3004) Soviet Red Army invasion of Poland in collusion with the Third Reich and the heroic Polish Defence, Poland: The Mint of Poland has minted a Silver oxidised Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) Remembrance Coin on behalf of the National Bank of Poland which highlights the WWII-era Polish defence: Date/Year of Coin issue: 05.09.2023:
The Header/Banner showcases the Obverse and Reverse of the 20 Zl Silver Coin. The inscriptions are - "1939-1989" and "MENNICA POLSKA" ("Mint of Poland") and NARADOWY BANK POLSKI" ("National Bank of Poland")
The National Bank of Poland has released new silver oxidised Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) coins with a design replicating an important medal honouring the defence shown by Polish armed forces in the face of invasion in 1939 against overwhelming odds.
As the 17th September approaches, the Polish Nation remembers the events leading up to and including the invasion of Polish territory by the Third Reich and the Soviet Red Army.
The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war.
On 17.09.1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the West.
Subsequent military operations lasted for the following 20 days and ended on 06.10.1939 with the two-way division and annexation of the entire territory of the Second Polish Republic by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
This division is sometimes called the Fourth Partition of Poland.
The Soviet (as well as German) invasion of Poland was indirectly indicated in the "secret protocol" of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact signed on 23.08.1939, which divided Poland into "spheres of influence" of the two powers. German and Soviet cooperation in the invasion of Poland has been described as co-belligerence.
Overwhelming numbers of the invaders:
The Red Army, which vastly outnumbered the Polish defenders, achieved its targets, encountering only limited resistance. Some 320,000 Poles were made prisoners of war.
The campaign of mass persecution in the newly acquired areas began immediately. In November 1939 the Soviet government annexed the entire Polish territory under its control.
Some 13.5 million Polish citizens who fell under the military occupation were made Soviet subjects following sham elections conducted by the NKVD secret police in an atmosphere of terror, the results of which were used to legitimise the use of force (much like the sham elections in Russian occupied territories of Ukraine).
A Soviet campaign of political murders and other forms of repression, targeting Polish figures of authority such as military officers, police and priests, began with a wave of arrests and summary executions.
The Soviet NKVD sent hundreds of thousands of people from Eastern Poland to Siberia and other remote parts of the Soviet Union in four major waves of deportation between 1939 and 1941.
Soviet forces occupied Eastern Poland until the summer of 1941 when Germany terminated its earlier pact with the Soviet Union and invaded the Soviet Union under the code name "Operation Barbarossa".
The Coin:
The Mint of Poland has released oxidised Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) Coins at their facilities in Warsaw on behalf of the National Bank of Poland.
The Reverse of this poignant 20 ZŁ (Zlotych) Silver Coin has been formatted by Robert Kotowicz and based on a war medal known as the “Year 1939” medal, which is the work of renowned sculptor Józef Gosławski (1908–1963).
The design was inspired by a deep urge to comment on the tragic historical moment on the part of the artist who witnessed those events.
The sculptor was not able to exhibit his work during his lifetime owing to communist censorship.
He thus put together both sides of the medal, encased them in plaster and stored them in this form.
It was not until 2009 that his family decided to make the work public.
The scene on the Reverse is a symbolic representation of the events of the 17th September 1939, depicting a Polish soldier fighting the German aggressor who is stabbed in the back by a Soviet Army soldier.
Above the scene of battle is the word "ROK" (year), and below is the year "1939".
On the Obverse of the 20 ZŁ (Zlotych) Silver Coin the commemorative inscription is placed in the centre and surrounded by elements of daggers and oak leaves.
The text reads "WE WRZEŚNIU 1939 NAPADNIĘCI PRZEZ ARMIE NIEMIECKĄ I BOLSZEWICKĄ – MY POLACY – OFIARĄ KRWI BRONILIŚMY WOLNOŚCI LUDÓW, HONORU I RELIGII." (“In September 1939, attacked by the German and the Bolshevik armies, we, the Poles, paid in blood to defend the freedom of peoples, honour, and religion.”)
On the upper periphery is the text "RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA" (Republic of Poland).
To the lower left periphery is the denomination 20 ZŁ, and to the lower right periphery is the year of issue, "2023".
The National Crest of Poland is placed below the commemorative inscription.
An incused lettering edge inscription reads "SOWIECKA AGRESJA NA POLSKĘ – 17 IX 1939 r." (“Soviet Aggression against Poland – 17 September 1939.”).
The specifications of the Silver Coin Variants are:
i) 20 ZŁ (Zlotych) Silver Coin Variant:
Country of issue: Republic of Poland; Date/Year of Coins issue: 05.09.2023; Denomination/Face Value: 20 ZŁ (Zlotych); Metal Composition: .925 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 28.4 grams; Diameter/Size: 38.6 mm; Coin Quality: Oxidised Brilliant Uncirculated (BU); Mint: Mint of Poland on behalf of the National Bank of Poland; Mintage: 12,000 pieces; Designer: Robert Kotowicz.
- Each coin is encapsulated and presented in a heavy gauge custom card case accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
Links on posts from Poland:
Links to other posts on Ukrainian Coins/Banknotes on this Blog:
7) "Sovka roskoshnaja" ("Staurophora celsia") Moth, Ukraine: Sterling Silver Proof (10 Hryvnia) and Cupro-nickel (2 Hrvynia) coins issued under its "Native Flora and Fauna Coin Series" by the National Bank of Ukraine
8) 1075 years since Princess Olga (890-969 AD), Ukraine: A Silver Proof Coin brought out by the National Bank of Ukraine,minted by the Ukrainian Mint: Year of issue: 2020
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Rajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very detailed and informative post."
Thank you, Trikha sahab.
DeleteSantosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"A VERY interesting and informative article. Thanks for sharing this post."
Thank you so much Khanna sahab.
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