The term Free Polish can refer to the following:
- Polish government-in-exile - The remnants of the Polish government, based in the United Kingdom, following the Invasion of Poland during World War II
- Polish Armed Forces in the West - The military forces of the Polish government-in-exile serving with the Western Allies in many of the major battles of World War II.
However, the expression "Free Polish" (inspired by the term Free French) is technically misleading and unnecessary since, unlike France, Poland never surrenderred to the Third Reich. Poland's armed forces, under an exilé but fully legitimate government, continued their fight from bases in the United Kingdom and there was no official collaborator regime in their homeland to differentiate from in political terms.
Famous quotes containing the words free and/or polish:
“In private life he was good-natured, chearful, social; inelegant in his manners, loose in his morals. He had a coarse, strong wit, which he was too free of for a man in his station, as it is always inconsistent with dignity. He was very able as a minister, but without a certain elevation of mind necessary for great good, or great mischief.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“Use the stones of another hill to polish your own jade.”
—Chinese proverb.