2 nd Warsaw Armored Division Badge

[FAB]

I am looking for an original badge and have posted in the WTB section. My question is what can I expect to pay for an nice original example? Thank You for any assistance. Rick

[StefanM]

HI Rick, I have seen these from £30-£100 with an award document. But can be much higher depending on the the award document regiment... Good luck

Anyone have a complete set of the the 2nd Warsaw regiment award documents to add to this thread I don't really collect them so only have a couple.

[A.J. Zawadzki]

I have seen these from £30-£100 with an award document. . . .

A genuine badge and award document for anything under £60 would really be an exceptional find!! Don’t anyone hold your breath though . . .

. . . Anyone have a complete set of the the 2nd Warsaw regiment award documents to add to this thread I don't really collect them so only have a couple.

Here’s a fairly comprehensive document set I picked up a couple of years ago. This grouping belonged to a soldier in the 66th Pomorski Infantry Battalion attached to the 2 Warsaw Armoured Division. A BD tunic, dog tags, rank slip ons along with some loose cloth insignia and a healthy quantity period photographs were also included. The pictures below are from the seller and rather weak, but do give an idea of the extent of the documents.

Regards,
Tony

[Mariusz]

Amazing set, so it is still possible to find treasures like that one.

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Yes Mariusz, they are still out there. Fewer and farther between, mind you, but still lurking out there to be discovered!

Cheers,
Tony

[StefanM]

https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/milit...e-img_0571.jpg

Hi Tony,

An extremely nice collection of documents


I am interested to learn more about the "Repatriation" document? Did this soldier choose to be repatriated to Poland? How and where these "Repatriation" documents issued etc?

I ask because I recently came across exactly the same type of Polish "Repatriation" document for a former Polish man who was serving in a German SS unit that was heavily involved in so-called anti-partisan actions (often used as a euphemism for anti-Jewish actions) on the Eastern Front. The Polish "Repatriation" document also came with some of his SS documents. He was repatriated to Poznań I thought it odd that a Pole would be in the German SS and that having been repatriated to Poznań that he would not also have been tried for being in the SS and for being in an anti-partisan unit... or maybe he was but I don't know where to look in the Polish archives for any such war trials?

[A.J. Zawadzki]

[URL] I am interested to learn more about the "Repatriation" document? Did this soldier choose to be repatriated to Poland? How and where these "Repatriation" documents issued etc?. . .

Hi Stefan,

Good question. As with most of the collection, I wish these things could speak to me. But the sad reality is that the stories behind them are lost to the mists of time. I do not know anything about this soldier aside from what can be gleaned from the evidence contained in these items. I would expect that this soldier voluntarily chose to return to Poland. I don’t recall any cases of forced repatriation. And I too would like to learn more about repatriation process including the issuance of documents, etc.

I have been always been very interested in the experience of these veterans ‘from the west’ after returning to Poland and the oppressive Soviet atmosphere in those early post war years. There seems to be very little written record of them. I suppose this is due in part to the relatively few that did return (my own father being one who chose to remain in exile). Some lived seemingly normal peaceful lives, while others faced persecution, prison, deportation to the east, and worse.

Your encounter with the documents of the former SS man of Polish ancestry is fascinating. As you know, anyone with this sort of background would have been reviled in Poland had their story been revealed. Now here’s a story that would make for good reading!

Just like with the Polish former slave/forced labourers deported to Germany, the story of those returning to Poland is a chapter of WW2 that needs to be explored further. Maybe an idea for a future book Stefan - ??? . . .

Regards,
Tony

[StefanM]

I have been always been very interested in the experience of these veterans ‘from the west’ after returning to Poland and the oppressive Soviet atmosphere in those early post war years. There seems to be very little written record of them. I suppose this is due in part to the relatively few that did return (my own father being one who chose to remain in exile). Some lived seemingly normal peaceful lives, while others faced persecution, prison, deportation to the east, and worse.

The one veteran that comes to mind is No. 303 Squadron, Battle of Britain ace Witold 'Tolo' Łokuciewski VM, KW, DFC, the last commander of 303 who returned to Poland in June 1947. In November 1956 he was recruited into the Polish Air Force and underwent conversion training on MiG-15 jet fighters. From 1969 to 1972 he was the military, naval and air attaché at the Polish Embassy in London, but was sadly ostracised by his former colleagues who had chosen to remain in the U.K. rather than return to the post-war communist-controlled Poland. Łokuciewski died on 17 April 1990 in Warsaw.

Hi Stefan,
Maybe an idea for a future book Stefan - ??? . . .

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi Stefan,

Yes, I remember reading this in the book “A Question of Honour” (Cloud/Olson 2003 ISBN -10: 0375411976). Great book by the way. I remain perpetually on the lookout for any other English language accounts. While I can read Polish it does tend to be an agonizing process. I’ve used the analogy of trying to breathe through a straw to describe the sensation of the painfully slow process of absorbing the information one word at a time – pausing along the way to consult with my trusty słownik. Ughhh . . .

Cheers,
Tony

[yorksman]

Hi I have read with interest the posts about the 66th Pomorski Infantry Battalion and the enamel badge.

So what would you value the badge, with soldiers other polish badges, dog tags and paperwork including German paperwork to a pow who after the war was in the 66th Pomorski Infantry Battalion. Such a grouping that's not often seen.