Badge "For People's Liberty 1923-1944".

[Greg Collins]

I recently acquired this Bulgarian star badge. It's construction (3 piece) and overall detail makes me believe this was something more than a common pin. Does anyone know anything about this badge, such as it's name, who it was given to and when? First, the badge straight on:

Next, a detail showing the indentation of the star to allow the center to fit:

Next, the legend.
"Za Naroda"
"1923-Svoboda-1944"

I realize these are the dates for the two Socialist revolutions in Bulgaria (1923 was unsuccessful; 1944 was successful). Could this star be an award for a participant in both?

[Taz]

Partisan badge awarded to the Antifascist movement (1923-1944) members

One of the earliest Partisan badges, on the badge is inscribed the Partisan movement motto "For People's Liberty".

The awardee of this badge has some special rights:
50% off the tickets for Rail, automobile and water transport in the country.
Free use of public transport within the town.
Free use of the public baths in the country

There are a few versions of this badge including one with a silver central medallion I'm sure Dietrich would have more information than me, if he sees this post he will add a comment for certain.
Fake documents for this badge are in circulation.

Regards Eddie

[Greg Collins]

There isn't a lot of "fake" production going on with respect to Bulgarian medals and badges to date. The biggest reason, I suppose, is that there isn't the level of demand that there is for other awards (USSR and Mongolia); hence, no great payoff. The fakes that ARE being produced, from what I have read, tend to be centered around the Order of 9th September 1944 (all three classes in both military and civilian types); in this case, a perfectly original suspension order has it's suspension ring removed and a screw-back is added to produce the earlier version of the order, which we've also seen with several Soviet orders. I could easily speculate that fakes are around of the early pilot and airborne badges (multi-piece screw-backs with wreath, bird and enamel). With regard to the "normal" range of medals, I've been told there are still sufficient stocks in the mint itself to meet the demand. Regarding this particular badge, I got it on *bay for the minimum bid- about 6.99 as I remember.

[Lapa]

Greg,

The picture you paint is not completely exact. Titles are widely faked (Hero of Bulgaria and Hero of Labor) as are some medals, among which the "International Brigades in Spain", the "Peace and Friendship", the "Friendship and Cooperation" medals.

Marc

[Greg Collins]

Marc,

Of course you're correct; I had not considered the "higher priced" awards in my statement, only the more common awards often available on auction sites. Have you heard of a faked Dimitrov yet?

[deValcourt]

Well, this looks like the right place...:)

Got this in yesterday from a friend of mine in Bulgaria. It is a very large sheet (34.5cmx24cm or about 9.5"x13.5") that won't fit entirely on my scanner bed and I don't want to bend or fold the document up more than it already is.

Nonetheless, it is Bulgarian and was awarded with the badge (next post) in July of 1952. Since the year 1952 is already part of the printed page, my question is were these badges issued first in that year? I've seen other types of Bulgarian partisan stars, but this is probably the better made and looking of them - in my opinion.:)

Text (based on Google Translator):
"Diploma on behalf of the Bulgarian people, the Government of Republic of Bulgaria National Award presented with the badge "For the People's Freedom 1923-1944." To Marin Marinov Kukov for the town (village) of Oryakovitsa, Oryakovska Municipality in appreciation for his participation in the Liberation Partisan movement.

Sophia, 24 July 1952

Minister of People's Defense of the People's Republic of Bulgaria
Colonel-General [signature] (Pangevsky)"

There is no direct mentioning of WWII or German Fascists in here, so I wonder if it isn't something of a broader award going back to pre-communist rule, possibly in an attempt to alter the perception of history (wouldn't be the first time).

Note: The first two scans are not a true representation of how the document actually looks to the eye. When compressing the images, the program "auto corrected" the image to increase every detail. The third scan is what the paper really looks like.

Phillip

[deValcourt]

Even though this is a documents thread, I don't think it will do any harm to post the badge that came with the above document "For People's Freedom 1923-1944."

After seeing this document and badge which clearly go together (with a picture to prove it) I do not think the badge and document in the first part of this thread are the right pair (no mention of the name of the badge).

Phillip

[CtahhR]

I do believe that 1952 was the first year of this award. I have a document alike the one dated 1952 with the 2 crossed out and an 8 replacing it (so it's 1958) awarded to a Lyuben Ditkov Angelov from Sliven on 10th December 1958 and signed by General Mihajlov.
This is part of a group to a Colonel which includes;

(Undated Type 2 Document) Patriotic War 1944-1945
1953-04-04 For Military Merit
1955-04-28 Order Of The Red Banner #7048
1955-04-28 Order Of The People's Republic Of Bulgaria 1st Class
1958-12-10 For People's Liberty 1923-1944
1969-09-06 25th Anniversary Of People's Rule
1974 30th Anniversary Of The Bulgarian People's Army
1981-10-18 1300th Anniversary Of Bulgaria

[rocketscientist]

Hello.
I have got these three items altogether. Does the group make any sense?
Thank you
ciao
sergio

[Esteban_cool]

the badge and document seem to match, but the case is for the Order of Cyrill and Methodius.