Hungary Releases Decades‑Old Secret Police Files, 47 Years After Communist Regime Fell

Each record includes the informant’s real name, codename, date of birth, address, mother’s name, recruitment motive (voluntary, blackmailed, or coerced), and the name of the handling officer.

A further set of documents, the “B‑dossiers,” is undergoing digitization and will be released on 25 February.

These files will provide far greater detail on the recruitment process and the assessed value of the information supplied.

Critics argue that public reaction may be overly hasty, leading to premature judgments and a lack of nuanced understanding.

Approximately 150,000–160,000 individuals were recruited as informants in Hungary between December 1944 and February 1990.

Many were coerced through threats such as loss of employment or education, denial of medical care, or exposure of personal sexual matters or addictions. Those sensitive details will be redacted from the forthcoming releases.

Historian Krisztian Ungváry, who has long advocated for complete file release, asserts that citizens have a right to access state records about themselves, which should not be subject to political whims.

“Most surviving agent reports make it impossible even to identify the agent, let alone their motives,” says Zsuzsanna Borvendég, historian and MEP for the far‑right Our Homeland party, opposing the release.

She warned that publishing informant names without fully contextualizing their recruitment and activities could mislead the public, according to Hungarian media.

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