Hungary prepares to release Communist-era records revealing state security agents and informants
The searchable database will include about 50,000 to 60,000 names, with some personal details redacted and about 9,000 B dossiers released later.
- On Nov. 4, Hungary will begin releasing tens of thousands of Communist-era records identifying state security informants and collaborators through a searchable online database operated by the Historical Archives of the State Security Services.
- Prime Minister Magyar and his Tisza party prioritized the release following their election victory, fulfilling a democratic transition promise to expose the sprawling apparatus that monitored citizens for decades under Communist rule.
- The Historical Archives estimates the database contains around 50,000 names, with a second release of about 9,000 dossiers scheduled for Feb. Users can search by name, birth details, or code name, though some documents will be redacted to protect sensitive information.
- Cseh, director-general of the Historical Archives, told The Associated Press that releasing these files has been contentious for 36 years, largely because doing so would likely have implicated acting politicians who served during the dictatorship.
- Such radical disclosures have never happened anywhere before, Cseh noted, as successor governments rarely disclose records this detailed. This transparency initiative aims to help Hungarian society finally understand the secret collaborators of the former State Security Services.
34 Articles
34 Articles
50,000 secret informer names go public — and some may still be active
The website Nyitottaktak.hu will launch on 4 November, on which the records of Hungary's former state security services — the so-called agent files — will become accessible and available for download, Gergő Bendegúz Cseh, Director General of the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security Services, announced on Tuesday at a press conference in Budapest.
Associated Press News
Hungary prepares to release Communist-era records revealing state security agents and informants
Hungary plans to release tens of thousands of Communist-era state security records that identify officers, informants, collaborators and recruitment targets.
At a press conference held at the Historical Archives of the State Security Services, it was announced that approximately 50-60 thousand names will be released. The disclosure of agent files will be unique on an international level.
Márton Melléthei-Barna, a representative of the Tisza faction, initiated the amendment of the entry into force.
Márton Melléthei-Barna, a representative of the TISZA faction, initiated the amendment of the entry into force of the law on the publicity of agent files to November 4, 2026 instead of October 20, 2026, the faction announced.
Hungary Will Open the Archives of Former Security. Tens of Thousands of Names Can Be Searched Online
Hungary will publish an important part of the archives of former communist security services online, starting on October 22, 2026, before the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. The new platform will allow the search of information about tens of thousands of persons associated with the repressive apparatus, including officers, informants, collaborators or persons targeted for recruitment. [...] Article Hungary will open the arc…
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