- Time Period: World War II
- Year of Institution: 1946
- Country: Poland
The Silesian Uprising Cross (or Śląski Krzyż Powstańczy in Polish) is a military decoration established in 1946 and awarded to veterans of the Silesian Uprisings (1919-1921) and members of Polish resistance in World War II active in Silesia.
The Silesian Uprisings were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic at the time. Ethnic Polish separatists, seeking to have the area transferred to the newly founded Polish Republic, fought German police and paramilitary forces, as the former sought to keep the area part of the new German state founded after World War I. Following the conflict, the area was divided between the two countries. The rebellions have subsequently been commemorated in modern Poland as an example of Polish nationalism.
The order ceased to be given out in 1999.
The Silesian Uprising Cross Design
The medal is struck in silvered bronze with blue enamels and measures 36.2 mm in diameter.
The obverse bears the years 1921 on the left arm, 1939 on the right arm, and 1945 on the lower arm. The central disc is light blue enamel and shows the silver Silesian eagle encircled by a stylized wreath. The reverse is not enameled.
The ribbon is light blue with white (inner) and dark red (outer) edges. In the centre there is a wide stripe of green, red, white, red, green, flanked by white pinstripes.
