WW2 Polish Armband of Polish Resistance Movement in France POWN

A unique armband of a soldier from the Polish Organization of Independence Fighters “Monika,” part of the Polish resistance movement in France during the German occupation.
White-red armband with the Polish eagle with crown wz.27 embroidered on a green shield-shaped background. On the armband are two stamps “Resistance Patriotique Polonaise POWN” – Polish Patriotic Resistance Movement. The armband shows signs of use and discoloration, condition as shown in the photos.
The Polish Organization of Independence Fighters (POWN), also known under the codename Monika, was a Polish resistance organization operating in France. It served as a “cover organization” for activities known as Operation Continental. Founded in 1941 by Aleksander Kawałkowski, it conducted intelligence and propaganda activities. After the establishment of the Western Front, some POWN units actively participated in combat operations. The organization is estimated to have had 15,000 members.
Operation Continental – established in late 1940/early 1941 at the initiative of General Władysław Sikorski’s government – was a joint effort of the emigrant Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Polish minority section of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) to create a network of conspiratorial structures within Polish communities for “clandestine warfare against the enemy by all means except open armed conflict.”