Aluminum, paint, lacquer; the medallion measures 37.7 mm in height, 39.2 mm in width. An interesting artwork combining the Polish national eagle (the communist version without the crown) and Soviet military insignia of the red star with a hammer & sickle. The reverse of the medallion has a Russian-language inscription "For Your Freedom and Ours". The reverse of the suspension shows the logo of the Experimental and Souvenir Production Factory in Mytishchi, Moscow Region. Excellent condition.

This interesting Soviet-made badge was awarded to a veteran of the Wojsko Poslkie, the for

Aluminum, paint, lacquer; the medallion measures 37.7 mm in height, 39.2 mm in width. An interesting artwork combining the Polish national eagle (the communist version without the crown) and Soviet military insignia of the red star with a hammer & sickle. The reverse of the medallion has a Russian-language inscription "For Your Freedom and Ours". The reverse of the suspension shows the logo of the Experimental and Souvenir Production Factory in Mytishchi, Moscow Region. Excellent condition.

This interesting Soviet-made badge was awarded to a veteran of the Wojsko Poslkie, the force created by the Soviets in the fall of 1943. Beside fighting the Germans, the purpose of such a national army was to demonstrate a supposed Soviet intent to allow Polish independence and self-determination after the war. Although not in any lack of volunteers and conscripts of Polish lineage, Soviet military authorities however faced a problem in finding enough Polish commissioned officers: in the early part of WW2, the Polish officer corps was virtually annihilated by both the Germans and Soviets (the latter killed in the infamous Katyn massacre nearly all of the Polish POWs of officer rank they had captured in 1939.) Therefore, the Soviets resorted to using for that purpose all available Soviet officers with any connection to Poland whatsoever, from the place of birth to Polish-sounding name. After serving for a couple of years in the Polish national army, most of those Soviet citizens - many of whom could not even speak Polish - returned to the USSR. Thus, the badge could be awarded either to a Soviet veteran of Wojsko Poslkie or to a Polish veteran with close current ties to the Soviets, perhaps a VIP or high-ranking officer.

Please note, penny in our photo is for size reference.
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