Hungarian 1963 Tankers Helmet

[Fabe]

hey Guys,

found this:

1963 (according to the stampings) Hungarian tankers "helmet"

you guys like?

price is 10 dollars...

THX,
Fabe

[battle gear]

thats a nice winter issue Tanker's helmet , $10 is a very good price

[Fabe]

Thanks, I think I see the owners name written in pen inside the ear-piece - but I guess that won't de-value the helmet much...

thats a nice winter issue Tanker's helmet , $10 is a very good price

[battle gear]

I prefer the helmet to have the soldier's name or unit markings, it makes the item more intereresting

better than a plain unmarked helmet thats never been used, I like used helmets

Balatonkenese. Tank crew member, Hungarian Defence Forces

[James C]

superb early dated example fabe ,and nice to see without the throatphones

[Fabe]

Thanks, I just finally bought this today - I almost forget...
Also, I've decided to get into this "cold war" gear collection (I usually collect WW2 German/Hungarian gear) a little bit...mostly Hungarian and bits & pieces of East-German, Soviet, etc.

I'll start with: "Hungarian Workers' Militia" - see the stamp here:


I'll post pics soon...

Cheers,
Fabe

[James C]

very nice fabe it sounds like collecting hungarian items will make for a nice little collection ,the soldier on the stamp looks to be holding soviet smg ,very interesting ,the tanker helmet you show also is identical to the soviet design ,i own an original soviet and czech version of your example ,i look forward to seeing more of you gear as it grows ,regards james

[Fabe]

Thanks James, the big advantage of collecting these now, that they are very cheap...Frankly, there is still a lot of hard feelings and backlash in Eastern-Europe towards these "commie" items - not to say that it is without reason - my father was a "1956 rebel" as well, that's why he had to flee to the USA.
Sad to say, but these Hungarian Workers' Militia members (60,000 civilian volunteers until they were disassembled by law in 1989) are either: dead, and their kids/grandkids just junk their old stuff - or - still alive, but ashamed of their past, and junk or sell their old gear for almost nothing.
I was telling my Mother 2 days ago, that I'm thinking about collecting these - she got really upset, told me: "If you would have lived in the 1950's red terror...you would burn these!" - and had a talk with her (my father passed away 5 years ago), that it's important to remember the past, even if it's not a pleasant one.
I will open a thread soon...

Cheers,
Fabe

very nice fabe it sounds like collecting hungarian items will make for a nice little collection ,the soldier on the stamp looks to be holding soviet smg ,very interesting ,the tanker helmet you show also is identical to the soviet design ,i own an original soviet and czech version of your example ,i look forward to seeing more of you gear as it grows ,regards james

[StefanM]

Thanks James, the big advantage of collecting these now, that they are very cheap...Frankly, there is still a lot of hard feelings and backlash in Eastern-Europe towards these "commie" items - not to say that it is without reason - my father was a "1956 rebel" as well, that's why he had to flee to the USA.
Sad to say, but these Hungarian Workers' Militia members (60,000 civilian volunteers until they were disassembled by law in 1989) are either: dead, and their kids/grandkids just junk their old stuff - or - still alive, but ashamed of their past, and junk or sell their old gear for almost nothing.
I was telling my Mother 2 days ago, that I'm thinking about collecting these - she got really upset, told me: "If you would have lived in the 1950's red terror...you would burn these!" - and had a talk with her (my father passed away 5 years ago), that it's important to remember the past, even if it's not a pleasant one.
I will open a thread soon...

Cheers,
Fabe

You make some good points Fabe!

The "Cold War" is becoming very collectable especially the earlier Stalinist period in Eastern Europe and IMO very undervalued so it is a good time to get into communist bloc militaria. Good luck in adding to your collection and posting new finds on here

This year of course will the 60th anniversary of the "The Uprising of 1953" in East Germany that began in East Berlin by striking construction workers on 16 June which was the precursor to the uprisings in Poznan, Poland in 1956 and the Hungarian Uprising of that same year. I am slowly trying to collect photos of these "Uprisings" but they are very scarce to find.

Maybe WRF will need its own "Cold War" sub-forum and even for more recent militaria