Hungary Military and Paramilitary Academy and School Badges in the HUPR

[Gordon Craig]

Military and Paramilitary Academy and School Badges in the HUPR

The following information, in quotes, is an excerpt from; http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-5946.html I do not have a secondary source of confirmation but it seems to be essentially correct. My comments are outside the quotes. The names of the schools in the reference document below have been changed to meet the English language convention of putting the surname last. In Hungarian the surname is placed first.

?In the late 1980s, the HPA operated schools ranging from secondary schools through colleges for the academic, technical, and political training and advancement of regular personnel. Many senior officers, in addition to successfully completing military schooling at all levels, also were sent to the Soviet Union for courses in that country's military institutions. Such Soviet schools included the Voroshilov General Staff Military Academy in Moscow, the Frunze Military Academy and the Malinovskii Military Academy, the Zhukov Air Defense Academy, and the Moscow Military Academy of the General Staff. Courses of study in the Soviet Union lasted from two to eight years. The Soviet Union also sent lecturers and textbooks to Hungary. Hungarian officers also were trained in Czechoslovakia and Poland.

The military academies were the highest level of military schooling, the most important of which was the Miklos Zrinyi Military Academy in Budapest. Before 1968 its entrance requirements were lenient, but after that time entry was obtained only upon the successful completion of a military college or an officers' training school of equivalent ranking. The course of study took three years, and a variety of subjects were offered. Graduation from the Miklos Zrinyi Military Academy was necessary to attain high-level command positions.

The Lajos Kossuth Military Academy in Szentendre in Pest County also ranked high in the military education system. It was considered to be academically equal to other institutions of higher learning. Graduates were commissioned as army officers. The Lajos Kossuth Military Academy offered specialized training in mechanized infantry, armored troops, surface-to-surface artillery, engineering, military economy and supply, and border guard work. The Kossuth Academy required knowledge of two foreign languages, one of which had to be Russian. The school also offered many courses on various aspects of Marxism-Leninism.

Other high-level military schools included the Mate Zalka Technical Military Academy in Budapest, which specialized in antiaircraft, artillery, radar technology, signaling and telecommunications, and nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) defense and warfare; the Gyorgy Kilian Technical Air Force Academy, which trained ground and air crews and taught aviation and aircraft maintenance; the Honved Military College, which offered a three-year course of study for university graduates training to become officers; and the Frigyes Karikas Military College. The HPA also operated specialized military high schools in Eger, Nyiregyhaza, and Tata.?

Missing from the above information is the Bolyai J?nos Military Technical College for

Logistics.

Other armed organizations which issued badges for graduates of their schools were the Ministry of the Interior for the BM. KUN B?LA Z?SZL?S-K?PZŐ ISKOLA and the BM. KUN B?LA TISZTHELYETTSK?PS? ISKOLA. The Munkas?r issued badges for the K?ZPONTI ISKOLA and possibly other schools as well.

I do not have any badges in my collection from the Rakoci era (1948-1956). The badges shown will all bear the crest in use during the Kadar era from 1957 to 1990.

The first badge shown is that of the Zrinyi Miklos Akademia. It is an early model with the star, crest on the star and the plate with the name of the school all separate pieces attached to the diamond. Other Academies would have used a crest bearing their name.

Edited January 16, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

The back of this badge showing the method of attaching the separate pieces to the diamond section. The badge was held onto the tunic by sewing two thread loops above the right breast pocket. There were types of this badge which had a post on the back and were attahced to the tunic the same way the USSR Academy badges were.

[Gordon Craig]

A later type of badge where the badges is all made of one piece construction. I've used this particular damaged badge to show how they were constructed and where the different colours of enamel would be applied. They are often found in a damaged condition because the small diamond pieces pop out easily if the badge is dropped any distance.

Edited January 16, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

The back of this badge. Please note the simplified construction.

[Gordon Craig]

The next badge will be the one worn by officers who graduated from a civilian university. It has a bkue background instead of white and does not bear a school name. You often see this badge mis-labelled as a Police Acedemy badge. Probably because of the blue background as blue is the colour associated with the police.

[Gordon Craig]

The back of this badge.

[Gordon Craig]

The next badge is of a completely different design and is for the Zalka Mate F?iskola. This style of badge first appears in my reference material in 1987. It may have been in use before then.

Edited January 16, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

The back of this badge.

[Gordon Craig]

The next badge is for the Kossuth Lajos F?iskola. The backs of these next few badges are identical so I will not post pictures of them.

Edited January 16, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

The next badge is for the Killian Gy?rgy F?iskola. By now you will have noticed that the design on these newer badges has a relationship to the subjects taught at the school.

[Gordon Craig]

As well as Hungarian Academy badges, the State Mint also produced Academy badges of the USSR. I would imagine that Hungarian graduates of USSR Academies would have been given one badge upon graduation but would have required more than one for wear on their uniforms once they return to Hungary hence the need to make these badges of the USSR. A Hungarian officer could possibly expect to attend a school/academy in the USSR twice in his career. Once as a Captain or Major to attend a mid level school and as a Colonel or Major General to one of the senior USSR Academies mentioned in the text above. He would only wear the USSR Academy badge of the most senior establishment attended.

Here is a picture of a mid level school of the USSR as made at the Hungarian State Mint.

[Gordon Craig]

The reverse of this badge. The "PV" on the nut is the mark of the Hungarian State Mint.

[Gordon Craig]

For comparison purposes, here is a badge of the USSR Frunz Academy made in the USSR.

[Gordon Craig]

The reverse of this badge.

[Gordon Craig]

The these Hungarian Academy badges were presented in a red case with a diamond shaped recess in the centre. Here is a picture of the top of the case. It is devoid of any markings.

[Gordon Craig]

The case open.

[Gordon Craig]

The bottom of the case.

[Gordon Craig]

Here is a picture of the 1973 graduating class from the Kossuth Lajos F?iskola.

It comes in a red forlder and the caption indicates they will meet again in five years.

Edited January 16, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

A close-up view of the graduating class.

[Gordon Craig]

The folder closed showing the design on the cover.

[Gordon Craig]

Now to move on to some of the paramilitary organizations. First the BM. KUN B?LA TISZTHELYETTSK?PS? ISKOLA. I have little information on this school but it appears to be for police.

Edited January 16, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

The reverse of this badge.

[Gordon Craig]

Next, a badge for the BM. KUN B?LA Z?SZL?S-K?PZŐ ISKOLA. My information on this badge is as limited as for the first one.

Edited January 16, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

The reverse of this badge.

[Gordon Craig]

There is a diamond shaped badge for police that has a white centre and a blue outline around the white centre. I have one some pace but I can not vind it so I will have to post that later. It comes in a case exactly the same design as the red military one but it is blue inside and out. The next badge will be for the MUNKAS?R K?ZPONTI ISKOLA. It is a six sided badge, although I beleive there is a diamond shaped badge for a MUNKAS?R ISKOLA, but I don not have one in my collection.