Hungary opens communist-era secret police database

Hungary opened a searchable database of communist-era state security records on 4 November 2026. Prime Minister Péter Magyar said it contained about 60,000 names; the records include personal data about people the secret services recruited, the BBC said.

Attempts to open the files had repeatedly stalled after communist rule ended. The archives director said the records were under Interior Ministry management from 1990 to 1997. Magyar, who became prime minister after defeating Viktor Orbán in April, had pledged public access and described the release as fulfilling a promise of the democratic transition.

Magyar urged people to approach the documents with dignity and humanity, saying many families would face difficult information, often about deceased relatives. Processing trauma, he said, requires discussion and questions.

What a database entry means

Cseh Gergő Bendegúz, director-general of the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security, said a name in the database shows some contact with state security but does not by itself prove cooperation. An attempted recruitment might have failed, or a person might have refused to cooperate early on.

The archives said documents would be downloadable and searchable by birth details, code name, document type or dossier number. Cseh also said redactions were expected because information about health, addictions, sexual life and sexual orientation must remain protected.

During one-party communist rule from 1949 to 1989, secret police used informants to monitor citizens, often coercing them to report on colleagues, friends or relatives. The archives estimate that authorities recruited about 150,000 informants, but that records for about two-thirds no longer exist. Many files were destroyed during the anti-Soviet uprising or hidden during the transition to democracy. Some are believed to have been taken to Moscow.

Historian László Eörsi of the 1956 Institute Foundation told AFP that the opening gives access to substantially more information about recruitment and the security apparatus. He predicted public and private revelations and possible turmoil in the coming months.

More detailed files to follow

The recruitment files known as B-dossiers are being digitized and will be released on 25 February 2027, the BBC said. The archives director had previously announced their publication by that date. The dossiers will provide more detail about recruitment and the value of information supplied, the BBC said.

Cseh said further research and the dossiers may be needed to establish what cooperation actually took place. The files can trace recruitment preparations, surveillance, pressure and the course and end of cooperation.

The archives also plan to help people interpret the records by explaining state security operations, recruitment methods and terminology, supported by podcasts, videos and public discussions.

Hungary’s parliament adopted legislation on 15 September 2026 to expand access to the archives. Its stated purpose was to make the past knowable and strengthen people’s access to records about themselves. Cseh said people concerned and their descendants can submit corrections and personal accounts, which the archives will digitize and make available alongside the original records.

At a September briefing, Cseh said an amendment proposed moving the original 20 October publication date back by several weeks, with the website scheduled to launch on 4 November. The announced reforms also broaden research access, accelerate reviews of pre-1990 classifications and shorten protection periods. Procedures become simpler, relatives gain broader rights, and people who were monitored can learn the identities of collaborators and professional officers who handled their cases.