Original Items: Only One Lot of 5 Available. The Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO), officially the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, commonly known as the Warsaw Pact (WP), was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republics of Central and Eastern Europe in May 1955, during the Cold War. The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CoMEcon), the regional economic organization for the socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was created in reaction to the integration of West Germany into NATO in 1955 as per the London and Paris Conferences of 1954.

Dominated by the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight to NATO. There was no direct military confrontation between the two organizations; instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis and in proxy wars. Both NATO and the Warsaw Pact led to the expansion of military forces and their integration into the respective blocs. Its largest military engagement was the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 (with the participation of all Pact nations except Albania and Romania), which, in part, resulted in Albania withdrawing from the Pact less than a month later. The Pact began to unravel with the spread of the Revolutions of 1989 through the Eastern Bloc, beginning with the Solidarity movement in Poland, its electoral success in June 1989 and the Pan-European Picnic in August 1989.

East Germany withdrew from the Pact following German reunification in 1990. On 25 February 1991, at a meeting in Hungary, the Pact was declared at an end by the defense and foreign ministers of the six remaining member states. The USSR itself was dissolved in December 1991, although most of the former Soviet republics formed the Collective Security Treaty Organization shortly thereafter. In the following 20 years, the Warsaw Pact countries outside the USSR each joined NATO (East Germany through its reunification with West Germany; and the Czech Republic and Slovakia as separate countries), as did the Baltic states which had been part of the Soviet Union.

The Items Featured In This Lot:
- Hungarian Army “Bocskai” Winter M1990 Cap: The distinctive Hungarian army "bocskai" cap [Bocskai sapka] is named after the Crown of Stephen Bocskai, given by the Ottoman sultan to Stephen Bocskai, Prince of Hungary and Transylvania, in the early 17th century. Bocskai: standard hat of the Army which was used by some members, mainly ground service, of the Air Force too. The hat could be worn as a winter hat by covering the ears with the button side flaps. Bocskai caps came out in "field brown", white and green colors. White and green colored ones were made of twill and were used during summer drills and works.

- Soviet Union Budenovka: This appears to be a new made item. A budenovka is a distinctive type of hat, an archetypal part of the Communist military uniforms of the Russian Civil War following the Russian revolution (1917–1922) and later conflicts. Its official name was the "broadcloth helmet" (шлем суконный). Named after Red Army cavalry commander Semyon Budyonny, it was also known as the "frunzenka" after the Commissar Mikhail Frunze. It is a soft, woolen hat that covers the ears and neck. The cap features a peak and folded earflaps that can be buttoned under the chin.

- Soviet Leather Flight Helmet: We are uncertain on the age, but it does appear to be Post-WWII era.

- Polish Model 1943 Field Cap: The cap is dated 1955 and in lovely condition.

- Polish Rogatywka Canadian Volunteer Visor: The visor is in lovely condition and features an orange band similar to those worn by Canadian volunteers in the Polish Army.

These are all wonderful examples that come ready for research and display!