« Strictement confidentiel » Les décorations de la République populaire Hongroise

Les experts en phaléristique, une science auxiliaire ayant pour objet les décorations, savaient depuis le début des années 1970 que les autorités compétentes de la République populaire de Hongrie avaient mis en place un système de distinctions qualifié de « hautement confidentiel » qui désignait les décorations qui auraient pu être décernées aux soldats de l’Armée populaire hongroise en cas de nouvelle guerre. Au moment du changement de régime politique en 1989, les spécimens de ces décorations de guerre furent retrouvés dans des collections privées. Le graphiste István Pakurár, concepteur-dessinateur de ces décorations déclara que Mihály Farkas, ministre de la Défense nationale, lui avait ordonné de faire ce travail au début des années 1950. Toutefois les chercheurs ne disposent d’aucune source concrète datable pour étayer ces demi-vérités incertaines. L’objet de cette étude est d’étayer ces informations par des documents d’archives publiés dans la revue des archives. Produites entre 1964 et 1969, ces sources prouvent que c’est le Comité de la défense nationale qui prit les décisions concernant les décorations de guerre, entre autres, et qui donna des instructions d’application. Il ressort des sources que les premiers projets de statuts relatifs aux décorations de guerre furent rédigés en 1965, les projets artistiques naquirent en 1966, tandis que les préparatifs de la fabrication eurent lieu au début de 1968. Les spécimens des décorations ne pouvaient donc pas être réalisés plus tôt. Les auteurs présentent les dessins de ces décorations appartenant à la collection du musée d’Histoire militaire de Hongrie, ainsi que les spécimens réalisés d’après les plans sélectionnés. Parmi ceux-ci, seule la décoration « Héros de la République populaire de Hongrie » fut utilisée par la suite.Experts of Phaleritics, a field dealing with medals, have had information from the early 1970s about the proper authorities of the Hungarian People’s Republic having elaborated a system of recognition classified as ‘Strictly confidential’, which could have been used to reward soldiers of the Hungarian People’s Army in case of a new war. Some specimens of these proposed war medals even turned up from private collections during the change of the political regime in 1989. István Pakurár, a graphic artist who designed the look of the medals, said that Minister of Defence Mihály Farkas had ordered him to do the work as early as the beginning of the 1950s. However, fellows dealing with the topic have hitherto not been able to support these uncertain half-truths with exact, dated sources. Our paper gains its significance by the fact that it finally gives evidence to the knowledge by palpable archival documents, now published in the documents collection. These sources, dating back to 1964–1969, prove that there was a top organisation, the National Defence Committee, which decided about war medals and gave implementation orders. The sources show that the first statute drafts of the decorations to be established in case of war were written in 1965, the art designs could have been made in 1966, and preparations for production had been made by the beginning of 1968. This year is the earliest date that the specimens of the medals could have been manufactured. The authors present the medal designs which have been acquired by the Hungarian Military History Museum, as well as the specimens which were manufactured by the chosen plans, but were never introduced as a whole (except for the title and medal Hero of the Hungarian People’s Republic)

The Badges of The Royal Hungarian Armed Forces and The Levente Youth Organisation, 1938–1945

A megkülönböztető jelek és jelzések régtől fogva fontos szerepet játszottak az emberiség történetében, hiszen általuk vált azonosíthatóvá barát, illetve ellenség. Természetes, hogy a jelvények, rangjelzők és egyéb díszítmények alkalmazása különös jelentőséggel bírt (és bír) a katonai szervezeteknél. A trianoni békeszerződés megkötése után lassan talpra álló, majd az 1930-1940-es években a fejlődés és kiteljesedés útjára lépő Magyar Királyi Honvédségnél az értekezés címében jelölt időszakban került előtérbe a katonai jelvények rendszerének felülvizsgálata és megújítása. Az 1938 és 1945 között a Magyar Királyi Honvédség tagjai számára bevezetett jelvények feladata az egyes csapatnemeknél szolgálók egymástól való megkülönböztetése és ezzel együtt a csapatszellem erősítése; a kiképzési, harctéri és sportteljesítmények kifejezése; illetve a szolgálati beosztások jelzése volt. A korszak magyar katonai jelvényeit az alábbi fő csoportokra lehet bontani: csapatnemjelvények; ügyességi- és teljesítményjelvények; sportjelvények; szolgálati jelvények; különféle megkülönböztető jelvények; nem-hivatalos alakulatjelvények. A korszak katonai jelképtárában szereplő hagyományos nemzeti szimbólumok a politikai rendszer ideológiai hátterét is kifejezték. A jelvények egyrészt az 1918 előtti és az 1920 (1922) utáni Magyar Királyi Honvédség jogfolytonosságát tükrözték, másrészt az új magyar nemzeti haderő önállóságának kifejezőeszközei voltak. A disszertációban fentiek mellett a leventemozgalom jelvényeinek bemutatására is sor kerül. A dolgozat három alapvető részből áll: a jelvények és a hadsereg-szervezés kapcsolódási pontjait, valamint a jelvényrendszer változásait bemutató tanulmányból, tárgykatalógusból és képmellékletből. Distinguishing signs and marks have been used throughout history to enable friend to be recognised from foe. Thus, in the course of history, military insignia (badges, rank insignia and other ornaments on the uniform) have developed. Concerning Austria-Hungary, the glorious days of military badges came at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, and especially during the First World War. After the chaotic historical period between 1918 and 1920, Admiral Miklós Horthy was elected as regent, whose rise to power also marked the beginning of a new era in the field of symbols. Traditional national symbols appeared in the imagery to express the ideological background of the new administration. The Hungarian military badges of the interwar period reflected both the legal continuity between the pre-1918 and the post-1920 Royal Hungarian Defence Forces and were symbols of the independence of the new national armed forces. On 5 March 1938, Prime Minister Kálmán Darányi announced the launching of a large-scale re-armament programme, with disregard to the limitations of the Trianon Peace Treaty (1920). By an agreement signed in Bled in August 1938, even the Little Entente recognised the equal military status of Hungary. As the legal restrictions of the Trianon Peace Treaty on the development of the Hungarian armed forces were lifted in 1938, several new (or previously hidden) branches of the Royal Hungarian Armed Forces were officially established. The structural changes necessitated the supervision and reorganisation of the system of Hungarian military insignia, too. An official position was taken that the various branches of the services had to be distinguished by the use of badges, which was also meant to strengthen the esprit de corps. The insignia instituted for the members of the Royal Hungarian Defence Forces between 1938 and 1945 may be grouped as follows: troop badges, qualification badges, service badges, sports badges, various distinguishing badges and non-official unit badges. Troop badges were worn by paratroopers, mountain troops, border guards, the motorized troops and the assault artillery. Some of those were officially instituted in the pages of the Defence Gazette, while others had not been officially established, but several soldiers did wear them during the war. Qualification badges were to reward the training achievements of the rank and file. Inherited from the armed forces of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the qualification badges were used throughout the interwar period, and by the end of the 1930s, their scheme had been modified several times and their number had increased significantly. By order of the Minister of Defence, the number of the badges had to be decreased. The elaboration of the new structure of qualification badges had been completed by 1944 only. In 1944, another group of qualification badges were also introduced to reward battlefield accomplishments that could be expressed by numbers, for instance on the basis of the number of tanks destroyed, aircraft shot down, mines cleared, etc. Service badges included the border guard post commander’s badge, as well as the badges for the field gendarmerie and the troop gendarmerie. A separate group of military badges comprised the sports badges, which reflected the achievements of their owners in the field of sports. The Royal Hungarian Defence Forces’ distinguishing badges among others included the war correspondent’s badge, and the insignia instituted in the summer of 1944 for soldiers without a military uniform and forced labourers. Pilots and aircraft crew members of the Royal Hungarian Air Force wore the pilot’s badge and the observer’s badge. The non-official unit badges of the period were only authorised to be worn in plain clothes by soldiers, but they often fastened them on the military uniform, too. Beside the insignia of the Royal Hungarian Defence Forces, the badges of the Levente Youth Organisation are also being dealt with in the dissertation. The National Defence Act of 1939 defined the participation in the Levente Youth Organisation, a Hungarian pre-military organisation as an obligation for those aged 12 to 23. According to the Act, members of the Levente Youth were allowed to wear the badges of the organisation and special badges in case they stood the tests of their age groups. Inside the Levente Youth Organisation, various training activities started and in parallel with that different units were set up. After the special training courses, the members of the organisation took tests and in case they were successful, they received qualification badges. To honour various activities in favour of the Levente Youth Organisation, a three-grade badge of honour was instituted and awarded. Apart from the Austro-Hungarian traditions and the German influence, the Hungarian military badges of the period primarily reflected the national character in their design and ideology, as well as in the regulations of awarding and wearing