The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both

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and

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

s as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievements in the fields of

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, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries. The Order of Polonia Restituta is sometimes regarded as Poland's successor to the ''Order of the Knights of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr'', known as the Order of Saint Stanislaus, established in 1765 by Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last King of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

, to honor supporters of the Polish crown.

History

When Poland regained its independence from the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 1918, the new Polish government abolished the activities of the

Order of Saint Stanislaus (Imperial House of Romanov) pl, Order św. Stanisława , image = , caption = , image2 = , caption2 = Ribbon of the order , awarded_by = Head of the House of Romanov , type = Dynastic order of knighthood , motto ...

in the country, due to the claimed abuses of its initial rules by the Russians, who often awarded their version to those who - according to the dominant view in newly independent

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

- had been responsible for the destruction of Poland and Polish culture. Instead, the Order of Polonia Restituta was established on 4 February 1921 with Marshal

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

as first Grand Master, with the proclaimed aim of once again rewarding the noble values that it originally stood for. The Marshal awarded the first recipients on 13 July 1921. The order became Poland's main honour bestowed on foreigners, awarded by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After

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 ...

both the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

and the Communist People's Republic of Poland, aligned with the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...

, awarded the order, though the versions differed slightly. Despite communist control, the order's prestige remained safe and it was even given to many people who were hardly model communists. The order was saved from abuse as it was simply passed over in favor of more traditional communist awards. During this time, the Order of Merit of Poland became the favored award for foreigners. On 22 December 1990 the Polish government-in-exile returned the rights to its version of the order to the new Polish state. Invalid awards have been revoked and today the remaining communist versions of the order hold the same status as any other issues.

Succession debate

Founded by the Polish Republic on 4 February 1921 as a secondary award to the Order of the White Eagle, the Order of Polonia Restituta, or the Order of the Restored Poland, has been alleged as an intended Polish successor to the Polish Order of Saint Stanislaus. The new Polonia Restituta order use the same ribbon as the old Saint Stanislaus order and their decorations are very similar. The goal was to preserve the tradition of the Order of Saint Stanislaus and its association with Polish history while changing the name which had become associated with Poland's oppression under the Russian Tsars.

Organisation

Among Polish civilian awards, the Order is second only to the rarely awarded Order of the White Eagle. Historically the order entitled its recipient to a state pension. As such, nominees for the award are evaluated by a special committee responsible for upholding the honour of the order. The Chapter ('' Kapituła'') of Polonia Restituta is composed of a Grand Master and eight members appointed by the Grand Master, who serve five year terms. Upon becoming elected 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 ...

, the office-holder is automatically awarded the order and becomes the Grand Master of the Order Chapter. The names of new recipients are published in the ''

Monitor Polski ''Monitor Polski'' ( en, Official Gazette of the Republic of Poland, abbreviated ''M. P.'' or ''MP'') is a publication of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland. The paper was launched in 1918. Between September and December 1939, the govern ...

'', a publication required to provide announcements of legal decisions to the public. The Order of Polonia Restituta (''Polska Odrodzona'') has five classes, categorized according to the

Constitution of Poland The current Constitution of Poland was founded on 2 April 1997. Formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), it replaced the Small Constitution of 1992, the last amended version of ...

, Article 138, as follows:

Grand Cross

Order of Polonia Restituta First Class, ''Krzyż Wielki'', the

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

, referred to as the Grand Cordon. POL Polonia Restituta Wielki BAR

Commander's Cross with Star

Order of Polonia Restituta Second Class, ''Krzyż Komandorski z Gwiazdą'', the Commander's Cross with Star. POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski ZG BAR

Commander's Cross

Order of Polonia Restituta Third Class, ''Krzyż Komandorski'', the Commander's Cross. POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski BAR

Officer's Cross

Order of Polonia Restituta Fourth Class, ''Krzyż Oficerski'', the

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

's Cross.

Knight's Cross

Order of Polonia Restituta Fifth Class, ''Krzyż Kawalerski'', the

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

's Cross.

Insignia

The

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and ...

of the order is a gold Maltese cross enamelled in white. The obverse central disc bears a white eagle on red background, the

Coat of Arms of Poland The coat of arms of Poland is a white, crowned eagle with a golden beak and talons, on a red background. In Poland, the coat of arms as a whole is referred to as ''godło'' both in official documents and colloquial speech, despite the fact that ...

, surrounded by a blue ring bearing the words "Polonia Restituta". The reverse central disc bears the year 1918 (for the People's Republic of Poland version: 1944). It is worn on a ribbon, red with a white stripe near the edges, as a sash on the right shoulder for Grand Cross, around the neck for Commander with Star and Commander, on the left chest with rosette for Officer, and on the left chest without rosette for Knight. The star of the order is an eight-pointed silver star with straight rays. The central disc is in white enamel, bearing the monogram "RP" (Republic of Poland) (for the People's Republic of Poland, "PRL") and surrounded by a blue ring bearing the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

words "Polonia Restituta". }) , Commander's Cross with Star
( pl, Krzyż Komandorski z Gwiazdą) , Commander's Cross
( pl, Krzyż Komandorski) , Officer's Cross
( pl, Krzyż Oficerski) , Knight's Cross
( pl, Krzyż Kawalerski) , - , Ribbon , POL Polonia Restituta Wielki BAR

, - , Insignia , Order Odrodzenia Polski - Krzyż Wielki