Hungary to Open Tens of Thousands of Communist Secret Service Archives — AP

Hungary is preparing to make tens of thousands of documents from the communist era available to the public. The archives contain information on secret service agents, informants, collaborators, and people who were targeted for recruitment.

The first phase of the release will begin on November 4. Previously, access to these materials was limited mainly to close relatives of those mentioned in the documents and researchers. Now, the documents are set to be made available in a searchable online database.

According to the archive’s estimates, the documents mention about 50,000–60,000 names. Users will be able to search for information by name, date and place of birth, mother’s name, alias, as well as by document type or number.

The second wave is scheduled for February 25. At that time, authorities plan to release approximately 9,000 so-called “Dossier B” files—documents ranging up to hundreds of pages in length about individual recruited or potential agents.

Some of the information will be redacted to protect personal data, including medical records and other sensitive information.

According to the archive’s director general, Gerghe Bendehus Ceh, the issue of disclosing these materials has remained a subject of debate in the country since the transition to democracy in 1990.

Source: AP

Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated that his country had been included in the “Carpathian Eight” format initiated by Ukraine without being asked for consent.

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