Awards of
World War IIThe Partisan Cross is a Polish military decoration established by the Decree of the Polish Committee of National Liberation on December 22, 1944, for participants in the partisan movement fighting the Nazi occupiers.
The Partisan Cross was awarded to leaders and rank-and-file fighters of the Resistance movement, partisan detachments, and the underground who demonstrated steadfastness, bravery, and courage in the fight against the Nazi occupiers.
On October 26, 1945, by the Decree of the National Council of the People's Republic and The Minister of National Defense of Poland amended the award regulations, according to which "the military insignia of the Partisan Cross may be awarded to both Poles and foreign citizens who were active participants in the Resistance movement in the USSR, Yugoslavia, and France."
The right to award the military insignia of the Partisan Cross belonged to the Council of Ministers of Poland.
The first awarding of the Partisan Cross was timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany and took place on May 9, 1946, at the Belweder Palace in Warsaw. Among the first recipients of this award were the President of the National Council of Poland, Bolesław Bierut, and Marshal of Poland, Michał Rola-Żymierski.
Between 1945 and 1989, 76,664 people received the Partisan Cross. Between 1990 and 1999, many soldiers, mostly those fighting for the Home Army, were awarded the award, a total of 17,386, who deliberately failed to receive it from the communist authorities. On May 8, 1999, the awarding of the Partisan Cross was completed.
The award is made of gilded brass in the form of an equilateral Greek cross, measuring 38 x 38 mm with an 8.5 mm shoulder width. The edges of the cross are bordered with laurel leaves. On the obverse, in the center, is an uncrowned Polish eagle, with the inscription "ZA POLSKĘ WOLNOŚĆ I LUD" (For Poland, Freedom, and the Nation) on the arms of the cross.
On the reverse, on the horizontal bar, is the inscription "PARTYZANTOM" (To the Partisans), with the dates 1939 and 1945 on the upper and lower arms.
The award is attached to the award ribbon with an eyelet and ring. The ribbon is silk, moiré, dark green, 35 mm wide, with two vertical black stripes 7 mm wide, 2 mm from the edge.
Between 1944 and 1960, the wearing of the Partisan Cross was not regulated. In practice, pre-war and Soviet rules for wearing the award were partially applied. It was not until 1960 that the order of wearing the awards was standardized, and the Partisan Cross took its place in the hierarchy, following the gold medal "Honored on the Field of Glory."