Hungary Publishes Names of Communist-Era Secret Police Informants
Hungary's government on Wednesday put online a searchable database naming roughly 50,000–60,000 informants of the communist regime's security services. A second batch of files is planned for February.
Hungary on Wednesday published online tens of thousands of documents naming informants and collaborators of the communist-era state security services. The move was made by the government of Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who says it is fulfilling one of the key promises of the country's democratic transition. For the first time, the public has unrestricted access to these records.
What was released
The searchable digital database contains names and entries on about 50,000–60,000 former informants. It went online at 10:00 Hungarian time, or 11:00 in Latvia. Rumours had circulated before the release that former prime minister Viktor Orbán had been an informant, but his name does not appear in the files.
A second batch is scheduled for February. It covers about 9,000 so-called "B files" – case files running to hundreds of pages that describe in detail individuals who were recruited or targeted for recruitment. Some personal data, including information on sexual orientation, will be redacted.
Historical background
Hungary lived under a Soviet-imposed communist regime for more than 40 years. Its security apparatus monitored citizens and their loyalty. Besides its own staff, the service recruited private individuals, often through blackmail or other coercion, to report on colleagues, friends, neighbours and relatives.
The state security archive estimates the secret police employed 150,000 informants in total, but records survive for only about a third. Many files are believed to have been destroyed during the 1956 uprising or hidden during the transition, and some are thought to have been taken to Moscow.
Whether to open the records has been contentious since the transition, partly because they would likely affect politicians now in power. In 2002, weeks after Socialist Péter Medgyessy became prime minister, it emerged that he had been a secret agent. In 2003 parliament allowed people who were under surveillance to learn who had reported on them, but the wider public remained barred.
Political context and assessments
Magyar's party Tisza beat Orbán decisively in April's election. In September Magyar advanced the bill granting open access. At a press conference at the State Security Services Historical Archive he said restrictions had for decades created room for blackmail and pressure.
Historian László Eörsi told AFP it is better late than never, but warned against judging anyone solely because their name is listed: some recruits filed no reports and took real risks. He predicted some turmoil in the coming months.
