BUDAPEST, Nov 4 (Reuters) – Hungary released tens of thousands of Communist-era secret police files in an online public database on Wednesday, opening a window onto the vast informer network used to spy on citizens during decades of one-party rule.
The historic move more than 36 years after the collapse of communism is part of centre-right Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s pledge to make the records public and allow Hungarians to come to terms with their totalitarian past.
“We are implementing now, after 36 years … what was the promise of the change of regime,” Magyar told a briefing at the archives, adding that some 60,000 names have now been made public.
Additional files will be uploaded by February 2027 but the files are far from complete, as many were destroyed in 1956 during Hungary’s anti-Soviet uprising and also in 1988-1989.
“I ask everyone to treat this long overdue publication of documents with dignity and humanity … as many families will now face difficult information often related to a deceased member of their family … It is impossible to process a trauma without discussion and asking questions,” Magyar added.
Although Communist rule ended in 1989, Hungary delayed fully opening the files due to a lack of strong political will from successive governments. So far, apart from researchers, ordinary people had been limited to viewing records about themselves or close relatives. From Wednesday, anyone can search the online database for names linked to the former state security services.
During the Cold War, secret police agencies in eastern Europe relied on collaborators drawn from the public, often via blackmail, threats or rewards.
Former Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday that Communist secret services had tried to recruit him as an informer while he was doing his military service but he refused, and later became the target of heavy police surveillance.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than, Editing by William Maclean)
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