Grunwald Medal

The Grunwald Medal is a decoration established by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army of 22 July 1945 to commemorate the struggle of the Polish people against the German invaders in 1939-1945. Symbolically alluding to the tradition of the victorious Battle of Grunwald in 1410, it was awarded to people who took an active part in fighting against the Germans in the ranks of the Polish Army during the 1939 campaign and the Polish Armed Forces in the West, in the partisans in the country or in the Soviet and Yugoslav forces, as well as in the French resistance movement. Soldiers of the People's Polish Army and all those who, up to the day of the end of the war, had contributed to victory with impeccable service in units supporting the fighting units were also eligible. Polish soldiers who fought in the ranks of allied armies were also entitled to receive the medal. The medal was designed by Marian Spychalski (1906-1980), then Chief of Staff of the Supreme Command of the Polish Army – later Marshal of Poland, Chairman of the Council of State, Minister of National Defence of the People's Republic of Poland. The medal on display belonged to Jan Dziełakowski (?-1973), a pioneer of Szczecin who arrived in the city in 1946. It was donated to the collection of the Szczecin History Museum in 1996 by the son of the decorated person, Władysław Dziełakowski (1938-2013). Anna Lew-Machniak