porters
See for the individual classes:
- Bearer of the Grand Cross
- Bearer of the Grand Commander's Cross
- Bearer of the Commander's Cross
- Bearer of the Officer's Cross
- Bearer of the knight's or cavalier's cross
- Expression unknown
literature
- Zbigniew Puchalski / Ireneusz J. Wojciechowski: Ordery i odznaczenia polskie i ich kawalerowie , Warszawa 1987
