Hungary publishes historical communist-era secret service files

On November 4, 2026, the Hungarian government launched an online public database containing tens of thousands of declassified secret service files from the communist era. The release marks a fulfillment of a campaign promise made by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, occurring 36 years after the fall of the regime.

The database includes approximately 60,000 names of informants and agents who monitored Hungarian citizens between 1956 and 1989. The date was symbolically chosen to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Soviet military intervention in Budapest, which suppressed the 1956 Hungarian uprising. This initiative aims to provide transparency regarding the mechanisms of state surveillance that persisted throughout the Cold War.

This act concludes a decades-long push for historical clarity regarding the communist period. By providing free electronic access to these sensitive documents, the current administration seeks to address long-standing demands for the public disclosure of informers and the accountability of the former intelligence apparatus.