God, Honour, Fatherland or Honour and Fatherland (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''Bóg, Honor, Ojczyzna'' or ''Honor i Ojczyzna'') is one of the

unofficial mottos of Poland Poland has no official motto of the State, namely the one which is recognized as such by the Polish national law. However, there are some common phrases which appear commonly on banners, flags and other symbols of the Polish State, or are consider ...

. It is commonly seen as the motto of the

military of Poland The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...

, and has been confirmed as such by several Polish legal decrees. It traces its history to the era of

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

and Polish service in

Napoleonic army Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Etymology

The noun ''ojczyzna'' is derived from ''ojciec'' (the

word for "father"), which is why "fatherland" is a common translation of the term. Sometimes it is interpreted as literally "land of the fathers". However, ''ojczyzna'' itself is

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...

- just like ''Polska'' (the

endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

for Poland) - so it can also be translated as ''motherland'' with a similar degree of accuracy. To avoid confusion and remain neutral, some people translate ''ojczyzna'' simply as "homeland" therefore avoiding the fatherland/motherland preference. Terms for "homeland" with similar spelling and pronunciation to ''ojczyzna'' appear in other

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...

as well, for example the Russian отчизна or Czech ''otčina''.

History

The phrase "Honour and Fatherland" can be traced to the slogans and banners of Polish revolutionaries of the 19th century, fighting to regain Polish independence following the

. This is also the motto of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

, instituted by Napoleon in 1802. It is likely that the phrase was brought to Poland by the soldiers of the Napoleonic-era Polish legions. It was introduced as phrase to be used on the banners of the newly reconstituted Polish military of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

in 1919. The word God was officially added to the standards, preceding words Honour and Fatherland, by the decree of 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 ...

in 1943. This decree remained in force till it was changed by the communist government of the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

in 1955 to "For Our Fatherland the People's Republic of Poland" (''"Za naszą Ojczyznę Polską Rzeczpospolitą Ludową"''). Following the fall of communism, the "God, Honour, Fatherland" phrase was restored by the government of the

Third Polish Republic Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

in 1993. Since 2018, the phrase appears on the

Polish passport A Polish passport ( pl, paszport) is an international travel document issued to nationals of Poland, and may also serve as proof of Polish citizenship. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indication of Polish ci ...

Significance

The motto is interpreted as reconfirming the Constitution of Poland's clause about the citizen's duty to serve the Fatherland (''ojczyzna''), with the

social contract In moral and political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships betw ...

allowing exceptions honour and

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

(''Ojczyźnie wszystko, prócz miłości Boga najwyższego i Honoru''). It is one of the symbols connecting Polish

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

to (

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

) religiosity.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bog, Honor, Ojczyzna Mottos National symbols of Poland

Etymology

History

Significance

See also

Notes

Further reading

References