steveBobby

I like these files! Your collection is very nice！ Yours Steve

I agree with new world's opinion. This number was most likely added by the seller himself, or by the Poles themselves at the time. And 2410 is not the number of the Dimitrov Order, but the decree number used by the Bulgarian State Council when it issued the order to award the medal in 1979. So I don't think the Poles at that time would have added it like this. Of course, the following is my own speculation：We assume that the seller only received the certificate but not the order. He needs to find a Dimitrov order, but he does not know the numbering history of the Dimitrov order. He mistakenly believes that the decree number on the certificate represents the number of the Dimitrov order, so he made a Dimitrov order with a strange number.

Greeting Bill Before we can answer this question, we need to go back to the starting point. After September 9, 1944 in Bulgaria, the Fatherland Front coalition government formed by the Bulgarian Communist Party began to provide social benefits and other privileges on a large scale to partisans who participated in the opposition to the government between 1941 and 1944. This includes a law called the Law on Assistance to Victims of Fascism, which is intended to help guerrilla members or guerrilla assistants who suffered government persecution, casualties, imprisonment or confiscation of land during the above period to obtain necessary welfare relief. Against the background of this law, the Union of Bulgarian People's Partisans or the Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters was established. It required that a badge with the title "Fighting for the People's Freedom in 1941-1944" and its certificate be issued in the name of the Bulgarian Ministry of War based on the Union's data. Its function was to provide the recipient with the necessary proof of being a partisan fighter. In July 1945, the first national congress of Bulgarian partisans was organized by the future Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov. At the congress, a new organizational charter was adopted, requiring the inclusion of not only partisans from 1941-1944, but also all participants in the anti-fascist struggle on a larger scale. Therefore, according to the Regulations on the Award of Orders and Medals adopted by the National Assembly Resolution No. 649 in 1950, the Medal for Participants in the Anti-Fascist Struggle has the following provisions: "The Medal for Participants in the Anti-Fascist Struggle is awarded to guerrillas, members of combat groups and their guerrilla helpers who participated in the struggle against the fascist dictatorship." Later, the scope of the organization continued to expand and evolved into a part of the Bulgarian Anti-Fascist and Capitalist Fighters' Union. In response to this new change, the new provisions for the medal for anti-fascist struggle participants in the Law of the People's Republic of Bulgaria on Spiritual Encouragement passed in 1974 were: "The medal for anti-fascist struggle participants is awarded once and for all to those who participated in the anti-fascist and capitalist struggle." Therefore, in my opinion, the answer to this question is that the scope of recipients was constantly expanding, and it not only included the partisans from 1941 to 1944, but also included a large number of other potential recipients from 1923 to 1944. I hope this information is helpful to you. Yours Steve

Very nice collection，Greg！ This is a man who experienced the events of 1956 and served from the Rakosi era to the Kadar era. I particularly like that he also has two medals for controlling the Danube flood. Yours Steve

It seems to me that the founders of the order system of the Bulgarian People's Republic at that time were only considering how to quickly establish a order system that was different from the kingdom or republic period, so fully imitating the Soviet system was a very convenient choice. So it was unnecessary to consider the rationality at that time, because no one would have thought that it would be abolished in 1958. Let’s look at another example： The Bulgarian General and Professional Workers Association proposed to reward workers who have provided many years of service and high-quality work results in the industry, as follows: A. Those who have worked in the same enterprise for 5 years should be awarded the Bronze People's Order of Labor; B. Those who have worked in the same enterprise for 10 years should be awarded the Silver People's Order of Labor; C. Those who have worked in the same enterprise for 15 years should be awarded the Gold People's Order of Labor; D. Those who have worked in the same enterprise for 20 years should be awarded the Red Banner of Labor Order; There is no doubt that this is another very Soviet policy，and the workers involved will also include those in the Tsarist period. Back to the topic of service time：Of course, there is a second possibility. Many of the early officers or senior soldiers in the Bulgarian People's Army were members who were sent to the Soviet Union for military training as political refugees by the Bulgarian Communist Party in the 1920s and 1930s. They joined the Soviet army very early and did not return to Bulgaria until September 9, 1944 or later and served as officers or senior soldiers of the Bulgarian People's Army. For them, the years of service can be re-satisfied, which also meets the needs of the new government to reward their past contributions. Another group of people were old partisans who had been engaged in the fascist guerrilla war in Bulgaria since 1941. They were directly admitted to the army with low or high ranks after September 9, 1944. In this way, a considerable number of them could meet the requirements for the minimum service reward after 1950. I also think that in reality, some officers' service years were counted as part of their service in Tsar Boris' army. Although there are not many such people.

Contributing my own collection to this topic. 🧐

I will show my collection.

It does have similar rules to the Soviet Union. According to a report submitted by General Mikhailov, Minister of Defense of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party in 1959 on the reform of the awarding of orders and medals for military service: In the years 1950-1958, in accordance with Article 83 of the Law of the People's Republic of Bulgaria on Universal Military Service, officers and soldiers could be awarded orders and medals for impeccable and conscientious service in the army by Decree of the Presidium of the National Assembly No. 649 of December 13, 1950. The specific awarding standards are: the Combat Merit Medal is awarded for 10 years of service; the Third Class September 9 Revolution Order is awarded for 15 years of service; the Order of the Red Banner is awarded for 20 years of service; and the Order of Dimitrov is awarded for 25 years of service. This rule was abolished in 1958 and reformed after 1959 to award three levels of the Good Service Medal. Again, a similar process to the Soviet Union.🧐 Glad to see this information was helpful to you! Yours Steve

Maybe we will never find the answer to this question，Graf. Perhaps it is just a small-scale production of such products in national factories, and there will not be too many records left. Perhaps when we really find a similar photo of people wearing it, we can truly prove its existence.

Greeting！ Perhaps I can provide some information. In the National Statistical Yearbook compiled annually by the People's Republic of Bulgaria, there is a separate page used to count the specific number of various high-level medals and awards awarded. In the statistical yearbooks of the early 1980s, there were still records of the specific number of Red Banner medals awarded, but since the mid-to-late 1980s, the Red Banner medal has no longer been counted. Therefore, the data we are discussing can only be used for data in 1980 or 1981, which is a prerequisite. Combining the data from the Statistical Yearbooks of 1969-1970 and 1979-1980, we can draw the following conclusions: 10,253 Orders of the Red Banner were awarded between 1948 and 1960, 1,258 Orders of the Red Banner were awarded between 1961 and 1978, and there is no record of any Order of the Red Banner being awarded in 1979. Due to missing data, we are unable to obtain more specific data on the number of awards of the Order of the Red Banner as of 1989. You also mentioned the part about digital numbers. As for the answer to this part, I can only answer you from the perspective of my own collection. According to my personal observation, the maximum number should be around 13000-14000. I have not yet found a number above 14000. Most of the Order of the Red Banner with numbers were awarded between 1959 and 1960. After that, due to changes in the service rules, the number of the Order of the Red Banner was greatly reduced, and the numbering became meaningless and was abolished. I hope this information is helpful to you. Yours Steve

Greeting！ Based on common sense and past experience, the recipients of this rank are usually awarded the Soldiers' Cross of Bravery rather than the Officers' Order of Bravery. But perhaps we can make an assumption that the recipient may have performed an extremely heroic act, which led the commander to believe that he should be awarded the Order of Bravery to recognize this behavior. Or another assumption is that all the machine-printed documents were prepared in advance, but no changes were made to some recipients, and he actually received the Soldier's Cross of Bravery. Of course, given the many chaotic issuances between 1945 and 1950, both possibilities are worth considering further. I will show a two similar document from my collection. Yours Steve Another similar recipient, who held the rank of senior captain in the Communist army, but only received the Soldier's Cross of Bravery. I have seen some archives, and the same rules as in the Soviet Army were applied in the Bulgarian People's Army to award orders based on years of service. To receive the Order of the Red Banner, one must have served in the Bulgarian People's Army for at least 20 years, which may explain why his rank could not be changed to officer. Because he served in the Kingdom Army as a soldier until the Communist period, until he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner in the 1950s for his years of service.

Greeting This is a badge from the Slovak fascist regime, known as “a commemorative badge for the battle against the Soviet Union（Památný odznak Za ťažení proti SSSR）”，Established in 1943 by Josef Tissot, leader of the Slovak state.The badge is divided into three levels. The gold badge is awarded to front-line personnel who personally participated in combat outside Slovakia and participated in combat for 30 days; the silver badge is awarded to those who did not personally participate in combat outside Slovakia but served in the combat area for at least 30 days; the bronze badge is awarded to those who served in the Slovak army or labor forces on the Eastern Front for at least three months.I'll include a few photos of the wearers below, I hope it helps you. Yours Steve

While the build quality is a bit poor, I think this is authentic as it dates from the First World War. Yours Steve

Greeting ！ This pattern of order I believe appeared during World War II between 1943 and 1945 as a temporary version due to a shortage of certain parts.I'll include photos of two actual wearers below to back up this claim. Yours Steve

I would like to add some order of Labor Glory certificates to this topic, maybe will helpful for you. Yours Steve

A beautiful reward from the days of the Laxey administration! A nice acquisition, congratulations! Yours Steve

Greeting Greg！ They look very normal, I think they are original. Yours Steve

I would like to add some portraits of gentlemen to this theme，hope it will be helpful to researchers. Sincerely Steve

I also have a different opinion about the dates given in this book. Let’s look at a concrete example，When we look at a photo of the first Bulgarian cosmonaut, Georgy Ivanov, we can see this pilot badge clearly worn on his uniform.And this time is much earlier than 1980. So I personally think that this pilot badge should have appeared in the first few years of the 1970s. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, pilots in the People's Republic of Bulgaria wore wings that were a copy of the Soviet version of the wings that were introduced around the 1950s. I'm glad to see that this information is helpful to you. cheers Steve

Greeting Tony！ There's no doubt from the photos that this was a product of its time, so there won't be any issues with that. This type of badge was usually produced in the People's Republic of Bulgaria in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. As you can see with the Bulgarian badges of the same period, their quality is not that good. But I am sure that there is nothing wrong with the piece you bought. It is a work of that era. I'll include some information below, I hope it helps you. Yours Sincerely Steve

Hi Greg！ I'm glad to see that you got this nice collection again！ Yours Steve

I will add mine, Unfortunately, I didn't collect the matching certificate and box.

Greeting Greg I'm glad to see that you got such a good harvest again. The Order of September 9 has had many versions throughout the history of Bulgarian socialism, with corresponding boxes and certificates. Hope you can collect more! Sincerely Steve

Of course Philip.S, the Hungarians did design it this way. In the original 1953 proposal, they used a circular shape, from this point on, this design was used.Then in 1955, they updated their design again. Since then, only the national emblem has been changed. IN 1953： IN 1954 or 1955: IN 1957： Sincerely Steve

Greeting Greg Generally speaking, based on the experience of the Soviet Union and some other European socialist countries, police, national security personnel, and technical personnel in the army can all receive the Labor order or the Labor Red Banner order representing civilian merit. I believe that at the very beginning, when the Hungarian government established the Order of Labor in 1948, these military personnel should have been able to be linked to it. But what is very strange is that this phenomenon did not continue during the Raksi government or even the later Kadar government. It is clear that the subsequent Hungarian Communist government paid more attention to the distinction between civilian and military awards. Most of the medals or orders that police, state security personnel and military technicians can receive are still military awards.But this does not deny the possibility of military personnel receiving the Labor Medal. For example, we can still see some officers or generals wearing the Labor Medal in photos from the 1950s. (I will list a photo of Janza Károly a lieutenant general of the Hungarian People's Army). By the way，I think the idea of the workers' militia mentioned by my colleague Philip.S is correct. Paramilitary organizations, which are between civilian and military, can indeed straddle the line between two different reward classes.This is reflected in the photos, where we can see that many of the award-winning photos of the Workers’ Militia have the shadow of the Labor order. But in any case, this is just my own speculation. We may need more photos of actual examples or more identity information of the recipients to confirm whether our hypothesis is correct. Yours Steve