Identity Statement

Reference Code

HU OSA 408-4-2

Title

Documentation of the Ministry of the Interior's Committee on Opening Up State Security Records

Date(s)

1991 - 1998

Description Level

Series

Extent and medium (processed)

1 Archival boxes, 0.12 linear meters

Context

Archival history

The series consists of László Varga's own collection.

Content and Structure

Scope and Content (Abstract)

The law on lustration (commonly known as the agent law) was passed at the last session of the Parliament in 1994. Later in the year, however, the Constitutional Court (AB) invalidated the law on grounds of unconstitutionality. The main objection was that the law did not regulate the right to informational self-determination, i.e. the way people appearing in the files of the state security service can have access to these documents.

Minister of Interior Gábor Kuncze set up a committee to evaluate the state security material and make preparations for the new law. Members of the committee (István Biki, István G. Vass, Tibor Hajdú, András B. Hegedűs, János Kenedi, György Markó, János M. Rainer, Árpád Tyekvicska, chair László Varga) were delegated by professional organizations such as the National Archives of Hungary (MNL), the Archival Council of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Association of Hungarian Archivists, Council of Municipal Archives, Institute of History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Contemporary History Research Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Research and Documentation of the History of the 1956 Revolution, Municipality of Budapest and Nyilvánosság Klub. The secretary was Gábor Baczoni, head of the Historical Archives of the Data Processing Office of the Ministry of Interior.

There was only one instruction for the Committee: they were not to disclose any data that would help identify agents. The scope of the work of the Committee covered all files preserved by the Ministry of Interior and its organs. After specifying the archival principles of disclosure, members of the Committee divided up the archival units between themselves; the files of state security kept at the Documentation Department were evaluated by Tibor Hajdú, János Kenedi, János M. Rainer, Árpád Tyekvicska and László Varga.

A number of officials at the Ministry thought that the minister exceeded his authority and tacitly refused to carry out the order; in response the Committee warned with stepping down. At the next session, head of cabinet András Gyekiczki made it clear that the order was to remain effective. Evaluating the state security files thus could start only then.

Notwithstanding the remaining very short time, the Committee managed to submit a preliminary report in May, and the final version in June. At the same time, in accordance with its original authorization, it made a recommendation to prolong and expand activities to cover the pre-1990 files of the secret services.

Despite the fact that the ministry announced the setting up of the Committee in a press release and that the minister of interior informed the minister supervising the secret services in writing, after the press conference on the activities of the Committee the situation became critical for the government which made prolonging the operation of the Committee impossible.

The report was placed in the National Széchenyi Library, and is accessible on the homepage of Nyilvánosság Klub, too.

As a result of the report, the Ministry of Interior handed over a substantial amount of its files to the National Archives of Hungary (MNL), and returned personal papers to several ex-political prisoners. Also, rules of research were developed, and the one time persecuted were given access to the files concerning them.

The Committee sought to assess the volume of destruction of files in 1989-90 but largely failed. The Committee recommended to follow the German model (BStU, Bundesbeauftragter für die Stasi-Unterlagen, commonly known as the Gauck Office). Later, however, in the course of political barganining, the original proposal softened a lot. With the new law adopted in 1996, the Office of History (predecessor of Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security (ÁBTL) was set up to exercise the right to informational self-determination, but in fact it tried to limit self-determination – with the tacit support of the various governments.

The Committee was the first to open up the statistics of the state security service on whom they kept files on and its network, and to describe the organization, operation and records of the service, in particular the unit III/III dealing with “the internal enemy”.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

No documents were destroyed in the course of procesing.

Accruals

Not Expected

System of arrangement

The structure of the series follows the operation of the Committee and is supplemented with Varga’s notes, mostly about having access to and control over operative registries (people surveyed).

Conditions of Access and Use

Conditions governing access

The general rules of research in OSA Research Room apply.

Conditions governing reproduction

A dokumentumok oktatási és kutatási célból digitálisan másolhatók az OSA kutatótermében.

Description Control

Archivist's note

Processed by László Varga, March 2, 2015.