This article presents the history of this symbol in the Podhale Rifles regiments and other formations of the armed forces in the Second Polish Republic, which also used the symbolism of the swastika. The author shows the origins of that symbol and the way it was introduced in the uniforms of the Podhale Rofles. He also attempts to estimate whether that symbol actually ocurred in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the Podhale folk culture, and thereby, whether the swastika could be identified at that time with the so-called „unexpected cross”. Besides the study also shows how the look and ideological significance of that symbol developed in the army in that period. At the same time the author indicates those symbolic elements in which in the Podhale Rifles regiments and other formations of the 21st and 22nd Mountain Infantry Divisions, as well in the artillery, the swastika appeared. Usually it was on the standards and other vexilla, on commememorative badges and official and occasional forms, regiment tableware etc.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.