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Haller's Army (Błękitna Armia, the Blue Army) was a Polish military force formed in France during WWI (1917-1919) that fought for Polish independence, and whose members are presumed to have been Polish citizens.
In depth
Haller's Army (Błękitna Armia, the Blue Army) was a Polish military force formed in France during World War I (1917-1919) under the command of General Józef Haller. It fought on the Western Front and later in the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921).
Many members of Haller's Army were Polish emigrants from the United States and Canada — approximately 20,000-38,000 Polish-Americans volunteered. Their service records are held at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw and the Pilsudski Institute in New York.
For CBD cases, service in Haller's Army is strong evidence that the ancestor was a Polish citizen (or considered himself one), which helps establish the citizenship chain — particularly for ancestors whose pre-1918 citizenship status is ambiguous due to the Partitions.
Related terms
Potwierdzenie posiadania obywatelstwa polskiego (confirmation of Polish citizenship) is the legal process by which the Polish government confirms that a person is a Polish citizen by descent.
The citizenship chain is the unbroken line of citizenship transmission from an ancestor to the applicant, which must be proven to claim citizenship by descent.
A Wojewoda (voivode) is the Polish central government's representative in each province (województwo), who processes citizenship confirmation applications.
USC (Urząd Stanu Cywilnego) is the Polish civil registry office that maintains records of births, marriages, and deaths, equivalent to the Italian anagrafe.
AGAD (Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych) is the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw, holding Polish records from the Russian Partition and earlier periods.
The Partitions (zabory) were the three divisions of Poland between Russia, Prussia, and Austria from 1772 to 1795, after which Poland ceased to exist as a sovereign state until 1918.