hunyadi

I probably dont have much to add here, but seeing as we have a Russian TV station on cable - I watch it a few times and last Christmas there was a big program, a military musical from what I gathered and the camera would sweep throught the crowd occasionaly and I saw the upper offciers with HSU, Order of Lennin, etc... on those beautiful bars. Here in the former People's Republic of Hungary - wearing anything related to the Soviet era is a crime. Even a guy with the Communist Workers Party was arrested for having the old Hungarian Coat of Arms on his web site. He had also been arrested on other occasions for weaing a lapel pin with a red star. - But - you can go to freedom square and see the monument erected to the 'Liberating' Russians after WW2 - complete with golden star and hammer and sycle.

40 mm in diameter

and the reverse. The cased sets came with a miniature badge

And one that has not lost nealry all its gilded finish this one is number 4567

And the reverse - it is my belief that the original issue piees are numbered and then additional replacemetns are not as I have seen another example that was not numbered. This one of course is number 3205

Run for your lives! Its the Partisans! Instituted in 1954 to individuals who became a part of the Hungarian Partisans Organisation and who had proof of actual anti-fasist activity in Hungary and abroad. I have never seen a numbered one about 5000 so it believe that no more than perhaps 4800 were ever awarded from 1954 to 1989.

As for ribbons - the most common is the red and white war ribbon. This ribbon was used on the regular bravery medals from the Military Cross to the Small Bonze Bravey medal. The Iron Crown and the Liepolt (spelling?) Medals have their own type of ribbons, but if you look at the ribbon on the Bronze Signum Laudis above - this is what you find for most Austrio-Hungarian awards.

the box -

My cased Signum Laudis in bronze with swords.

My brother in law was one of the first from ND Natl. Guard to go in to Iraq in 2003. After he got back I got to talking to him about the absurdity of some medals being awarded. He shared the story of a guy who accidentaly discharged his SAW (while in a convoy) into the radiator of his HUMVEE causing the one and only combat 'casualty' for the company. Berated by the C.O. for his actions the same guy was the only one to get the BS for converting HUMVEE's into what he later called 'Mad Max Armored Abominations'. My borther in law only got the ARCOM.

WOW - had not noticed that - but from my perspective (loooking through dusty glass) they do appear to be 6 sided!

I'm going to stop here on the lot - there is more, but I will add more at a later time. A full article on the medals and the man are in the works.

Its a table medal in form

Here is the document for the Arany Janos Prize for Education given in 1984

Dr Simon was also a member of the Hazafias Nepfront - a political party that was allowed to exist in 1973, though they could never win elections. Every year 150 individuals were chosen for their merits and service to the Socialist state. Dr. Simon was so decorated on two separate years. Here is the medal and one of the documents.

the document

Also in 1987 for Dr. Simons efforts in furthuring the Hungarian People's Republic he was awarded the Medal of April 4th. 2466 individuals were so decorated.

the medal in its case

Dr Simon was born in Romania in 1922. As the terms of the Trianon treaty the region of Trnasylvania was removed from the Historical Hungary. As the second son of a farmer, wh was raised in a Hungarian speaking home and attended a Hungarian speaking rural school. They were educated with the Romanian langauge, but he can hardly recall using the language very often. In 1939 the Romanian government began a series of persecutions against the cultural and historical Hungarians. Fearing for their lives they escaped to Hungary with only the few items that they could carry. With nothing for the future Simon and his brother were enroled into high school in the hopes of building a future life for the family. This dream lasted until late 1944 when he was drafted into military service to bolster the crumbling Hungarian defenses against the Russian Horde. He served 7 days on the front line until the Soviets smashed through their lines causing a route with his unit. With everythign lost he retread back to the security of Budapest. Along the way he was captured and gang pressed into digging forticifactions for the Soviet armies. He was called to serve for 20 days but managed to escape the day before his unfortunate comrades were then taken to Romania and then to Russia for life in a POW camp. He escaped to south-western Hungary where he was reunited with his family. After the war they settled in his mothers old village. But the persecution did not end there as his mother was an ethnic German and as a result, the family's home was confiscated by the new Hungarian Republic (1946-1949). There was nothing left, but hope smiled uppon them and Simons father was able to find a small appartment. It was here in the small village that Simon met his wife. By 1948 they were married and in 1949 they had their first child. Both Simon and his wife were able to find work as school teachers. Disilusioned by the opressive Hungarian Republic, Simon found solace in the propoganda of the Hungarian Workers Party who in late 1949 took control of the government and insituted a one party rule under the leadership of Matyas Rakosi. Simon worked hard in his position and by 1955 he was prinicpal of the school where he began teaching at. When the opressive and dangerious activities of Rakosi came to the surface resulting in a general strike in late October 1956, the peoples opposition to the Hungarian People's Republic resulted in an outbreak of violence which then led to a full fledged Revolution. During this time, a majority of the revolutionaries were disilusioned youth, so too in the school in which he was both principal and teacher, the students sought to leave and join into the steet fighting against the rampaging Soviet tanks. Simon stood his ground, sickened with the violence in his own life and refused to let the students board a train for Budapest. He remained at his post as educator even under numerious threats by revolutionary individuals in his village. He feared for his life and the life of his family, but yet as his daughter relayed to me - the front door was never locked. After November 4th 1956 when almost all opposition to the Soviet intervention had ceased, Simon was called to a Party meeting where he declared his loyalty to the Party and the Hungarian Peoples Republic. As there were hardly any other members who were willing to attend such a metting when the fires of battle were still smouldering in Budapest, Simon and a few other comrades were deemed later by the local minister to be awarded the Return of Power to the Workers and Peasants. Simon had never fired a shot in anger, had never come close to dying a 'heroic death in the struggle against the counter revolution', he had simply remained faithful when others had not. He entered into a group of nearly 20,000 individulas who were similarily decorated. As the news of his acts in not letting the students depart to fight in Budapest spread, the Council of Ministers recognised his work by awawrding him the Struggle for Freedom Medal in Bronze. Only 2150 individuals were decorated with the Bronze and Silver grades of the Freedom Medal. As the 50th annaversary for the 1956 Revolution revolves around current events in Hungary and focuses on the heroic and brave individuals who took up arms and demanded a change in Soviet policy and the right to govern themselves. A noble act that has hardly been repeated in recent history, but what of Simon? His simple act was in its own way a heroic an noble deed as in the modern perspective he probably saved the lives of a handful of students from outright combat and perhaps even a few more from prison or the executions that followed. Simon loved children and saw what his fahter had seen in his children - a future, an education. Simon devoted his life to children - to the future. Later in life he obtained a doctorate in law and fought to make the lives of children better. For this activity he too was decorated twice with the Teachers Medal and recieved the coveted Arany Janos Prize for Education. Though Simon was entitiled to many benefits for the nearly 20 decorations and awards, he never took much advantage of them. He never sought a larger house, he never aplied for an automobile in fact he never owned a camera. Even to this day he and his wife were shocked to learn that he had recieved such a high and prestigious award. Today he lives in a small appartment as a pensioneer after retiring from child advocacy in 2002. As promised here are some of his other awawrds. To begin with the formal document of the Freedom Medal

Wow Nack - thanks for that information, it helps to round out who these yong kid in lover were!

Yep- thats the one. Interesting. What would she be doing in Hungary in 1946? Is this a badge that one would wear after you entered military service? Or is this only for an active member in the Kommosol? Ooooorrrr was the Kommosol brought in to help feed the starving kids of Hungary (this was a popular propoganda type of photo after the war "soviet soldeires give food to the needy children of /you pick the Hungarian town/")???

Wow - that is a nice one - wish I had gotten home to find that! From what you have shown - no doubt that its 110% original in every way. Nice find!

Hi Wild Card - Yes - thanks - the one on the far right is Stalingrad (and it makes sense as many of those members ended up here in Hungary in 1945) the one on the left - it obliterated in the photo so I can not make out any detail. Here is the stupid question - what is a Komsomol and does anyone have a photo of the badge to compare it with?

The name under FJ is not a maker but rather the court sculptor who sculpted the bust of FJ or Karl. With FJ of course there were several as he outlived them or they simply fell from grace in the court. Though you have the benefit of holding it in your hand - to me it looks like the name was there - just someone rubbed it a bit too much I wonder about this spot?

and the makers mark