Hungary Hungarian People's Republic Awards

[hunyadi]

The last badge is the badge for a "Patrol Commander" - this is for the Border Guards as the stone monolith in the center with crossed PPSH's is the symbol for the Hatarorseg (border Guards) - both the 800 hour flying medal was similar to a long serivce medal. This particular type was issued in 1965 and used untill 1982.

The Border Guard badge is a mid 1960's version.

[order_of_victory]

The last badge is the badge for a "Patrol Commander" - this is for the Border Guards as the stone monolith in the center with crossed PPSH's is the symbol for the Hatarorseg (border Guards) - both the 800 hour flying medal was similar to a long serivce medal. This particular type was issued in 1965 and used untill 1982.

The Border Guard badge is a mid 1960's version.

Thank you very much for the info

I guesed it could be boarder guards from the similarties between this and the USSR Boarder Guard medal

Do you have an example of earlier one

Order of Victory

[order_of_victory]

BTW, heres the outside of the box for the Airforce medal

Order of Victory

[hunyadi]

OoV -

Your example is the only one to exist - there was a push in the mid 60's to early 70's to have all sorts of badges for different professions in the serivces. The borderguard one you have is for someone who was a squad to company leader of a border region. (depending on the size and threat of unwanted folks coming into the country).

The box you have for the 800 hour service medal is a late 70's to late 80's version. Wood and paper boxes were too costly to make so the injected mold plastic cases became the norm during this time.

Nice start to your collection - I dont even have an 800 hour medal

(I am stealing your photo gordon!!!)- but here is an example of all the badges they made for the army alone for wear on the dress tunic

Edited October 11, 2006 by hunyadi

[hunyadi]

Stay tuned folks - I have just gotten a lot that is un-believable - perhaps I should wait untill October 23rd to post it. If that gives anyone a hint about it

[Hauptmann]

OoV -

Your example is the only one to exist - there was a push in the mid 60's to early 70's to have all sorts of badges for different professions in the serivces. The borderguard one you have is for someone who was a squad to company leader of a border region. (depending on the size and threat of unwanted folks coming into the country).

The box you have for the 800 hour service medal is a late 70's to late 80's version. Wood and paper boxes were too costly to make so the injected mold plastic cases became the norm during this time.

Nice start to your collection - I dont even have an 800 hour medal

(I am stealing your photo gordon!!!)- but here is an example of all the badges they made for the army alone for wear on the dress tunic

Without even seeing the rest of it... I think I LOVE that big case. Did it come with the badges as a special grouping/display or otherwise where did you get it... and can one get more? If so, details please.

Thanks,

Dan

[hunyadi]

Hi Dan -

Unfortunatly - the case is not mine. I have only seen two of them. One in the Hungarian Military History Museum and the other in Gordons collection. It was an item reserved fof ambassadors and upper officers of other nations as a gift. Super rare. The badges by themselves can be easily purchased, but that case - probably not.

[Hauptmann]

Hi Dan -

Unfortunatly - the case is not mine. I have only seen two of them. One in the Hungarian Military History Museum and the other in Gordons collection. It was an item reserved fof ambassadors and upper officers of other nations as a gift. Super rare. The badges by themselves can be easily purchased, but that case - probably not.

Hi Charles,

Figures. Heavy sigh. I'm big on those types of cases. I have a fairly nice one which I keep most of my high TR copies in but can easily switch out to other things. It's similar to the red one but is black. It was originally a case for a plate with a picture of one of the Popes in it along with the title and description of same in gold on red silk on the upper liner. I had a friend who wanted the plate and liner so I carefully removed those. Got what I had in the case from my friend for those and kept the case which she wasn't that concerned with. She framed the liner and presented it and the plate with holder to one of her aunts (one of several who are nuns) and I then converted the case to use in my militaria displays.

But I'm always on the lookout for more.

Sure is a nice one. Perhaps something similar will pop up someday. Will stay on the hunt as one never knows.

Thanks!

Dan

[Eric Schena]

Hi all:

Great stuff here! I love seeing all of these awards. I have a very small collection of Hungarian awards as part of my never-ending goal of getting a representative collection of Eastern Bloc decorations. I'll post them here when I have a chance.

Does anyone have any good recommendations for a reference book on socialist era awards? I've seen some discussion of varieties as well as award numbers and would love to find some good reference books.

Thanks!

Cheers,

Eric

Edited October 12, 2006 by Eric Schena

[Riley1965]

order of Victory & hunyadi,

Thanks for the information. Those are some real gems!!!

Doc

[hunyadi]

Hello -

I can let the cat out of the bag -

I have translated a very good book "Nagy Magyar Kitunteteskonyv" - "The Large Hungarian Book of Medals". It deals with all Hungarian awards from 1000 - 2003 AD. I have translated the Hungarian People's Republic Awards 1949-1991. Ulster has said he was working on the Horthy era (WW2) - I am still considering more translation. (working on two articles for publication soon) I would write a book about them myself, but the problem is getting the photos of the ultra rare awards. At times I can still get the book about $55-75 as they are now out of print, but finding one for sale is a job in itself. For those who are interested in "a" reference PM me.

For more eye candy - "Labor Medals" - Actualy these are Medals of Motherhood in 3rd and 4th class. The object was to make more Communist babies after the war, however the European tendancy was to have fewer children. So in 1951 they insituted this medal - very rare! Plus its to the same woman who gave birth almost 1 year later to get the 3rd class! Busy "Labor"

[hunyadi]

For the 4th class the woman had to give birth to 6 children - so she got her silver 3rd class for #7. As a father of two - I feel for her.

[Ed_Haynes]

Lovely! Thanks!!

[Ulsterman]

GREAT medals!

I can not wait to see the revolution group.

Well, I am trying to translate the book for the Horthy era, but beyond descriptive nouns it's a very hard slog.

Edited October 12, 2006 by Ulsterman

[order_of_victory]

Thanks DOC

I must say both pieces were aquired by accident

Glad you like them and thanks to hunyadi for expalianing some more details about them

Order of Victory

Edited October 24, 2006 by order_of_victory

[hunyadi]

As I was on vacation - I was unable to post a most interesting lot that I have come across. I wanted to post this on Oct 23rd in memory of the 1956 revolution - but I am a day late.

This is the lot of Dr. Simon (as he is still living I have edited the name). He was one of the individuals to be awarded the Return of Power to the Pesants and Workers medal in 1957. The story is far from that simple and I am still doing interviews with him and research to get a full story of a rather simple man who was heavily decorated for his service to the Hungarian People's Republic. I am only going to post a small portion of his decorations now - but more - oh! much more is to come!

First off is the difficult to find 'carrying' document for the medal

Edited October 24, 2006 by hunyadi

[hunyadi]

secondly the most difficult to find - the 'formal' document hand signed by Janos Kadar the Hungarian Premier until the 1970's.

[hunyadi]

Here is his 20 years of service to the Hungarian Communist Workers Party. It is hard to express the detail of the printing on this document - it is absolutly beautiful!

[hunyadi]

Here is also a medal for the culmination of his work in the 1970's Order of Labor in Silver Grade. More to come - including a full history of the man, his medals and the reasons behind his faithfulness and devotion to the Hungarian Communist Party - you may be interestinly surprised.

Edited October 24, 2006 by hunyadi

[Ed_Haynes]

Ohhhhh ... nice! We await the full story!

[Ulsterman]

Yes! Yes!! More! More!!

[Riley1965]

WOW!!! What a GREAT set!!! I look forward to the story!!

Doc

[hunyadi]

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

[hunyadi]

the medal in its case

[hunyadi]

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.