The AVO/AVH Sports Club

[Greg Collins]

In 1953, there was a "shake-up" of the AVH. Details are a bit sketchy, but both Peter Gabor, the leader of the AVH, and Dr. Aladar Gyuris, Gabor's chief assistant, were sent to prison. Some sources say this was part of the Doctors' Plot, linked to the death of Stalin. Others say this was in retaliation for the extreme brutality and unbridled cruelty demonstrated by the AVH. Anyway, both went to prison for, I believe, 9 years each in 1953 which, coincidentally or by design, was also the year that the Bastya sports club began it's transition to the Dozsa sports club.

The medals pictured (which are part of my collection) are virtually identical to the medal pictured in post #2 except that the raised "Bastya, S.E." has been abraded (ground down) and "Dozsa, S.E." has been engraved in it's place. On new medals and badges, the Dozsa would adopt the "D in diamond with red star above" logo.

Now, some will say that the Dozsa (which still exists) did not, per se, become the sports club of State Security. I am saying that it's a mute point as, after 1956, Hungary had no "State Security" (in name, that is). Isn't it a bit strange, however, that the Dozsa would adopt a logo so close as to be identical to the logo used by the Soviet KGB sports club, Dynamo?