Hungary A little question....

[Yildirim]

Hello everybody!

I need help from somebody who better know hungarian language than me The question is about K?zbiztons?gi ?rem, which have 3 variations - for police (rendőrs?g), for borderers (hat?rőrok) and for karhatalom.

My question is - what was "karhatalom"? In book "Nagy magyar kit?ntet?sk?nyv" that is translated as "armed forces", but I understand it as "army", and to soldiers was given Szolg?lati ?rdem?rem, isn't it? So, what sort of service was "karhatalom"?

Thanks!

Előre is k?sz?n?m!

[Gordon Craig]

Yildirim,

A very good question! Depending on who you talk to in Hungary you will get a number of different answers. The NMK does not give a good description of what they were. I believe that Charles (aka Hunyadi) has pretty well described the organization in his thread as listed below.

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25593

I have consulted with other collectors here in Hungary, on this subject, and there is one other group that is beleived to have qualified for this particular medal. Here is one knowledgable collectors response "The answer is very simple. The Police, and there was one Police Riot Regiment. That was the "permanent" karhatalom until its dissolution."

As Charles says in his thread, "karhatalom" following the 1956 Revolution was only formed for a short length of time. (I am referring to Kadar's Hussars here) This is the "normally understood" form of "karhatalom". A unit formed to keep peace and order during troubled times but not normally formed as a long standing unit. The existence of the "karhatalom", as illustrated by the uniform in Charles' collection, would seem to indicate that they existed following the 1956 Revolution for a more lengthly period than they have in the past.

Regards,

Gordon

[Yildirim]

Thanks Gordon, I think I understand now :cheers: