Info: Flag of Poland

[void1984]

Hi

Polish flag has only two horizontal stripes, no coat of arms, just like here.

There is a varaint with coat of arms, as currently in WinSPWW2, but it was created to avoid confusion when using it on ships, as that combination has a special meaning there. It is used on ships, civilian airports and airplanes. It is not used by army or nation.

EDIT: That should've gone to WinSPWW2 forum.

[Cross]

I did some research on some of the flags for my SP flag mod.

here:

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=46318

Wasn't the Polish flag with coat of arms, also the flag of the Polish government-in-exile (1939-1956) who commanded all the Polish armed forces outside of Poland during that period?



Cross

[void1984]

OT: I use your miniature ID flag mod and it is a must have in my opinion. Thank you.

The coat of arms version is used by embassies and their representatives. From

Wikipedia:
"
in front of Polish embassies, consulates and other representative offices and missions abroad, as well as by Polish ambassadors and consuls on their residences and vehicles
"

Current act "Ustawa o godle, barwach i hymnie Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej oraz o pieczęciach państwowych" says that:

"
Art. 8
1. Flagę państwową z godłem Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej podnoszą:
1) przedstawicielstwa dyplomatyczne, urzędy konsularne oraz inne oficjalne przedstawicielstwa i misje za granicą na
budynkach lub przed budynkami ich siedzib urzędowych, a także kierownicy tych przedstawicielstw, urzędów i misji na
swych rezydencjach i środkach komunikacji - w wypadkach przewidzianych w prawie i zwyczajach międzynarodowych,
2) cywilne lotniska i lądowiska,
3) cywilne samoloty komunikacyjne podczas lotów za granicą,
4) kapitanaty (bosmanaty) portów - na budynkach lub przed budynkami stanowiącymi ich siedziby urzędowe.
2. Minister właściwy do spraw zagranicznych określi, w drodze rozporządzenia, szczegółowe zasady dotyczące postępowania
w sprawach, o których mowa w ust. 1 pkt 1, uwzględniając praktykę i zwyczaje istniejące w państwie przyjmującym,
określając sytuacje w których podnoszenie flagi państwowej jest obowiązkowe, oraz określając szczegółowo jej usytuowanie.
3. Minister Transportu i Gospodarki Morskiej określi sposób podnoszenia flagi państwowej z godłem Rzeczypospolitej
Polskiej na cywilnych lotniskach i lądowiskach oraz na cywilnych samolotach komunikacyjnych podczas lotów za granicą.
"

what translates (unfortunately by myself) into:

"
Art. 8
1. National Flag with Coat of Arms is used:
1) on diplomatic embassies, consulates and other representative offices and missions abroad on their buildings and in
front of them, on their official residences; also by heads of its embassies, offices and missions on their residences
and vehicles - when statet by international law and customs,
2) at civilian airports and heliports,
3) on civilian airplanes – only during international flights,
4) on buildings of seaport authorities
2. Minister of Foeregin Affairs will determine detailed rules of useage mentioned in paragraph 1 point 1 [...].
3. Minister of Transport and Maritime Economy will determine the usage and customs in relation to civilian airports and civilian airplanes during international flights.
"

I suppose the regulations were very similar in II RP (before the WW2). In general the version with coat of arms relates to diplomatic represantatives (or ships and planes, but that's another matter) not to the nation or army.

Second Polish Republic is descriped by Wikipedia: 2nd Polish Republic with the same flag.

There is nothing offending with the Coat of Arms version, the plain one is just more appropriate.

[Cross]

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall that the Polish flag issue has been discussed before, and I think it got changed to the current flag as a result.

In SP the national or state flags are used, not army flags, with the exception of the USMC.

The question is which flag represents Poland’s exiled government and armed forces during WW2?

I think you are right that the Polish flag should not have the coat of arms prior to Nov 1939. But from what I’ve read, the government in exile used the coat of arms version, which also effectively distinguishes between Poland’s domestic army, and her exiled army.

You’ve even stated yourself that the coat of arms version was used abroad for diplomatic missions, embassies, foreign affairs etc. Well that is what the Polish army was from Nov 1939.

I agree that the red and white – without the coat of arms – continued to be the flag of Poland during WW2, but the SP flag from Nov 1939 doesn’t represent Poland, it represents the exiled government of Poland.

I hope this makes sense. I know flags can be a sensitive subject, as national identity is at stake.

As far as my mod is concerned I can only change existing flags; so I cannot add an additional flag for the period Jan 1930 to Oct 1939. You could ask the developers to do that, if you can’t talk them into changing the flag to the plain red and white.

What I can do is make you a version of my mod without the coat of arms, if you want?


Cross

[void1984]

No one should feel bad about the CoA version. I have flagged this thread as an "info" and that's my intention. I wanted to put some light on what's the difference between those two versions.

Here you can see photos from the (famous here) Monte Cassino battle. On the lower left there is a photo of raised Polish flag on top of the conquered monastery.

The CoA version is also used nowadays and it means that you see official polish national representatives.

Thank you for your offer, but I can play with the current flag as well. It also clearly symbolize Poland. It is just not a perfectly correct one.

[DRG]

The "regular" Polish Falg was changed at the same time the LWP was added since both used the standard red and while flag this was done to highlight the differences

Don

[void1984]

I understand.
The LWP flag with hammer&sickle is really adequate. It puts that force where it really belongs.

BTW: Since 1949 the Marshal of Poland and the head of army was Konstantin Rokossovsky who was a Russian, and even didn't speak Polish much.