Terror House

The Terror House is Budapest's museum which, according to its brochure, "commemorates the victims of terror... reminding us of the dreadful acts of terrorist dictatorships." It is focused on what happened in Hungary under the Nazis and the Communists, and in that way served as a very vivid history lesson for me. The site of the museum is both the Hungarian National Socialist movement and the Hungarian communist's former headquarters. The basement of the building was used to torture and kill prisoners, and the museum has recreated the torture cells. It is an active museum in that you can walk in to the cells, touch the floor, the walls, the water in the bottom of the cell used as a torture technique, etc.

I knew what to expect and yet at the same time, I never expected what I saw. As you walk through the museum there are info sheets in both English and Hungarian in each room, giving you a thorough description of what is depicted in the room. Just to give you an idea about some of the events in Hungary's recent history and the what the museum showcases:

- 1944-1945: In March Hitler took over Hungary and deported nearly all the Jews living in rural areas to Auschwitz. Only a few months later, the pro-German fascist party the "Arrow Cross" took over, deporting 80,000 Jews and locking 70,000 more into a Budapest ghetto. This all took place is a matter of 3-4 months. During this time the Soviets invaded and basically took over the country.

Post WWII- After the war the Soviets officially handed the country over to the Hungarian Workers Party (formed by a merger of the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party), although Soviet troops remained in Hungary until June 19, 1991. Soon the new leader of Hungary turned the country on itself and imposed authoritarian rule. The State Security Authority (which occupied the building where the museum is located until 1956) created terror; the museum reports that "on command, its agents killed without hesitation, they committed burglaries, ruses, and torture to send their victims, based on false testimonies and confessions, to the gallows, to prison or to labour camps. A legion of informers, a shadow army, monitored and recorded the thinking of people at factor assembly lines, editorial offices, company offices, universities, churches, theatres. No areas of life were shielded from them. They were the tool by which the communists seized power, implemented and sustained their system of terror that deported, crippled or mistreated people, and which affected one in every three families." According to Wikipedia, an estimated 2,000 people were executed and over 100,000 were imprisoned in the late 1940s/early 1950s.

- Summer 1951: The communist party begins an attack on Hungary's rural population, preparing "kulak" lists (public enemies) and torturing, arresting, convicting and killing thousands. At the same time the communist party was also forcing mass evacuations from many Hungarian cities. Persons were taken to "social camps," which were basically agricultural forced labor camps where many died.

- 1956: Stalin died in 1963; the Soviet Union's new leader, Nikita Khrushchev, revealed the crimes of the Stalinist era in February 1956. In October mostly peaceful demonstrations broke out in Debrecen and Budapest, led by the students. When the secret police opened fire the demonstrations turned into a revolution. Soviet tanks entered Budapest and at least 12 were killed, 170 wounded. A few days later the State Security Department was abolished and a new leader announced an end to the one party system, formation of a coalition government and a promise of free elections. Khrushchev became "concerned" about these developments and sent the Red Army into Hungary on November 4. Fighting took place all over the country but the Hungarian forces were quickly defeated. Nonetheless, 20,000 were killed. A Soviet-appointed leader took over and Soviet advisers took over the running of the country. The last Soviet advisers left Hungary in 1989.

The museum paints this picture beautifully, with a combination of video and television footage, audio tapes, paintings, photographs, documents, propaganda and memorabilia, as well as the hands-on torture cells.

For more information on the museum visit http://www.terrorhaza.hu/index3.html.