# Hungary opens communist-era secret police files identifying informants

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/hungary-opens-communist-era-secret-police-files-identifying-informants/
- Published: 2026-11-04T12:36:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T13:09:45+00:00
- Original publisher: DW (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.dw.com/en/hungary-opens-communist-era-secret-police-files-identifying-informants/a-79853492?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
- Topics: Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Hungary published records naming about 60,000 informants.
- More files are expected by February.
- Many records are missing or were destroyed.

## Summary

Hungary has published thousands of communist-era secret police records in a searchable online database, naming about 60,000 people identified as informants. The release fulfils a long-delayed promise to open the files and is intended to help the country examine its history of state surveillance.

The records cover four decades of one-party rule, from 1949 to 1989, when informants were often pressured to report on people close to them. Archives estimate that authorities recruited around 150,000 informants, but records for roughly two-thirds are missing, destroyed or believed to have been taken to Moscow. A further batch is expected by February; Prime Minister Peter Magyar urged families to approach the disclosures with dignity, while former prime minister Viktor Orban’s name was absent from the database.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.