Hungary opens secret police archives, publishes 60,000 informant names
Budapest released identities of roughly 60,000 people who worked as informants for the communist secret police.
Hungary on Thursday opened the archives of its communist-era secret police and published the identities of about 60,000 people who served as informants for the former regime.
The government said the release is intended to end decades of uncertainty about the collaborators who monitored and reported on their fellow citizens during the communist period.
Background and official rationale
Prime Minister Péter Magyar described the move as the fulfilment of a promise made in 1989, when Hungary began its democratic transition. The publication lists roughly 60,000 names linked to surveillance and reporting activities under the previous system.
Officials framed the action as a step toward transparency and historical clarity, saying citizens deserve to know who was involved in the secret services' network of informants.
The archive opening is likely to rekindle debates about accountability, privacy and how societies should deal with collaborators from authoritarian pasts.
Photo: press material from the event
