WWII Polish Home Army Badge
In August 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as a neutrality pact. The Pact, however, led to the Soviets and Nazis jointly invading Poland the following month, in September 1939, and splitting the territory. The occupation of Poland by these two powers lasted until the eventual defeat of Germany by the Allies in May 1945. Poland suffered greatly during this period, losing over 20% of its population as a result of the occupation.
Germany ultimately abandoned the neutrality pact with the Soviet Union in 1941, and declared war. With the Soviet Union joining with the Allied Powers to fight Nazi Germany, it created a complicated situation under which the Polish government in exile, also part of the Allied governments, had to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union while at the same time suffering from the Soviets occupying portions of Poland’s territory.
Within Poland, Warsaw, which had been a major center of Jewish life and culture, was in the territory occupied by Nazi Germany and suffered tremendous hardships. Throughout the occupation, an active underground resistance, with the Polish Home Army in a leading position, provided military intelligence to the British, and conducted guerrilla tactic operations, such as sabotage aimed at disrupting German supply lines. The resistance was also very active in helping to save Jews from the Holocaust.
In the summer of 1944, the German forces in Poland were retreating ahead of the Soviet Red Amy’s advance. The Polish Home Army and underground resistance, feeling that the timing was right to liberate Warsaw from German occupation, launched Operation Tempest on August 1, 1944. Upon learning of the uprising, Hitler became incensed, and immediately issued an order to the German military stating, “Each and every inhabitant must be killed; taking prisoners of war is not allowed. Warsaw is to be obliterated as an example being a deterrent for the whole of Europe.”
The Warsaw Uprising, as the operation became known, was originally planned to last only a few days until the Soviet forces arrived. However, because the Polish government in exile desired a pro-Western Poland, the Soviet advance was halted. Stalin is believed to have ordered this because of post-war political objectives. He believed that by allowing the Germans to defeat the Polish resistance, it would allow the Soviets to establish Poland as a pro-Soviet, socialist territory. The Soviets also hampered support to the resistance by other western Allied nations. For example, the Soviets would not allow aircraft to land on airfields they controlled, which necessitated supply drop flights to fly from distant airfield in Italy, which reduced both the amount of supplies they could carry as well as the number of flights that could be made due to the longer distances. As a result, the Polish Home Army and the underground resistance forced to fight a prolonged battle, which lasted for 63 days with almost no support from the outside. Suffering from large casualties, and the destruction of almost 90% of the city, the Polish Home Army and the underground resistance was finally forced to capitulate on October 2, 1944.
Germany ultimately abandoned the neutrality pact with the Soviet Union in 1941, and declared war. With the Soviet Union joining with the Allied Powers to fight Nazi Germany, it created a complicated situation under which the Polish government in exile, also part of the Allied governments, had to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union while at the same time suffering from the Soviets occupying portions of Poland’s territory.
Within Poland, Warsaw, which had been a major center of Jewish life and culture, was in the territory occupied by Nazi Germany and suffered tremendous hardships. Throughout the occupation, an active underground resistance, with the Polish Home Army in a leading position, provided military intelligence to the British, and conducted guerrilla tactic operations, such as sabotage aimed at disrupting German supply lines. The resistance was also very active in helping to save Jews from the Holocaust.
In the summer of 1944, the German forces in Poland were retreating ahead of the Soviet Red Amy’s advance. The Polish Home Army and underground resistance, feeling that the timing was right to liberate Warsaw from German occupation, launched Operation Tempest on August 1, 1944. Upon learning of the uprising, Hitler became incensed, and immediately issued an order to the German military stating, “Each and every inhabitant must be killed; taking prisoners of war is not allowed. Warsaw is to be obliterated as an example being a deterrent for the whole of Europe.”
The Warsaw Uprising, as the operation became known, was originally planned to last only a few days until the Soviet forces arrived. However, because the Polish government in exile desired a pro-Western Poland, the Soviet advance was halted. Stalin is believed to have ordered this because of post-war political objectives. He believed that by allowing the Germans to defeat the Polish resistance, it would allow the Soviets to establish Poland as a pro-Soviet, socialist territory. The Soviets also hampered support to the resistance by other western Allied nations. For example, the Soviets would not allow aircraft to land on airfields they controlled, which necessitated supply drop flights to fly from distant airfield in Italy, which reduced both the amount of supplies they could carry as well as the number of flights that could be made due to the longer distances. As a result, the Polish Home Army and the underground resistance forced to fight a prolonged battle, which lasted for 63 days with almost no support from the outside. Suffering from large casualties, and the destruction of almost 90% of the city, the Polish Home Army and the underground resistance was finally forced to capitulate on October 2, 1944.
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The item in my collection is an original Polish Home Army badge from WW2. The badge was homemade, as 90% of the badges were made at that time. The badge had been purchased during a Polish family estate sale, with the badge having belonged to their grandfather who had served in the Armia Krajowa (Home Army) during WW2.
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