Gordon Craig

Ed, There is no way of knowing if a ribbon bar has been made up or not. Original paper ribbons and metal backing plates are readily available. The only thing to do is to study ribbon bars here on the forum and on ebay until you get reasonably good at telling what ribbon goes with which service. For most NCOs and officers that is fairly simple as each service/organization usually had awards specific to them. For General Officers it is much harder as they were often awarded medals by many different organizations. Kevin, The photo was from Deutshce Orden und Ehrenzeichen by Nimmergut/Feder/von der Heyde. It covers medals and awards from 1871 to the present. Most are in colour and show both sides. It was published in 2006. Regards, Gordon

KGS, Just to add to Dan's post re the orange ribbon on the bar, here is a photo of the Medaille fur ausgezeichnete Leistungen showing the ribbon colour. Regards, Gordon

The diploma dated 1963. Sorry for the poor photo. I'll scan the document and post a clearer picture of it later. Gordon

The plaque and the medallion;

Continuing the badges from my article;

HUNGARIAN SOCIALIST BRIGADES MAGYAR SZOCIALISTA BRIGAD Note: The following information was distilled from 18 pages of text available on the Open Society Archives. This text was produced by storing official records of the National Council of Trade Unions or other state controlled organizations via OCR (optical character reader). I feel because the stored text was produced from documents that we can depend on the information contained therein to be accurate. Any mistakes in reducing the text from its multiple pages to a reasonable amount to post on the forum rests completely with the drafter. This article concerns the history of the Magyar Szocialista Brigad, and their badges. ?The Socialist Workers? Brigade Movement is basically a New Form of Work Competition. The movement began in 1959, using as a model the Soviet ?Communist Brigades?. It is essentially a peculiar form of work competition, but goes beyond the purely economic target pursued by them. It not only aims at excellent labour results to be attained by members, but joins ?the struggle for production? with the ?formation of the new, self-conscious socialist man?. The password of the movement: ?to work in the socialist manner, to live in the socialist manner? In the spirit of this competition, three sorts of targets and tasks are set for the socialist brigades: a) Obtain above average results in work; b) Increase professional, political and general education; c) Live in the socialist manner; lead an exemplary private life, cooperate with comrades, actively participate in social work, in public affairs, etc.? There were organizations similar to the Hungarian Socialist Brigades in other Warsaw Pact Nations. In the main, they operated similarly to those in the Soviet Union. To qualify as a Szocialista Brigad in Hungary a work group needed to meet the criteria set out in the Guiding Principles published by the National Council of Trade Unions in 1960: -everyone might become a member of a brigade competing for the title ?socialist? who considers the targets of the brigades obligatory for himself; -the brigades themselves prepare their pledges, which are aimed in three directions: to work, study and live in the socialist manner; -the pledges concerning production of the brigades should attain, ie surpass average results in their part of the enterprise; -the brigade members should regularly intensify their professional and general education and increase their familiarity with political matters, they must attend professional courses or participate in organized state, party, or trade union teaching; -in order to develop socialist cooperation, the brigade members have to help one another as friends and comrades do; they have to pledge themselves to disciplined work; they have to take active part in the management of public affairs and in social work; -those brigades can win the title ?szocialista brigad? and a diploma, if they fulfill their pledges one hundred percent and assume new ones for a further six months; -a brigade losses its title if its members fail to carry out the pledges and the members show an attitude unworthy of a socialist man. They also lose the title if they do not assume new obligations after a period of six or, in some cases, 12 months. Both the winning of the title and its withdrawal are decided by the conference of the enterprise. The ?economic leaders of the movement?, ie the director, the Party and the trade union submit their respective proposals to the production conference. The pledges and the more important events in brigade life are recorded in the brigade diary. The National Council of Trade Unions regulated the rules governing the award of the title and its various degrees in a resolution published in 1965. According to the new regulations, a brigade which obtains the ?Szocialista? title for the first time will receive a diploma; if the title is awarded again after the second year, the socialist brigade receives a diploma and a flag. Brigades which are awarded continuously will receive a bronze plaque after four years, a silver one after six, and a gold one after eight. The members of the brigade will receive diplomas and bronze, silver and gold badges respectively.? From here on in I have had to make some deductions on my own. These are: 1) From the date on which the Directives of the Presidium of the National Council of Trade Unions were instituted in 1960 until new regulations were drafted in 1965, work groups which achieved the title of ?SZOCIALISTA BRIGAD? were awarded a diploma (OKLEV?L). There is one fly in the ointment here. I have a diploma that is dated 1963 and named to an individual rather than to a group that says the named individual has successfully met his work objective. At least that is the best translation I can provide. If anyone else can do it more correctly from the picture of the diploma which is included in this article, please do so. There is no mention of a badge in the diploma. It is possible that individuals received only a diploma, unaccompanied by a badge, prior to the 1965 directives. 2) From the time of the promulgation of the new regulations in 1965, a Brigad which attained the ?szocialista? title for the first time was awarded a diploma. If the title was awarded again after the second year, the Szocialista Brigad would receive a diploma and a flag. Brigades which were awarded the socialist title continuously and without interruption would receive a bronze plaque after four years, a silver plaque after six, and a gold one after eight. The members of the Brigad would each receive diplomas and bronze, silver and gold badges, respectfully. I have never seen one of the flags which presumably were awarded, but I feel fairly certain they would look like those in the badges posted below. These badges, as mentioned previously, came in three grades. They also came in a large, 27mm, and a small, 17mm size. These two badges came in a small tapered plastic case with a red bottom and a clear top. To hold them in place in the case they were pinned to a small piece of foam material. The badge is composed of a wreath with a flag mounted on it. On the flag, in a circular shape, are the words ?SZOCIALISTA BRIGAD?. Inside the wording is a shield in the state colours of Hungary. Early issues of these badges were well made with the large badge being of two-piece construction with the flag soldered to the wreath and the body of the flag being covered with a hot red enamel process. Early small badges seem to be of one-piece construction but still use a hot enamel process for the colouring on the flag. Later issues of these badges see the large ones also made as one piece and both large and small badges having the flags coloured using a cold enamel process. There are also badges of the same design as identified above but with the wreath around the outside of the badge in green enamel. The cased set with the green enamelled wreath that I have in my collection is constructed in the earlier of the two manners. I do not know the significance, if any, of the difference in the wreath design between the two badges. The plaques awarded to the Szocialista Brigad are much smaller than one would expect considering the lengths a Brigad had to go to be awarded one. They are 42 mm wide (1 7/8 inches) and 52 mm high (2.5 inches). They have a Socialista Brigad badge in the centre and below that the words ?A SZOCIALIZMUS?RT?. The plaque comes in a clear plastic box with a hinged lid. The plaque is recessed into a red plastic section on the bottom of the case. The plaque is easily removable. There are no markings on the case. The plaque in my collection, and shown in this thread, is silver. While the badges are plentiful I have not seen many of the plaques. One other silver one and a gold one. Since the gold one I saw was the same size, and cased the same as the silver ones, I would say all three levels of this award are the same except for colour. Not mentioned in the directives, but in existence, are other badges and table medals bearing the name of ?SZOCIALISTA BRIGADJA?. One badge is a five-sided green wreath with the normal brigad flag in the centre. This badge is suspended from a hanger with a pin on the back. On the front of the suspension device are the words ?A V?LLATA KIV?L? BRIGADJA? which translates as ?The Excellent Enterprise Brigade?. There is a miniature of this badge that is of one-piece construction and without the wording in the top section where the pin is attached. These two badges come in a rectangular red case with a red plush interior. The interior has recessed shapes for the two badges: the large badge above and the small one below. The lid of the case is hinged. The only case for these medals I have seen was of the late issue plastic type. In addition to the badges there exists a non-portable award in a red case 13 cm by 12.5 cm by 2.3 cm (5.25 inches by 5 inches by 7/8 inches). The exterior of the case is made of red simulated leather. The interior bottom is a plush red velvet type material while the top is a white textured cloth. The bronze medallion recessed into the bottom of the interior is 7 cm (2 7/8 inches) in diameter. The same five-sided design as the suspended badge appears in the centre of the medallion. Around the outside of the medallion is the wording ?A V?LLALATA KIVAL? BRIG?DJA.? The obverse of the medallion is plain. When I purchased this cased medallion there were four of the 27 mm Szocialista Brigad badges in the case as well. I assume they originally belonged to the person who had possession of the medallion. In the third national conference of the National Council of Trade Unions in April 1969, it was recognized that the method of rewarding brigades for achieving the title of Szocialista Brigad was not working. A decision was made to draft new directives which would focus on replacing the previous directives that dealt with quantity of production and the award of badges with directives which dealt with quality of production and a financial reward. The General Secretary of the trade unions announced at this time that the National Council of Trade Unions was studying the problem and that new directives would be issued shortly. My research ended here as I was unable to locate any new directives. All of the badges, medallions and cases are pictured below with the exception of the cased five- sided badge. The only case I have seen was broken and not worth the asking price. I?ll post photos of one of these cases once I have one. Regards, Gordon

Hunyadi, Great to see that you have been able to authentic what you were told about the tunic being worn during such a short period. What a lucky find! Cheers, Gordon

Humberto, You ask a very good question. With all the printed sheets of paper ribbons that started showing up on the forums last year no doubt someone is printing them again. I have never bothered to collect any paper ribbons out of their holders nor studied the printed shets before they were cut up so I do not really know. I am sure there is someone in the collecting community that knows and perhaps we will find out some day. Regards, Gordon

Humberto, Here is the ribbon bar I mentioned earlier with the painted Russian Brotherhood In Arms ribbon. I have only posted pictures of thje one bar as the bars are indentical. They came with two Generalmajor's uniform's that belonged to the same person. Regards, Gordon

Gents, Yesterday I emailed Kurt Gelmser, author of the four volume set "A Guide to Military Dress Daggers". Kurt replied this morning that he had never seen a Communist Bulgarian Air Force dagger. Unfotunately, he did not confirm that one existed. I have never seen any reference to a Communist Bulgarian Air Force dagger. Only army and navy ones. There are other I will contact who may also help with this queery. Regards, Gordon

Kevin, You are correct and it is definitely a Hungarian badge. Here is the picture of the back that Chris asked for. One source suggests it is for a veterans group and an unofficial badge. Regards, Gordon

Pete, My friend Roger has replied and reminded me about the Heimwehr helmets used following WWI. I had neglected to consider them. They are nuch nore likely candidates because they used much smaller badges than the two I sent you pictures of earlier. Here are some photos of Heimwehr helmets from Ludwig Baer's Book Von Stahlhelm zum Gefechtshelm. The full page shows some helmets with badges and others that just had their insignia painted on. The other photos show helmets with metal badges. He also suggested some resources for you. Dr. Guenther Dirrheimer of the Army Museum in Vienna or closer to home for me, Tamas Baczoni in the Hungarian Military Museum here in Budapest. Regards, Gordon

Kevin, Thanks for the pictures of the badge. Very interesting. Austro/Hungary WWI is certainly outside my knowledge at the moment, especially as it applies to patriotic stuff, but I am doing my best to catch up on the subject. I am familiar with the Turul. I live in Budapest and see the one in the Castle Dsitrict regularly. The thing I find curious in these two badges is that the Turul is facing to the left wing. The more common way for the Turul to be depicted is to have the head facing the right wing. IE as in the statue you refered to. Of course, that doesn't mean the artist can not depict the bird anyway they want to. Thanks again for your input. Regards, Gordon

Uwe, Interesting to see the cloth use of the USSR Brotherhood in Arms medal. Haven't seen that before. Thanks for posting it. Regards, Gordon

Jeff, I was told by the vendor this was a Hungarian badge but I have never seen a badge that looked like this one. Were you thinking of any badge in particular? If so, which one? Chris, I have asked for a photo of the back and I'll post it as soon as it comes. I've also asked if there are any maker marks on the back. Thanks to both of you for your comments. Regards, Gordon

Charles, Unfortunately, I have photos of the Bulgarian Communist Army and Navy daggers but not one of the Air Force. I'll send out an email and see what I can come up with. Regards, Gordon

Pete, Two helmets spring to mind here. The first one is the Austrian Guard Battalion helmets. They had a large Austrian eagle crest on the front. The second is the proposed helmet of 1918 for post war use. I have never seen either of these helmets first hand so don't know if the holes in your helmet would match the badges that I have pictured below. You could always ask this question of the Austrian Military Museum in Vienna. They may answer althouth my experience with them is that they are less than helpful. I'll send your picture to my friend Roger Lucy who may be able to answer this question. Regards, Gordon

Humberto, Here is the Hungarian General's cloth bar. Regards, Gordon

Humberto, Kevin is correct that it was an economy measure to start using paper instead of cloth to make ribbon bars in the DDR. As far as I know, they were the only communist state to use this particular method of making ribbon bars. One major short coming in what the DDR did when they went to the paper ribbons was that they did not produce any paper ribbons for medals awarded to DDR military people by other nations. Therefore you will find some ribbon bars with theses foreign awards hand painted on paper and installed on the ribbon bar. This is quite legitimate so don't think that if you find a bar with painted awards that it is not legit. I have two DDR Generals bars with the USSR Brotherhood in Arms medal on hand painted paper ribbons. In actual fact, from a distance there was not a great deal of diference in how the cloth and paper ribbons looked. I've attached a photo of both below to illustrate my point. The short top bar is cloth and the bottom one paper. As for other communist states, late bars used by Bulgaria and Hungary were plastic with a domed front and the actual coloured part of the medal could have been paper but these bars don't come apart like the DDR bars do and the awards can never shift in the holders like the DDR ones do. Hungary continued to use cloth bars up to the end for senior officers. I've included pictures of a Bulgarian General's plastic ribbon bar and a Hungarian General's cloth bar. As for a reference material on DDR ribbon bars I can recommend three. They are; Deutsche Orden und Ehrenzeichen by Nimmergut/Feder?von der Heyde-this book covers German medals and awards, in colour, from 1871 to 1990; DDR-SPEZIALKATALOG 1949-1990 by Bartels-this book covers all DDR medals and awards; Auszeichnungen der Nationalen Volkesarmy der DDR-this book covers all badges & medals waraded to the NVA. All of these books are in German but the colour sections, particularly of the first one, don't need much explanation. There is a fourth book tittled German Military Ribbons 1914-1957 by Mark Hayden but the title is misleading. It really only covers some ribbon bars from the Third Reich and West German periods and has numerous errors. Regards, Gordon

Gents, Does anyone recognize the picture below? I would like to know country of origin, name of badge and what it was awarded for. Regards, Gordon

Charles, Interesting thought about this badge. I've amassed quite a collection of KISZ badges over the last week and they all have either the word KISZ, the KISZ flag, or the word IFJ?S?G (YOUTH) in the design. I have not run across any that use the term IFJ? (YOUNG). This could be an award for a young person in the work force as KISZ had members from 16 to 31. I've posted a couple of KISZ badges for comparison purposes. Regards, Gordon

Gents, Another update on my previous posts. The para badge with the figure of a paratrooper in free fall is the Free Fall badge from the Communist era and as Charles has indicated in his posts all para qualifications led to this badge but I do not know what the criteria was to be awarded this badge. I now own a Basic Para Badge from the Communist era and can post pictures. On the view of the rear of the badge you will see two hooks. Small semicircular disks were hung from these hooks to indicate the total number of jumps in increments of ten. There are also badges like this one with the numerals indicating the number of jumps shown on the badge at the bottom where the two sets of leaves come together. There also similar badges with scrolls underneath, but a part of the badge, bearing the words "OKTATO"-INSTRUCTOR; and "MESTERUGRO" (I've left out the accents in this word) which literally translates as Master Jumper.

Gentlemen, I need to coprrect my earlier statement about the time frame for the cocakde that I said was worn up to the mid 70s. Obviously I was mistaken and for that I appologize. Don't know how I could have made such a dumb mistake! Obviously it is of the time frame first listed in the post. For reference purposes here is a cap and cap badge for the Bulgarian Communist era up to the early 70s. The interior shot is not very good and I'll add a better one when the cap arrives. Regards, Gordon

Soviet, Thanks for the response. I figured that was where you bought the hat. Now if he only had a Generals hat I'd be all set! Cheers, Gordon

Gentlemen, Military personnel assigned to the Military Traffic Control Corps wore a special protective helmet while carrying out their duties. The helmet is similar, but not exactly the same, in shape as the regular military helmet. It is made of layers of fibreglass material and has an entirely different liner from the metal armed forces helmets. The liner is more like a cloth cap which fits over the head with a section that comes down over the back and side of the head then buckles under the chin. The section that fits over the neck and face is of a white plastic material on the exterior. There are four holes in the section that buttons under the chin that should line up with the wearers ears. Very similar to a motorcycle helmet which purpose it may serve as well. The helmet is painted white overall with the exterior being smooth while the interior is of a rough texture. The front section of the liner has a leather sweat band and the chin strap is also of leather. The makers name "Hungaria" of Budapest is on a label sewn to the top of the liner. The liner is held in place by four sets of two brass rivets equally space around the helmet. There are black bands around the helmet with a blank spot in the front between the bands for the Armed Forces Cocakde. This particular cockade is of the flat surface variety and gold in colour indicating wear by a commissioned officer. The large F below the cockade stands for "Formgalomszab?lyaz?s". These helmets may be found with a different number of black bands indicating assignment to different sized formations. They are; One Band-assigned at the company level Two Band-assigned at the Battallion level Three Band-assigned at the Regimental level. Regards, Gordon