The Workers' Militia () was a

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

organization in the

Hungarian People's Republic The Hungarian People's Republic (HPR) was a landlocked country in Central Europe from its formation on 20 August 1949 until the establishment of the current Hungary, Republic of Hungary on 23 October 1989. It was a professed Communist_state# ...

from 1957 to 1989. The Workers' Militia was formed after the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

as an armed force of the

Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (, , MSZMP) was the ruling Marxist–Leninist party of the Hungarian People's Republic between 1956 and 1989. It was organised from elements of the Hungarian Working People's Party during the Hungaria ...

(MSZMP) under its direct control and separate from the

Hungarian People's Army The Hungarian People's Army (, MN) or the HPA was the military of the Hungarian People's Republic and the armed branch of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party from 1951 to 1990. It only saw combat in a foreign country once during its existence ...

. It was open to both men and women and reached a peak membership of 60,000 in 1988. The Workers' Militia was controlled by the MSZMP's Central Committee until 1985 and dissolved as a result of the 1989 Hungarian referendum.

History

The concept of "worker-guard"

organizations had already existed in the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

countries since the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, partly to circumvent

peace treaties A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surr ...

that limited the size of their regular armies, and partly to provide more actionable and politically reliable armed force at the disposal of the ruling communist party. On 18 February 1957, the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-backed Revolutionary Workers'-Peasants' Government led by

János Kádár János József Kádár (; ; né Czermanik; 26 May 1912 – 6 July 1989) was a Hungarian Communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, a position he held for 32 years. Declining health led to his retireme ...

and the

(MSZMP) ordered the formation of the ''Workers' Militia'' with the official aim to defend the

means of production In political philosophy, the means of production refers to the generally necessary assets and resources that enable a society to engage in production. While the exact resources encompassed in the term may vary, it is widely agreed to include the ...

, months after the

. It replaced the communist regime's special police force ( or also known as , named after their

-style quilted jackets). It was a

voluntary Voluntary may refer to: * Voluntary (music) * Voluntary or volunteer, person participating via volunteering/volunteerism * Voluntary muscle contraction See also * Voluntary action * Voluntariness, in law and philosophy * Voluntaryism Volunt ...

service, open to both men and women, but obviously offered some privileges and career advantages. Workers' Militia units were subordinate to the local police, but membership was handled by MSZMP committees. Personnel wore distinctive

slate gray Slate gray is a gray color with a slight azure tinge that is a representation of the average color of the material slate. As a tertiary color, slate is an equal mix of purple and green pigments. Slaty, referring to this color, is often used ...

fatigues and "

Lenin cap A mariner's cap, also called a skipper's cap, sailor's cap, Dutch Boy's cap, Greek cap, fiddler's cap, or breton cap is a peaked cap, usually made from black or navy blue wool felt, but also from corduroy or blue denim. Originally popular with s ...

," and armed with spare weapons sourced from the

. At first they were given

handgun A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...

s, but they were later armed with Soviet

PPSh-41 The PPSh-41 () is a selective-fire, open-bolt, blowback submachine gun that fires the 7.62×25mm Tokarev round. It was designed by Georgy Shpagin of the Soviet Union to be a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40. The PPSh-41 saw ...

submachine guns, which they were allowed to keep at home and would be prominently featured on the organisation's

insignia An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. An insignia, which is typically made of metal or fabric, is a standalone sy ...

. Starting with 20,000 members, it gradually developed into a large armed force, reaching 60,000 in 1988. The commanders of the organization were: * Lajos Halas (1957–1962) * Árpád Papp (1962–1970) * Sándor Borbély (1970–1989) The Workers' Militia was never deployed but served as a visible deterrent to opponents of the " soft dictatorship" of Kádár and the MSZMP, both real and perceived. Guards were visible at most public events organised by the state, either providing security for the party or as attendees in large groups. The organisation was largely unpopular with the Hungarian public, and even distrusted by the MSZMP's leadership to the point that its personnel were initially equipped with weapons but no

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

. Day-to-day activities of the Workers' Militia mainly consisted of civil work such as building

flood defences A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

and enforcing cordon sanitaires. On 8 May 1985, the Central Committee of the MSZMP relinquished its direct control of the Workers' Militia, and on June 15, a Council of Ministers took over the supervision and controla. The Workers' Militia retained its paramilitary focus until the change of the communist regime in Hungary at the end of 1989.

Disbandment

On 26 November 1989, a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

was held with the question: "Should the Workers' Militia be disbanded?". The answer was an overwhelming Yes (94.9%), a result which confirmed the previously adopted law (1989 XXXth).

Ranks

Staff position markings

Command position markings

References

1957 establishments in Hungary 1989 disestablishments in Hungary Communism in Hungary Paramilitary organisations based in Hungary Government paramilitary forces Hungarian People's Republic Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Law enforcement in communist states Military wings of communist parties {{Authority control