Army Medal

The Army Medal for the 1939-1945 War was established by decree of the President of the Republic of Poland in Exile in London, on 3 July 1945. The decoration was intended for ground troops of the Polish Armed Forces. It could be conferred to the same person four times. Deeds performed during the war which were of special benefit to the Land Forces and which went beyond normal duties were rewarded, as well as conscientious service during the war, if a continuous period of six months had elapsed since the start of the war in units taking part in the fighting. A period of twelve months was taken into account for subsequent awards. Time of service was counted from 1 September 1939. The decision to grant the award was made by the President of the Republic of Poland in Exile with the possibility of authorising the Commander-in-Chief and those in command in the function of at least the Corps Commander. From September 1945, such authority was given to the Chief of the General Staff, the Commanders of the 1st and 2nd Corps, as well as Commander of Military Units in the Middle East. The communist authorities did not accept the Army Medal. They did not recognise the Polish government in exile and the decorations it awarded, and in turn they established their own. It was not officially incorporated into the Polish medal system until an act of the Polish Sejm of 16 October 1992, at which time the awarding of the medal was also completed. The medal on display was donated by the Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy (Polish: Związek Bojowników o Wolność i Demokrację, ZBoWiD), a veterans' organisation formed in 1949 from a merger of eleven associations of veterans and prisoners of Nazi camps active since 1945. The union popularised and perpetuated the history and traditions of the struggles for national and social liberation, looked after the members of the ZBoWiD and their families in social matters, and activated them in the social life of the country. The ZBoWiD organised celebrations of important anniversaries and participated in the construction of monuments commemorating veterans. Anna Lew-Machniak