Hungary opens communist-era secret police files to public

Hungary has opened its communist-era secret police archives to the public through a new online database called Nyitottaktak.hu. The site went live on 4 November, the anniversary of the Soviet crackdown on the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

The database gives access to digitised records held by the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security Services. It covers people who appeared in state security databases before the 1989–1990 democratic transition.

“Finding someone’s name does not automatically mean they worked as an informer.”

Three types of records are available. Magnetic tape records contain the so-called H database with about 55,000 names. B-registers from 1957 to 1962 list around 25,000 people. Form 6 index cards provide more detailed personal and recruitment information.

Historians warn that appearing in the records does not automatically mean someone worked as an informer. The database is incomplete and does not contain actual reports or photographs.

The launch fulfils a campaign promise by Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government. Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he was approached for recruitment during military service but refused, and was subsequently monitored by communist authorities.

Orbán also claimed that secret services infiltrated informants into opposition groups and used listening devices in homes and workplaces. His claims and the documents he cited have not been independently verified.

Historians estimate that 50,000 to 60,000 people are associated with the former intelligence apparatus, with about 10 percent believed to still be alive.