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Krzyż Armii Krajowej
The Cross of the Home Army () is a Polish military decoration that was introduced by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski on 1 August 1966 to commemorate the efforts of the soldiers of the Polish Secret State between 1939 and 1945. The decoration was awarded to soldiers of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa) and of its predecessor organizations ( Służba Zwycięstwu Polski, Związek Walki Zbrojnej). The first recipient (posthumous) was General Stefan ''Grot''–Rowecki. The award was supported by the Polish government in exile in London and was not recognized by the People's Republic of Poland, which viewed members of the mostly anti-communist Armia Krajowa as enemies of the state. After the fall of communism, in 1992 it was recognized by the government of Poland and was awarded by the president of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Const ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski
Generał Tadeusz Komorowski (1 June 1895 – 24 August 1966), better known by the name Bór-Komorowski (after one of his wartime code names: ''Bór'' – "The Forest") was a Polish military leader. He was appointed commander-in-chief a day before the capitulation of the Warsaw Uprising and following World War II, 32nd Prime Minister of Poland, 3rd Polish government-in-exile in London. Life Komorowski was born in Khorobriv, in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (the Austrian partition of Poland). In the First World War he served as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army, and after the war became an officer in the Polish Army, rising to command the Grudziądz Cavalry School. He was a member of the Polish equestrian team that went to the 1924 Summer Olympics. After taking part in the fighting against the German invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II in 1939, Komorowski, with the code-name ''Bór'', helped organise the Polish underground in the Kraków area. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish Secret State
The Polish Underground State (, also known as the Polish Secret State) was a single political and military entity formed by the union of resistance organizations in occupied Poland that were loyal to the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile in London. The first elements of the Underground State were established in the final days of the German and Soviet invasion of Poland, in late September 1939. The Underground State was perceived by supporters as a legal continuation of the pre-war Republic of Poland (and its institutions) that waged an armed struggle against the country's occupying powers: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The Underground State encompassed not only military resistance, one of the largest in the world, but also civilian structures, such as justice, education, culture and social services. Although the Underground State enjoyed broad support throughout much of the war, it was not supported or recognized by the communists and some of the right-w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armia Krajowa
The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the aftermath of the German and Soviet invasions in September 1939. Over the next two years, the Home Army absorbed most of the other Polish partisans and underground forces. Its allegiance was to the Polish government-in-exile in London, and it constituted the armed wing of what came to be known as the Polish Underground State. Estimates of the Home Army's 1944 strength range between 200,000 and 600,000. The latter number made the Home Army not only Poland's largest underground resistance movement but, along with Soviet and Yugoslav partisans, one of Europe's largest World War II underground movements. The Home Army sabotaged German transports bound for the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union, destroying German supplies and tying down subs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Służba Zwycięstwu Polski
Service for Poland's Victory (; SZP), also translated as the Polish Victory Service, was the first Polish resistance movement in World War II. It was created by the order of general Juliusz Rómmel on 27 September 1939, when the siege of Warsaw, capital of Poland, where Rómmel commanded Polish defence, was nearing its end (Warsaw would capitulate on 28 September). The commander of SZP was General Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski.Stanislaw Mikolajczyk ''The Pattern of Soviet Domination'' Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948 Page 8 This secret organisation was tasked with the continuing of armed struggle to liberate Poland in the pre-war borders of the Second Polish Republic, recreation and reorganization of the Polish army and establishment of the secret government (Polish Underground State). In November 1939 SZP was renamed Union of Armed Struggle (ZWZ). See also * Związek Walki Zbrojnej * Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Związek Walki Zbrojnej
The Union of Armed StruggleThus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. (; ZWZ), also translated as the Union for Armed Struggle, Association of Armed Struggle, and Association for Armed Struggle, was an underground army formed in Poland following its invasion in September 1939 by Germany and the Soviet Union that opened World War II. It existed from 13 November 1939 until 14 February 1942, when it was renamed into Home Army (''Armia Krajowa, AK''). Union of Armed Struggle was created from an earlier organization, Service for Poland's Victory (''SZP''). In January 1940, it was divided into two parts: *areas under German occupation — commanded by Colonel Stefan Rowecki, headquartered in Warsaw; *areas under Soviet occupation — commanded by General Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski, headquartered in Lwów. Formally, the Union of Armed Struggle was directed from Paris, by General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (nom de guerre Józef Go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Posthumous Recognition
A posthumous award is an award that is granted after the recipient has died. Many prizes, medals, and awards can be granted posthumously. Military decorations Military decorations, such as the Victoria Cross or the Medal of Honor, are often given posthumously. The title Hero of the Soviet Union was posthumously given, but the Gold Star medal was not awarded itself. During World War II, many countries practiced the granting of posthumous awards. In the Soviet Union, the only posthumous award that was physically awarded was the Order of the Patriotic War. All other awards were not physically awarded. Until 1977, upon the death of an awardee, all medals and awards were returned. Less commonly, certain prizes, medals, and awards are granted ''only'' posthumously, especially those that honor people who died in service to a particular cause. Such awards include the Confederate Medal of Honor award, to Confederate veterans who distinguished themselves conspicuously during the American ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stefan Rowecki
Stefan Paweł Rowecki (pseudonym: ''Grot'', "Spearhead", hence the alternate name, Stefan Grot-Rowecki; 25 December 1895 – 2 August 1944) was a Polish general, journalist and the leader of the Armia Krajowa. He was murdered by the Gestapo in prison on the personal order of Heinrich Himmler. Life Rowecki was born in Piotrków Trybunalski. In his home town he was one of the organizers of a secret scouting organization. During World War I he was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian army and later into the First Brigade of the Polish Legion. He was interned in August 1917 after the majority of his unit had refused to pledge loyalty to the Emperor of Austria. In February 1918, he was released from the internment camp in Beniaminów and joined the Polska Siła Zbrojna. After the establishment of the newly independent Poland, he joined the Polish Army. Rowecki fought in the Polish–Soviet war (1919–1920). After the war, he remained in the army and organized the first mili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish Government In Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ... of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany, Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic (1939-1945), Slovak Republic, which brought to an end the Second Polish Republic. Despite the occupation of Poland by hostile powers, the government-in-exile exerted considerable influence in Poland during World War II through the structures of the Polish Underground State and its military arm, the Armia Krajowa (Home Army) resistance. Abroad, under the authority of the governme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of Government of the United Kingdom, the national government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. London grew rapidly 19th-century London, in the 19th century, becoming the world's List of largest cities throughout history, largest city at the time. Since the 19th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
People's Republic Of Poland
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second most-populous communist government, communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe. It was also where the Warsaw Pact was founded. The largest city and capital was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural city of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west. The Polish People's Republic was a unitary state with a Marxist–Leninist government established in the country after the Red Army's takeover of Polish territory from Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German occupation in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-communist
Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in an intense rivalry. Anti-communism has been an element of many movements and different political positions across the political spectrum, including anarchism, centrism, conservatism, fascism, liberalism, nationalism, social democracy, socialism, leftism, and libertarianism, as well as broad movements #Evasion of censorship, resisting communist governance. Anti-communism has also been expressed by #Religions, several religious groups, and in art and #Literature, literature. The first organization which was specifically dedicated to opposing communism was the Russian White movement, which fought in the Russian Civil War starting in 1918 against the recently established Government of Vladimir Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
