Show me your Polski !

MedalFuhrer

After numerous visits to Poland over the last year and a half, only about 3 months ago I wandered down a side lane which brought me to a tiny dusty antique shop. The guy specialised in coins but also had a good medal collection. I had struck gold!

My Polish/ Polish Communist collection. The majority are from that dusty shop in Lodz, other are online buys. (sorry for poor quality photos)


Probably my favourite for it's simple elegance and quality of casting. Hall marked as solid silver, the Polish Army 20 Years Long Service medal.
Issued in 1939 for 20 years service in the new Polish Army formed in 1919 after WW1. The irony that towards the end of 1939 that same army no longer existed.....
Lovely medal.






Another favourite is the Polina Restituta. This one being issued in 1984 during the Communist Regime. Another beautifully made medal.





The Liberation of Warsaw medal. Issued after WW2.

MedalFuhrer

The Auschwitz Cross. Issued to victims of Auschwitz, the German Concentration and Death Camp.





"People's Police" (secret police) medal for "Service and Upholding Public Order".
Quite a sinister medal here as many people were silenced and "dissappeared" during the grey days of the Communist Regime.
Issued to a Sargent of the secret police in 1975

MedalFuhrer

The motherload!! The bearded shop owner did not speak English and I don't speak Polish but we had being comminicating okay with points and grunts and some shared jokes that didn't need translating. But I also had a Polish speaker with me, so we chatted with the guy, sound fellow, and he showed me this collection that had been brought in. A life time of medals from a man that his widow had sold. The important thing to the widow was the documentation, the medals were just trinkets to her. So unfortunately he had no documents with them. I wasn't interested in such a collection as they would surely be more than I was willing to spend. Out of interest I asked how much they were. He said that since I have bought a fair few other medals that he would give me a discount. Before he took his next breath after telling me the price I was already stuffing the money into his hand.

WW2 medals awarded by both the Polish and U.S.S.R. governments:




Then after WW2 he stayed in the Army, albiet what was then the Communist Army. From his medals he also served in the fire service and a rare enough medal of bravery from the Scouts and Girl Guides.

HerrScheisse

If he wore them all at the same time he would fall over

It must have been a strange situation fo him to free his country from the Nazis and then help enslave it with the commies :eek:

MedalFuhrer

HerrScheisse wrote: »

If he wore them all at the same time he would fall over

It must have been a strange situation fo him to free his country from the Nazis and then help enslave it with the commies :eek:

Yes he would never get through airport security wearing his dress uniform with that lot!:D

Yes a funny situation that he ends up dedicading his life to the Commies when it was the Nazis and Commies together that invaded and destroyed the country in 1939. I suppose a persuasive regime can change a lot of minds, or force them to change.

HerrScheisse

I've been meaning to post my Polski but only got round to photographing them today.

I do not have anything approaching your very impressive collection :eek:

A very interesting film on the fall of Poland and its aftermath is Katyn. It is Polish language but can be obtained subtitled. Well worth a watch and captures the confusion that must have been felt in Poland at the time.



The award below is called Polonia Restituta or Poland Restored. This comes in five classes, this version being fourth class. I cannot afford first class ;-)



Next is the civil award Merit Cross in gold. This is Polands highest civilian award.



This medal below is the Oder, Neisse and Baltic medal.



Next is the Warsaw medal - awarded to defenders of the city in 1939 and insurgents in 1944.



Below the Polish Victory and Freedom medal - awarded to persons who fought against Germany in WW2.



Next is a five year service medal from the period of 1950-1960. This is when the Polish armed forces served the Peoples Republic *




* Disclaimer: Although I have some Polish items from pre 1989 in my collection, I am not a communist. I may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a communist, but I am not a porn star.

MedalFuhrer

Nice collection Herr Sheisse, and medals in very good condition too! Yes I have a copy of that film, good film about an era that we never learned about.