WW2 Polish Rare Education Officer Patch – Germany

A rare sleeve patch worn on the left arm by a Polish Education Officer in Allied-Occupied Germany. The patch belonged to Capitan Wacław Fabijanowski, recepient of the Virtuti Militari Cross.

The patch is in the form of a black shield with a red border, featuring the Cross of Independence with Swords at its center.

These patches were worn by Polish Education Officers in Allied-Occupied Germany , many of whom were liberated former prisoners of war, including officers of the September Campaign of 1939 and veterans of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. This is a very scarce item, rarely encountered on the collectors’ market.

Condition as shown in the photographs.

Wacław Fabijanowski, originally also recorded as Fabjanowski, was born on 15 September 1901 in Ozorków, the son of Jan and Marianna née Gumińska. In his youth he lived in Ozorków and Łódź, belonged to the Polish Scouting Association, and from September 1916 was a member of the Polish Military Organisation. On 11 November 1918 he took part in disarming German troops, and on the same day joined the Polish Army in Łęczyca.

From May 1919 he served in the 30th Infantry Regiment, with which he took part in the Polish-Ukrainian War and the Polish-Soviet War. During the fighting against the Bolsheviks he commanded a squad and later a platoon of heavy machine guns. He particularly distinguished himself during the fighting near Radzymin in August 1920, where, despite being wounded, he remained at his combat post and, with machine-gun fire, helped stop enemy armoured cars. For this action he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari, no. 5202, on 28 February 1922.

After the war he graduated from the Officers’ School for Non-Commissioned Officers in Bydgoszcz and in 1927 was commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry. His later officer service was connected with the 14th Infantry Regiment in Włocławek, where he served, among other posts, as commander of an infantry artillery platoon, commander of a rifle company, and municipal commander of Military Training. During the September Campaign of 1939 he commanded the 8th Rifle Company of the 14th Infantry Regiment, fighting in the Polish Corridor and in the Battle of the Bzura. On 19 September 1939 he was taken into German captivity and was later held in the Oflags at Hohnstein, Prenzlau and Woldenberg. After the war he returned to Poland and worked at the Łódź Film Copy Production Works. He died on 19 March 1966 in Łódź.

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wac%C5%82aw_Fabijanowski