Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security
Item Set
Title
Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security
Állambiztonsági Szolgálatok Történeti Levéltára (ÁBTL)
Description
1. History of Foundation
The Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security (Állambiztonsági Szolgálatok Történeti Levéltára, ÁBTL) is a state-owned special Archives founded in 2003 as the successor institution to the Historical Office. The Historical Office was established in 1997 by an Act of Parliament as a way of satisfying demands supported by the Constitutional Court for people to have access to their secret police files and in response to the need to give the process of vetting people standing for public office, also known as lustration, a constitutional legality.
2. Legal Commission and Task
The Historical Archives houses the documents of the former Hungarian State Security Organs dating from December 21, 1944 to February 14, 1990 and has the following tasks: to ensure the exercise of the right to the familiarization with their personal data for those represented in the documents of the state security police; to provide data to the organizations performing fact-finding as part of the lustration process, and to ensure the pursuit of the research activity in the archives as well as conducting and publishing research on the post-war organization and operation of the political police in Hungary and its relationship to the Communist Party, governmental organs and public security authorities as well as engaging in public educational activities.
3. Material relevant to the study of religion under communism
The archival material in the Historical Archive is divided into five sections (Section 1. Documents of State Security (State Defence) Organizations and their operations 1945-90; Section 2. State security documents that do not belong to any organizational entity 1945-90; Section 3. Network, operative and investigation files 1945-90; Section 4. Collections 1944-2007; Section 5. Documents after the year 1990 1994-2005). For the the study of religion Section 3, the largest section of the archive containing investigation files, operation files, work files and enlisting files is the most important. Apart from work files collecting all reports given by individual informers, all file types contain various document types from case summaries to evaluations, action plans, handwritten or transcribed confessions, interrogation minutes, transcripts of tapped conversations, surveillance reports and confiscated materials (letters, books, manuscripts, pamphlets, images, photographs of confiscated objects). Operation and investigation files are diverse sources of visual and material religious items, while other file types mostly contain textual information on religious activities. The archive has rich material on dissenting groups within the established churches, especially the Roman Catholic Church and the activities of officially unrecognised small churches and religious communities.
4. Other online resources containing materials on religion from ÁBTL:
The Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security (Állambiztonsági Szolgálatok Történeti Levéltára, ÁBTL) is a state-owned special Archives founded in 2003 as the successor institution to the Historical Office. The Historical Office was established in 1997 by an Act of Parliament as a way of satisfying demands supported by the Constitutional Court for people to have access to their secret police files and in response to the need to give the process of vetting people standing for public office, also known as lustration, a constitutional legality.
2. Legal Commission and Task
The Historical Archives houses the documents of the former Hungarian State Security Organs dating from December 21, 1944 to February 14, 1990 and has the following tasks: to ensure the exercise of the right to the familiarization with their personal data for those represented in the documents of the state security police; to provide data to the organizations performing fact-finding as part of the lustration process, and to ensure the pursuit of the research activity in the archives as well as conducting and publishing research on the post-war organization and operation of the political police in Hungary and its relationship to the Communist Party, governmental organs and public security authorities as well as engaging in public educational activities.
3. Material relevant to the study of religion under communism
The archival material in the Historical Archive is divided into five sections (Section 1. Documents of State Security (State Defence) Organizations and their operations 1945-90; Section 2. State security documents that do not belong to any organizational entity 1945-90; Section 3. Network, operative and investigation files 1945-90; Section 4. Collections 1944-2007; Section 5. Documents after the year 1990 1994-2005). For the the study of religion Section 3, the largest section of the archive containing investigation files, operation files, work files and enlisting files is the most important. Apart from work files collecting all reports given by individual informers, all file types contain various document types from case summaries to evaluations, action plans, handwritten or transcribed confessions, interrogation minutes, transcripts of tapped conversations, surveillance reports and confiscated materials (letters, books, manuscripts, pamphlets, images, photographs of confiscated objects). Operation and investigation files are diverse sources of visual and material religious items, while other file types mostly contain textual information on religious activities. The archive has rich material on dissenting groups within the established churches, especially the Roman Catholic Church and the activities of officially unrecognised small churches and religious communities.
4. Other online resources containing materials on religion from ÁBTL:
5. Access for Researchers
Researchers can apply to become an accredited researcher with access to the reading room by following the application process outlined under the Reading Room heading:
Creator
Agnes Hesz and Kinga Povedák
Publisher
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme No. 677355
Date Created
January 2021
Items
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Network scheme of Hungarian Catholic underground cells
ca. 1951–1952 -
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