Armia Krajowa Cross is a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 military decoration that was introduced by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski

Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski

General Count Tadeusz Komorowski , better known by the name Bór-Komorowski was a Polish military leader....

 on 1 August 1966 to commemorate the efforts of the soldiers of the Polish Secret State

Polish Secret State

The Polish Underground State is a collective term for the World War II underground resistance organizations in Poland, both military and civilian, that remained loyal to the Polish Government in Exile in London. The first elements of the Underground State were put in place in the final days of the...

 between 1939 and 1945. The decoration was awarded to soldiers of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa

Armia Krajowa

The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...

) and of its predecessor organizations (Służba Zwycięstwu Polski, Związek Walki Zbrojnej

Zwiazek Walki Zbrojnej

Związek Walki Zbrojnej was an underground army formed in Poland following its invasion in September 1939 by Germany and the Soviet Union that opened World War II.The precursor to the ZWZ was the Service...

).

The first recipient (posthumous) was General Stefan Grot–Rowecki

Stefan Rowecki

Stefan Paweł Rowecki was a Polish general, journalist and the leader of the Armia Krajowa. He was murdered by the Gestapo in prison, probably on the direct order of Heinrich Himmler.-Life:Rowecki was born in Piotrków Trybunalski...

.

The award was supported by the Polish government in exile

Polish government in Exile

The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and was not recognized by the People's Republic of Poland

People's Republic of Poland

The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...

, which viewed members of mostly anti-communist Armia Krajowa as enemies of the state. After the fall of communism, in 1992 it was recognized by the government of Poland and was awarded by the president of Poland until 8 May 1999.