Folia historica 25

II. Közlemények - Pallos Lajos: A Kossuth-címeres Tűzrendészeti Érem 1956-1957

Fire Guards' Medal with Kossuth coat of arms 1956-1957. Summary The Hungarian revolution and war of independence in 1956 set back the old Kossuth coat of arms, instead of the communist coat of arms. It received its name from Lajos Kossuth, leader of the mid-19th century war of independence and symbolized the tradition of independence of the country. After the oppression of the revolution in November 1956, until June 1957 the Kossuth coat of arms remained the official state symbol. By then, the Kádár-govcrnment that seized power with Soviet military backup had grown strong enough to overtly oppose all goals of the revolution. During the more than half-year reign of the Kossuth coat of arms, several badges, prints and other objects were made using this symbol, among them the golden, silver and bronze degree of the Fireguards' Medal of Honor. The Fire Guards' Medal was founded by the communist regime to replace the firemen honors of the former civilian era. Directly before the outbreak of the revolution an order made on 14 October 1956 decreed the change of the degrees of the medal and even the shape of the honor changcd. The new shape was a filigree-like, embossed medal with a wreath of wheat running in a circle, connectcd with a vertical torch-shaped band. A five-pointed red star had been fixed on the band with two studs. As a result of the outbreak of the revolution and war of independence on 23 October 1956, instead of the ominous red star, the medal was produced with the old-new Kossuth coat of arms. What is interesting about the coat of arms on the medal is that its baroque shaped shield form is identical to that of the coat of arms on badges of the Kossuth Order, founded in 1948 before the communists took over. What concerns the short life version of the Fireguards' Medal with Kossuth coat of arms we do not have accurate data of its production so far. 296