The Partisan Cross () was a Polish military decoration awarded to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

partisans (part of

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

fighting in the countryside). It was introduced by the Council of Ministers on October 26, 1945. It was awarded from 1945 until 1999. It was awarded to organizers, commanders and members of partisan units who fought against Germans on a Polish territory, or to Poles who fought in partisan units in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

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, or to foreigners, who fought in partisan units on a Polish territory. It could be given also to cities or villages, that distinguished themselves in supporting the partisan movement. It was awarded first by the Ministry of Defence, from 1952 by the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

, from 1989 by the

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

. It ceased to be awarded in 1999. About 55,000 Partisan Crosses were awarded.

Description

The Cross is a gold-plated

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

with thin arms, 38 x 38 mm. Obverse shows the

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in the centre (the Polish coat-of-arms) and an inscription: "ZA – POLSKĘ – WOLNOŚĆ – i LUD" (For Poland, Liberty and People) on arms. The reverse bears the horizontal inscription "PARTYZANTOM" (to partisans), and the date "1939" on an upper vertical arm and "1945" on a lower arm. A ribbon is dark green, 35 mm wide, with black strips 7 mm wide, near both edges. In an order of precedency, the Partisan Cross was worn after Cross of Valour.

Number awarded

According to the data of the State Decorations Bureau of the State Council Chancellery and the Decorations Bureau of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland , 75,374 crosses were awarded until 1987, and then additionally 18,651 crosses; in total - 94,025 crosses.Wojciech Stela: ''Polish orders and decorations (Vol. I)'' . Warsaw: 2008, p. 20.

References

Military awards and decorations of Poland Awards established in 1952 Awards disestablished in 1999 {{Orders-medals-stub

Description

Number awarded

See also

References