Time Period: Interwar Period, WW1
The Volunteer Cross for War and the Volunteer Medal for War (or Krzyż i Medal Ochotniczy za Wojnę in Polish) were military decorations from Poland introduced just before the start of World War II and later awarded by the Polish government in exile.
The Volunteer Cross for the War could be awarded to volunteers serving in the years 1918-1921, if they met one of the following criteria:
- Fallen or wounded on the battlefield,
- Decorated with the Virtuti Militari Cross or the Cross of Valor,
- They actively served 3 months, including at least 2 months in units fighting at the front or 6 months as instructors in military schools of weapons and school camps.
The Cross and the Volunteer Medal for War were introduced by an act of the Sejm on 15 June 1939. It was to be awarded to people who volunteered for duty in the years 1918 to 1921 and helped to strengthen the independence of the Polish Republic, covering mainly the Polish-Ukrainian War and Polish-Soviet war.
Because of the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and the outbreak of World War II no decorations were awarded at the time. It was only after 1945 that the Polish government in exile was able to award the decorations. The communist authorities of the People’s Republic of Poland refused to recognize the decoration. After the fall of communism, a very similar decoration, Krzyż za udział w Wojnie 1918-1921, was introduced.
The Volunteer Cross for War 1918-1921 Design
The medal has the form of a straight isosceles cross made of steel and measures 42 by 42 mm. It consists of four equal arms, extended at the ends, with a flattened octagonal cross-section and tied in the centre by a cube.
On the cross arms of the Cross, in the obverse, there is a horizontal inscription: “OCHOTNIKOWI WOJENNEMU”, and on the vertical arms the dates: 1918 and 1921. In the middle of the crossing of the arms there is an image of a white enamel eagle.
The cross and medal were to be worn on a 37 mm wide ribbon in red with two narrow white vertical stripes.
