Polish weapons and militaria

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Apr 12, 08, 06:31 #1

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has any antique Polish weapons and militaria? If so, what is it, and do you know its provenance?

Ive got an old warhammer stored away somewhere. It says "czuwaj" on the handle, which dad tells me means "careful". I used to smack trees with it as a kid til I was told not to.

We also had some Turkish booty from the Vienna campaign, sadly pilfered in WW2.

Look forward to your stories.

Wroclaw Boy	Apr 12, 08, 06:40 #2
No, but id love to get a hold of any Nazi gear what so ever. If anybody knows a specialist in Poland i'd be willing to travel.

Ozi DanThreads: 21 Posts: 518 Joined: Nov 22, 07 ♂	Apr 12, 08, 06:48 #3
Wroclaw Boy: Wroclaw Boy Please mate, have some respect. I asked about Polish weaponry. Cheers.

Wroclaw Boy	Apr 12, 08, 06:56 #4
Ozi Dan: I asked about Polish weaponry And im asking about German, whats the big deal?

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Edited by: Bartolome Apr 12, 08, 07:01 #5

I've got (sadly down in Poland, not with me):
- German bayonet Mk 1871 (a variant not for combat purposes, but parades only)
- another szwabski bayonet (don't remember the type, but I guess it's parade version too)
- Polish eagle (I think it's an officer one, pre-1939)
- Russian helmet (II WW, post war use in a fire brigade)
- some empty shells, probably I, II WW (cal 8 mm, they might have been from hunting weapons, for the house was a forester's domicile, found on my own yard)
- I also found a 7,62 mm (? - it was deformed, probably from a Soviet MG) round inside a piece of firewood :)
My dad had much better 'luck'. He told me, that when he was a boy, he and his pals found a German MG, but discarded of it. They even had real pistols as toys. Also when he was a forestry school student, they had some practise in woods and sometimes the whole group returned with German helmets on their heads !
Edit: I know you were asking about Polish weapons, but I couldn't help :) Besides, some might have been used by Polish army (or during Silesian uprisings).

Ozi DanThreads: 21 Posts: 518 Joined: Nov 22, 07 ♂	Apr 12, 08, 07:03 #6
No, you're asking about Nazi stuff, so I asked you to have some respect for obvious reasons. Perhaps you could start a new thread somewhere else?

Wroclaw Boy	Apr 12, 08, 07:32 #7
Ozi Dan: Perhaps you could start a new thread somewhere else? Man up will ya.

isthatu2Threads: 12 Posts: 4,856 Joined: Apr 3, 08 ♂	Apr 12, 08, 09:16 #8
Wroclaw,just look on any flea market in Poland and you can find german stuff.....just dont expect not to be despised by the seller when they find your a Brit. Ozi,that hammer,is it not some form of Scout hammer,being as czuwaj is one of the Polish scouts motto's? As to Polish militaria,my avatar pic may give a slight clue that i have a bit in my collection :)

BubbaWooThreads: 46 Posts: 4,438 Joined: Sep 26, 06 ♂	Apr 12, 08, 11:09 #9
Wroclaw Boy: No, but id love to get a hold of any Nazi gear what so ever. If anybody knows a specialist in Poland i'd be willing to travel WB you will find a sizeable selection of military memorabilia, both polish and german, at the gdansk jarmark dominikansi in august. the market is impressive and worth a visit for its own sake anyway

Wroclaw Boy	Apr 12, 08, 11:21 #10
Good, I'll look into both of the above.

EurolaThreads: 6 Posts: 2,647 Joined: Dec 2, 06 ♀	Apr 12, 08, 11:39 #11
Ozi Dan: It says "czuwaj" on the handle, which dad tells me means "careful". You're right isthatu2, It is polish scout's motto, which means more like : Keep vigilance, be on the alert, be on guard. with the kind of neighbors Poland has you gotta train kids right :)

isthatu2Threads: 12 Posts: 4,856 Joined: Apr 3, 08 ♂	Apr 12, 08, 12:40 #12
"Be Prepared" is the origional Baden Powel Motto so I suppose thats close to the Polish version :)

MrBubblesThreads: 13 Posts: 768 Joined: Nov 13, 07 ♂	Apr 12, 08, 14:33 #13
Ozi Dan: Wondering if anyone has any antique Polish weapons and militaria? I can ask my father in law. He showed me them when I started dating his daughter

David_18Threads: 111 Posts: 1,202 Joined: Jan 4, 07 ♂	Apr 12, 08, 15:26 #14
i dont have any Polish weapon or what so ever but my grandfather got aloot of Polish Antique and stuff. Last time i was there he showed me a sword that even had our coat of arm. Polish sabre (with a inscript in latin) Some old pistols from the Polish hussaria area Some old armors (very nice decorated) and alooot of other stuff.

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Apr 12, 08, 22:13 #15

Wroclaw Boy:

Man up will ya.

Sorry mate if I jumped down ya throat - didnt want this thread turning into a Nazi memorabilia flea market, that's all (plus I despise Nazi memorabilia).

isthatu2:

is it not some form of Scout hammer

I'm not sure. From memory, the shaft is about 3 foot long of some type of greyish hardwood. The head was about 8 inches tip to tip, and had an axe type on on side and a hammer on the other. I also now recall another inscription nailed to the handle that said (trans) 'only in the greatest need'. I'll try to dig it out.

David_18:

Polish sabre (with a inscript in latin)
Some old pistols from the Polish hussaria area
Some old armors (very nice decorated)

Wow, sounds great - any chance of posting some pictures??

David_18Threads: 111 Posts: 1,202 Joined: Jan 4, 07 ♂	Apr 13, 08, 08:53 #16
Ozi Dan@ Ya sure ile do that the next time ile visit Poland, i hope i will remember it while im there.

MuchaThreads: 3 Posts: 34 Joined: Mar 14, 08 ♂	Edited by: Mucha Apr 13, 08, 17:28 #17
I'm actually a Polish reenactor (WW2 mostly) here in the US. The group I'm a part of sets up displays, marches in parades and even lectures in schools and such. As a result I've somehow managed to assemble quite a collection over the years of original items - helmets, uniforms, medals, gear, insignia and so forth.

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Apr 13, 08, 21:46 #18

Ozi Dan:

No, you're asking about Nazi stuff, so I asked you to have some respect for obvious reasons. Perhaps you could start a new thread somewhere else?

He's not a Nazi (from what I know about him) he's probably just collecting a few trinkets from WW2 and would like to get a few of the Nazi things, they are some of the harder ones to find these days.

Sorry I can't help with finding anything, though...neither Polish nor Nazi.

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Apr 14, 08, 07:22 #19

yeah,Ozi,heres a dilema for you,as I recreate Home Army of the Warsaw uprising I had to swallow my instinctive revulsion for "nazi" stuff as,well,80% ish of all their equipment and "uniform" was former nazi stuff....at militaria fairs and living history events I find myself brushing shoulders with people who re enact the ss at stalls(incidently,in lots of cases these people are not wanna be nazis...still not sure why they would want to "do" ss though.) and making purcheses of distinctly teutonic appearences...like I told one of the traders though,"Im taking your products and using them for a GOOD cause.":)

Ozi DanThreads: 21 Posts: 518 Joined: Nov 22, 07 ♂	Edited by: Ozi Dan Apr 15, 08, 06:04 #20
isthatu2: I had to swallow my instinctive revulsion for "nazi" stuff Yeah, I'm aware of that issue. As I set out, I didnt want my thread to become a Nazi junk swap meet, that's all. Cheers PS - did you have any further thoughts on my 'warhammer'.

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Edited by: Zgubiony Apr 15, 08, 06:09 #21

Ozi

Have you looked on Ebay? Also, I've been to several antique shops in Poznan and some of them had old PL military items.

Wroclaw boy: I have a Nazi WW2 flag that my grandfather captured. I think there's also SS blood on it. No chance of giving that up though :) Let the guy have his thread. Everyone has Nazi memoribilia, they were losers. You can buy that stuff online. I think there's a lot in Russia too.

Ozi DanThreads: 21 Posts: 518 Joined: Nov 22, 07 ♂	Apr 15, 08, 06:13 #22
Zgubiony: Have you looked on Ebay? Yes. I was more interested in the stories behind the items rather than actually purchasing something from someone who probably has no idea about the provenance.

ZgubionyThreads: 21 Posts: 2,037 Joined: Oct 20, 06 ♂	Apr 15, 08, 06:16 #23
Oh, ok. Well, if you do find anything, maybe after some research you'll find a story :) good luck

isthatu2Threads: 12 Posts: 4,856 Joined: Apr 3, 08 ♂	Apr 15, 08, 06:53 #24
Sorry Dan,no ideas about "warhammers" beyond them being the favoured weapon of The Bruce(and thats er,Scots history :) )

from CanadaThreads: - Posts: 1 Joined: Apr 22, 08 ♂	Apr 22, 08, 22:51 #25
Hi, its great that there is a thread about Polish militaria, If anyone has any Polish badges that they may want to sell, please contact me, I finished a PhD in Anglo-Polish and so I enjoy researching this stuff.

PolskaManThreads: 3 Posts: 177 Joined: Jan 3, 09 ♂	Jan 4, 09, 11:59 #26
Im trying to start my collection so far i have -20 years of service pre war medal -eagle badge over 100 years old -ww1 adrian fire helmet -a polish pre war button sadly thats it but when i go to Poland this year i think im going to buy anything thats pre war stuff.Im looking to kinda make a uniform for my relatives who fought in the war.

HarryThreads: 59 Posts: 7,995 Joined: May 2, 07 ♂	Jan 5, 09, 11:05 #27
A friend of mine has a beautiful Polish army rifle from 1939. Like many weapons of the type, it has never been fired but was dropped once.

PolskaManThreads: 3 Posts: 177 Joined: Jan 3, 09 ♂	Jan 5, 09, 16:56 #28
Harry: it has never been fired but was dropped once What do you mean by that?

WroclawThreads: 74 Posts: 7,272 Joined: Apr 1, 06 ♂ [Moderator]	Jan 6, 09, 13:22 #29
PolskaMan: What do you mean by that? It's a bad joke.

PolskaManThreads: 3 Posts: 177 Joined: Jan 3, 09 ♂	Jan 6, 09, 14:47 #30
Yeah i firgured that but just wanted to make sure.

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Polish weapons and militaria - got any?