Poland. Reproduction of the “Hubalczycy” badge manufactured in Poland during the 1990s.

The “Hubalczycy” badge was designed in Chicago in 1942 by Major Marian Gawron. After the war, the master die of the badge was transferred to the engraver Panasiuk in Warsaw, who produced the first copy. The badge remained undiscovered until the 1970s, when it was acquired by Colonel Marian Zach. Thanks to the efforts of the Hubalczycy Club, 56 badges were produced and subsequently awarded to Hubalczycy soldiers who survived the war. The reverse of the original badges was engraved with the name and surname, rank, and nickname of each soldier. In the prototype version of the badge, the band bearing the inscription “1939, 1940, Hubalczycy” was white. The color was later changed to preserve the national colors, while the green emphasized the distinctive character of Major Hubal’s unit.

The Separate Detachment of the Polish Army, also known as the Hubal Unit or the Hubal partisans, was one of the first guerrilla units of the Second World War. It operated in the Kielce region and the Holy Cross Mountains and was commanded by Major Henryk Dobrzański, known by his nom de guerre “Hubal,” whose name gave the unit its identity and fame. As one of the earliest organized resistance formations following the German invasion of Poland, it played a significant role in the initial stages of the underground armed struggle.

According to historian Paul Latawski, the unit achieved notable successes against German security forces, demonstrating the potential effectiveness of guerrilla warfare. However, these actions also provoked brutal reprisals against the local civilian population. Ultimately, in the spring of 1940, the Germans destroyed the unit and killed Dobrzański, bringing its activity to an end but cementing his legacy and that of his fighters as a legend of the Polish resistance.