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Hungary - Historical Flags (1946-1989)

Last modified: 2009-08-15 by dov gutterman
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Hungarian People's Republic Flag (1949-1956)
image by Željko Heimer



See also:

Other sites:

  • NÉKOSZ flag (Népi Kollégiumok Országos Szövetsége - Country Assotiation of the Popular Hostels)

Overview

Hungary from 1 February 1946 to 20 August 1949 was a republic. The official name was: Republic of Hungary (Magyar Köztársaság).
The republic used the tricolour and the tricolour with the Kossuth Coat of Arms. The official Coat of Arms was the "Kossuth Coat of Arms"
Between 20 Augist 1949 - 23 October 1989 Hungarian People's Republic was the official English form of the name of the country. The above flag with Rákosi Coat of Arms was used from 20 Augist 1949 to 23 October 1989. In 1956-1957 the "Kossuth Coat of Arms" was used and the flag was the tricolour. From 1957 the flag with Kádár Coat of Arms was in use.
István Molnár, 10 November 2000

I read in a soviet book that the "Kossuth Coat of Arms" is a Coat of Arms with three stripes of national colours  (like the Coat of Arms of 1957-1989). Now I know that it was a mistake... "Kossuth Coat of Arms" is the Hungarian Coat of Arms without crown. Why only in 1956-1957 "the flag was the tricolour" ? As I know the Coat of Arms was removed from the flag by Law No 11 in 1957. The Coat of Arms existed until 1990.
Victor Lomantsov, 12 November 2000


Rákosi's Flag (1949-1956)


image by Željko Heimer

At Sesam Encyclopedie (1977) - Hungary: Ra'kosi's flag, charge slightly larger, compared to the image above, going into the green and red
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 30 September 2000

Sandor Kopacsi, "In the name of the working class" (London: Fontana, 1989, p. 127), says that the 1949-56 Hungarian coat of arms was "conceived and designed" by the Communist Party leader Matyas Rakosi himself.
Kopacsi was then Chief of Police in Budapest and knew all the Communist leaders personally.
Kenneth Fraser, 12 May 2006


1956 Uprising

See: Hungary - 1956 Uprising Flags


Kádár's Flag (1957-1989)


image by Sandor Kiss, 3 September 1998


Communist Flags

While visiting the Hungarian National Museum, I took some photos of tipical communist flags, such as Winner flag of the Working Emulation of the Rákosi Shift 1953, The ambulatory Flag of the Central Comittee of the Association of the Working Youth - to The Best Helper Local Organisation of the AWY at the Cotton Growing and ambulatory flag of the Cabinet Council of the Peoples Republic of Hungary - to the Leading Farmer's Co-operative Farm of the Country II." 
István Molnár, 20 February 2006