The Soviets
Explore the world of Hungarian currency during the Soviet period
Soviet Arrival
In September 1944 Russian forces breached the Hungarian border. The Soviets quickly printed new currency to be used in Hungary. Denominations of 1 pengö, 2 pengö, 5 pengö, 10 pengö, 20 pengö, 50 pengö, 100 pengö and 1000 pengö were printed. These were simply and cheaply printed with the obverse stating the denomination and in bold letters the Red Army Leadership. The reverse repeated the denomination and more boldly printed Red Army Leadership in the 1 pengö, 2 pengö, 5 pengö and 20 pengö notes. There was to be no doubt about who was in charge of Hungary.
God bless the Hungarians
These currencies were in use until February 1946. The Hungarian National Bank started printing Hungarian currency in June 1945. In a 12 month period, inflation erupted and denominations skyrocketed from 50 pengö to 100 million B pengö. That is 20 zeroes. It was out of the frying pan into the fire for the Hungarian people. But surely God was not done glorifying Himself through the Hungarian nation! From our National Hymn, Isten, áldd meg a Magyart – God bless the Hungarians, is the beginning of the first stanza.
Finally an end
The Hungarian currency goes along with a lot of Hungarian history; in many ways the currency reflects the history. Shown here is how history affected their currency during the WWII time period. The oppression by the Soviet Union in Hungary lasted until 1991: with an attempt by the Hungarians to remove the binding shackles during the 1956 revolution.
Explore Other Time Periods
Before the War
