Workers' Militia unit assembly, Cegléd: "A szocialista haza védelme pártunk, államunk, népünk közös ügye"
In a sports hall decked with a wreath marked '30', a row of uniformed and civilian officials stands behind a table with a machine gun on a tripod while three helmeted militiamen carry a unit flag past a saluting officer. The hanging banner reads 'The defence of the socialist homeland is the common cause of our party, our state, our people': it names party, state and people as one body with one task, so that doubt about the militia's role reads as doubt about all three (identity-fusion).
- Date
- 1987
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- Munkásőrség (Hungarian Workers' Militia), Mészáros János unit, Cegléd; party-controlled armed volunteer force of the MSZMP
- Country
- Hungary
- Medium
- Photograph
- Issuer type
- Party
- Leader
- Janos Kadar
- Audience
- Own forces
- Purpose
- Commemorate
- Techniques
- Identity fusion
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Fortepan (donor: Vimola Károly), retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- CC BY-SA 3.0 (Fortepan site footer); covers the photograph only
Fortepan / Vimola Károly, ID 266847 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Text on the object
A SZOCIALISTA HAZA VÉDELME PÁRTUNK ÁLLAMUNK NÉPÜNK KÖZÖS ÜGYE [Round emblem, left:] MŐ [Round emblem, right:] 30 [Sign at left wall:] apenta [illegible]
THE DEFENCE OF THE SOCIALIST HOMELAND [IS] THE COMMON CAUSE OF OUR PARTY, OUR STATE, OUR PEOPLE [Round emblem, left:] MŐ (Munkásőrség, Workers' Militia) [Round emblem, right:] 30 [Sign at left wall:] apenta [illegible]
Read from an enlarged crop of the committed image. The banner prints no commas or verb; 'is' is added in brackets in the translation only. The 'apenta' sign on the wall at far left is an advertising sign for a Hungarian mineral-water brand and is not part of the militia display.
