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Primary sourcePhotograph1919

Hungarian Soviet Republic Propaganda Posters, Budapest

Péchy László (donor); Tibor Pólya (graphics) · 1919

A 1919 photograph of propaganda posters pasted on a Budapest wall during the Hungarian Soviet Republic, the regime led by Béla Kun.

Documents the propaganda of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, the government Kun led as its de facto leader.

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Photograph of several 1919 Hungarian Soviet Republic propaganda posters pasted on a wall, with 'MÁJUS 1' headings. The central poster shows a worker in shirtsleeves raising a fist and carrying a pole beside railway workers; its text reads 'VASUTASOK!!! GYERTEK A VÖRÖS-VASÚT EZREDBE ÉPITENI'. A text poster on the right reads 'DUNÁNTÚLI MAGYAROK!'. A red-star emblem sits above it, and a banner at the bottom reads 'VÖRÖS HATALOM...' in large letters.
Fortepan 75867, Budapest, 1919. Donor: Péchy László.

About this source

What it is

This photograph, taken in Budapest in 1919, shows several propaganda posters pasted on a wall calling for May Day and recruiting railway workers to a 'red railway regiment.' It was donated by Péchy László and is preserved as Fortepan image 75867.

Why it matters

The posters show how the Hungarian Soviet Republic, the short-lived Communist government led by Béla Kun, used public visual propaganda to rally workers behind the regime and its symbols, including the red star of workers' power.

Look closer

  • What groups of people does the central poster try to appeal to, and how?
  • Why might posters be pasted together in groups like this, on walls in public streets?
  • What does the choice of imagery tell you about what the regime valued?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Béla Kun on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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