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Secondary sourceArtifact

Kun Béla Street Sign

Solymári

A surviving street sign bearing Béla Kun's name, evidence of the communist-era cult around him and its later removal.

This surviving street sign reflects the communist-era naming cult around Béla Kun and its later erasure.

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A green-patinated metal street sign mounted on a green metal post, reading 'KUN BÉLA' with '12' below and 'HRSZ: 5369' at the bottom. Bare winter branches with snow are behind it.
Surviving 'Kun Béla utca' street sign.

About this source

What it is

A green-patinated metal street sign reading 'KUN BÉLA' with a house number and lot reference, photographed by Solymári. It comes from a street once officially named after Béla Kun.

Why it matters

During the communist period in Hungary, many streets were named after Kun to honour him as a revolutionary hero. When such street names were abolished in the 1990s after the fall of communism, most signs were removed, but this one survived as physical evidence of that political cult and its reversal.

Look closer

  • Why would a government name streets after political figures?
  • What does the removal of this street name in the 1990s tell us about changing attitudes toward Kun?
  • Why might this particular sign have survived when others did not?

This artifact 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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Front page of the first issue of the Hungarian newspaper Vörös Ujság, dated Budapest, 1918 December 7, with the masthead 'VÖRÖS ÚJSÁG' and subtitle 'KOMMUNISTA LAP', and a lead editorial titled 'Osztályharcot!' in several columns of Hungarian text.Newspaper article

Primary source

Vörös Újság: First Editorial

Béla Kun · 7 December 1918

Spine and cover of a bound book with a dark green spine and grey-brown boards. Gold lettering on the spine reads 'TREATY OF PEACE... HUNGARY' and 'Cmd. 896'. A white library barcode label reads 'DOCS. COLL. CU-1' and 'D001182819'. A Google digitized watermark appears at the lower right.Document

Primary source

Treaty of Trianon

4 June 1920

Black and white photograph of a man in a dark suit and vest speaking to a dense crowd of men in hats in front of a building; other men sit on a rooftop and balcony at left and right.Photograph

Primary source

Béla Kun, Leader of the 1919 Hungarian Revolution

1919

Photograph of a yellowed Nazi propaganda pamphlet titled 'Die Totengräber Russlands' with a headline 'Nicht wegwerfen!' and 'Weitergeben!'. It has rows of ink caricatures of men's faces with text captions naming Soviet communist leaders, and the slogan 'Vor dem bolschewistischen Chaos bewahrt uns nur Adolf Hitler!' at the bottom. A handwritten note 'März 1937' is at the top left.Photograph

Primary source

Die Totengräber Russlands

March 1937

Sepia photograph of a dense crowd of men in hats and coats gathered in a city square in front of a stone building with arched windows. Lamp post and banners rise above them; a large statue on a pedestal stands at right, and a man on the far right holds a flag.Photograph

Primary source

Sándor Garbai and Béla Kun, Leaders of the Hungarian Soviet Republic

1919

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