Hungary opens files on socialist regime’s informant network
The documents can be searched online, but a name appearing in the records does not necessarily identify an informant.
Hungary’s government made files on the socialist regime’s network of informants publicly accessible on 4 November 2026, delivering on a central campaign commitment by Prime Minister Péter Magyar. The previously restricted documents allow people to look up their ancestors online.
Disclosure had been debated for decades, partly because the records also name people who attracted the regime’s attention without necessarily working as informants. The opening comes on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s suppression of the 1956 Hungarian revolution.
Addressing the public, Magyar appealed for sensitivity and respect, saying families would confront painful details about their histories. Culture Minister Zoltán Tarr expressed hope that disclosure would foster reconciliation. Tarr’s father appears in the documents, although he received official confirmation that he had not been an agent.
Former prime minister Viktor Orbán denied cooperating with the secret police in a Facebook statement, saying he rejected an approach at the start of his compulsory military service. He said he, his wife and colleagues had been surveillance targets.
Additional documents explaining recruitment into the network are undergoing digitisation and will be accessible by 25 February 2027.
