Poland has no official motto of the State, namely the one which is recognized as such by the Polish national law.
However, there are some common phrases which appear commonly on banners, flags and other symbols of the Polish State, or are considered commonly as the symbols of Poland.
Żywią i bronią (ancient spelling: Żywią y bronią, "They Feed and Defend") found on the military standards of the
Kościuszko Insurrection and
Bataliony Chłopskie, a motto of the Polish patriotic peasant movement and peasant (people's) parties.
Nic o nas, bez nas ("Nothing about us, without us"): Derives from the title of the
Nihil novi Constitution of 1505, which established
nobles' democracy in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a modern context, it can also signify frustration at Poland's fate being determined by foreign powers since the end of the 18th century. That is, the
partitions and the
Congress of Vienna, as well as, the
Western Betrayal.
Żeby Polska była Polską ("Let Poland be Poland"): a song written in 1976 by Jan Pietrzak. The song was regarded as an expression of the struggle against communist rule in Poland and support for the "Solidarity" movement in the 1980s. English translation of the title song is often quoted in various speeches.
Queen Elizabeth II herself delivered this statement in Polish in a speech cementing the re-establishment of Anglo-Polish friendship after the end of communism.
Nie ma wolności bez Solidarności ("There is no freedom without solidarity") - one of the mottos of the
strikes of 1980 in Gdańsk and throughout Poland, subsequently taken over by the
Solidarność (Solidarity) Independent Self-Governing Trade Union, and Solidarity social movement.
References
^Wrocławskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. Komisja Językowa (2005).
Rozprawy Komisji Językowej (in Polish). Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. p. 95.
Poland has no official motto of the State, namely the one which is recognized as such by the Polish national law.
However, there are some common phrases which appear commonly on banners, flags and other symbols of the Polish State, or are considered commonly as the symbols of Poland.
Żywią i bronią (ancient spelling: Żywią y bronią, "They Feed and Defend") found on the military standards of the
Kościuszko Insurrection and
Bataliony Chłopskie, a motto of the Polish patriotic peasant movement and peasant (people's) parties.
Nic o nas, bez nas ("Nothing about us, without us"): Derives from the title of the
Nihil novi Constitution of 1505, which established
nobles' democracy in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a modern context, it can also signify frustration at Poland's fate being determined by foreign powers since the end of the 18th century. That is, the
partitions and the
Congress of Vienna, as well as, the
Western Betrayal.
Żeby Polska była Polską ("Let Poland be Poland"): a song written in 1976 by Jan Pietrzak. The song was regarded as an expression of the struggle against communist rule in Poland and support for the "Solidarity" movement in the 1980s. English translation of the title song is often quoted in various speeches.
Queen Elizabeth II herself delivered this statement in Polish in a speech cementing the re-establishment of Anglo-Polish friendship after the end of communism.
Nie ma wolności bez Solidarności ("There is no freedom without solidarity") - one of the mottos of the
strikes of 1980 in Gdańsk and throughout Poland, subsequently taken over by the
Solidarność (Solidarity) Independent Self-Governing Trade Union, and Solidarity social movement.
References
^Wrocławskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. Komisja Językowa (2005).
Rozprawy Komisji Językowej (in Polish). Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. p. 95.