Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945 (

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 ...

: ''Medal Zwycięstwa i Wolności 1945'') was a Polish military decoration awarded to persons who fought during

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 opposin ...

against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Overview

The medal was introduced by a decree of the Council of Ministers and approved by the

State National Council Krajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish (translated as State National Council or Homeland National Council, abbreviated to KRN) was a parliament-like political body created during the later stages of World War II in German-occupied Warsaw, Poland. It was ...

(''Krajowa Rada Narodowa'') on October 26, 1945. According to the decree, it was instituted ''to commemorate the victory of the Polish Nation and its allies over the

barbarism Barbarism, barbarity, or barbarous may refer to: * Barbarism (linguistics), a non-standard word, expression, or pronunciation ** Hybrid words, formerly called "barbarisms" * Any society construed as barbarian ** Barbarian invasions, a period of m ...

hitlerism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

, a triumph of the idea of democratic freedom, and to award persons who helped in this victory and triumph by their actions or suffering, in this country or abroad, by May 9, 1945''.

Recipients

It was awarded to: *soldiers of the Polish People's Army (''Ludowe Wojsko Polskie'') in the USSR *soldiers fighting in the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

in 1939 *soldiers of the

Polish Armed Forces 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 ...

in the West, provided that they come back to Poland after the war *Poles who fought against Germans in allied armies *Polish partisans fighting in the country or abroad *members of the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, Yugoslav or

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

partisan units. *armed forces members who served at least three months by May 9, 1945, in auxiliary units, helping in the victory. POL Medal Zwycięstwa i Wolności BAR

Currency

The medal was awarded by the Prime Minister, and from 1958 by the Council of State. It ceased to be awarded in 1992. About 670,000 Medals were awarded by 1985. It was first awarded on May 9, 1946, given among others to Bolesław Bierut.

Description

The Medal was 33 mm in diameter. Its obverse shows the eagle, the coat of arms of Poland, in the center surrounded by the inscription: "

KRAJOWA RADA NARODOWA Krajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish (translated as State National Council or Homeland National Council, abbreviated to KRN) was a parliament-like political body created during the later stages of World War II in German-occupied Warsaw, Poland. It was ...

". The reverse bears the horizontal inscription in four lines: "R.P. / ZWYCIĘSTWO / I WOLNOŚĆ / 9.V.1945" ("Polish Republic / Victory / And Freedom / 9 May 1945"). Attached is a ribbon, 35 mm wide, with three red stripes and two white stripes, each 7 mm wide. From 1960 the ribbon was 33 mm wide. In order of precedence, the Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945 was worn after the Medal za Odrę, Nysę, Bałtyk (Medal for the Oder, the Nissa and the Baltic). {{DEFAULTSORT:Medal Zwyciestwa I Wolnosci 1945 Polish campaign medals