Romania Romania RPR Period "Medalia Elibearea De Sub Jugul Fascist".

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo Gents,

Picked this one up in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania on Saturday May 31st 2008.

R.P.R. Period "Medalia Elibearea De Sub Jugul Fascist" with Legitimatie.

Awarded to persons who helped liberate Romania from the grip of the Fascists, in WW2.

Interestingly awarded to a Maria Simion Hauptman

Bet the paper work for this raised a few eyebrows at Party H.Q:

Kevin in Deva.

[Kev in Deva]

Front cover, gone brown with age:-

Kevin in Deva.

[Kev in Deva]

Inside details:-

Rear of the Medal:-

Kevin in Deva.

[Kev in Deva]

A 1954 R.P.R. version of the Legitimatie. for the same medal.

Kevin in Deva.

[Kev in Deva]

Inside:-

Kevin in Deva

[Kev in Deva]

Close up of details:-

Kevin in Deva.

[Anatoly13]

More rare RSR version.

[Ulsterman]

Um...what is it?

A campaign medal for Romanians who fought against the Germans?

[Carol I]

Um...what is it?

A campaign medal for Romanians who fought against the Germans?

Yes, it was awarded to all those who fought on the Western front.

[Carol I]

The medal was also awarded to Soviets who fought alongside the Romanian Army in 1944-1945. And, most important, it was awarded to all the Soviets leaving Romania in 1958 (some sort of a farewell gift). No less than 35027 awards were made to them in the summer of that year.

[Anatoly13]

The medal was also awarded to Soviets who fought alongside the Romanian Army in 1944-1945. And, most important, it was awarded to all the Soviets leaving Romania in 1958 (some sort of a farewell gift). No less than 35027 awards were made to them in the summer of that year.

Very interesting !

Where to you this figure (35027) is known?

What can you say abt RSR version?

[Guest Rick Research]

I am rather confused about the name order that these are filled out in-- Family Name, First Name, Middle Name?

That would make the first document above to Simion Maria Hauptman (ethnic German)? The second one to A. Dezideriu Kopanyi (ethnic Hungarian)? Maria was a fairly common male middle name in Catholic parts of Germany (Franz Maria Schmidt etc etc etc).

Interesting that these were handed out for so long, the country's name changed-- and the "farewell gift" version is

[Carol I]

Very interesting !

Where to you this figure (35027) is known?

The number was quoted in an article in Colectionarul Roman no. 8 (if you read Romanian). With the same occasion 82 Soviet officers received the Order for the Defense of the Fatherland and the Order of the Star of the People's Republic of Romania in various classes.

What can you say abt RSR version?

Not much. Most likely it was for some late awards that were made in the early years of the RSR.

And if we step into the realm of gossip, I have also found an interesting note on the net that among these late awards there were some for veterans of the Eastern Front, but it's rather hard to believe it as any reference to the anti-soviet war in those years was a taboo (to put it frankly). On the other hand, it is quite plausible that some veterans of the Eastern Front received the medal (some even the earlier variant) simply because they also fought on the Western Front in 1944 and 1945. I wonder if the author of the note mentioned above did not mix things up.

[Kev in Deva]

I am rather confused about the name order that these are filled out in-- Family Name, First Name, Middle Name?

That would make the first document above to Simion Maria Hauptman (ethnic German)? The second one to A. Dezideriu Kopanyi (ethnic Hungarian)? Maria was a fairly common male middle name in Catholic parts of Germany (Franz Maria Schmidt etc etc etc).

Interesting that these were handed out for so long, the country's name changed-- and the "farewell gift" version is

Hallo Ricky,

with regards the names: As both documents were obtained in Cluj-Napoca / Klausenburg which has a very large ethnic Hungarian and German population, ethnic names such as these crop up all over.

Hauptman was the family name, however according to my wife there is a possibility that Simion could be her family name before she married (e.g. Miss Maria Simion who then became Mrs. Maria Simion-Hauptman

R.S.R versions of this medal are also possible available as replacements to lost or damaged awards post R.P.R period.

Kevin in Deva.

[Carol I]

I am rather confused about the name order that these are filled out in-- Family Name, First Name, Middle Name?

The order of the names usually used in those days was Family Name followed by Given Name(s). At some point the 'Russian model' of using patronimics was introduced, but since Romanian language does not have patronimics it resulted in using simply the first name of the father or his initial.

That would make the first document above to Simion Maria Hauptman (ethnic German)? The second one to A. Dezidariu Kopanyi (ethnic Hungarian)? Maria was a fairly common male middle name in Catholic parts of Germany (Franz Maria Schmidt etc etc etc).

Using the rule above the names probably are Maria (first name) Simion (father's name) Hauptman (family name) and Dezideriu (first Name) A. (father's initial) Kopanyi (family name). With regards to the latter, Romanians in Transylvania were subject to a strong Hungarization policy during the Hungarian administration there of 1867-1918 as a result of which many names were forcefully hungarised, both family names and first names (Stefan into Istvan, Ion/Ioan into Janos and so on). In order to preserve their national character and resist hungarisation people retorted to giving Latin names or Latin-sounding names to their children. I suspect Dezideriu has been one of them.

Intersting that these were handed out for so long, the country's name changed-- and the "farewell gift" version is

Most likely the farewell gift was the more common RPR version.

[Guest Rick Research]

So the names are EXACTLY backwards!

Desiderius is another of those obscure Catholic saint names found in Bavaria.

[Carol I]

So the names are EXACTLY backwards!

It depends what you consider 'forwards'. In official matters Family Name + Given Name was the norm and therefore Given Name + Family Name was ... 'backwards'. So it would be better said that the order was the other way around than in ... (fill in the dotted line).