Closing down history

„Shredding a historical archive is an unorthodox step, but this is, in effect, Hungary’s answer to the 20-year conundrum of what to do with the files left behind by its communist-era secret police.

The government is planning legislation that will allow the subjects of files compiled by the security services to take home documents that refer to them. Then they can do what they like: burn them, bin them or publish them.

Individually, the reports hold little of interest to anyone other than their subjects. But taken together they constitute a priceless record of Hungary’s post-war history. Once dispersed, the archive will no longer serve as a trove for historians seeking to shed light on Hungary’s chaotic 20^th century.”