Államvédelmi Hatóság

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The Államvédelmi Hatóság , ÁVH for short (German State Protection Authority ) was the political police in Hungary between 1948 and 1957, formed on the model of the Soviet NKGB . The official goal was to protect the system and its leaders by persecuting opponents of the regime.

In the former headquarters of the ÁVH at Andrássy út No. 60, there is now the " House of Terror "

The ÁVH was mainly shaped by Mátyás Rákosi , who at times directed it from the background. The armed arm of the Communist Party was the main instrument in fighting political opponents.

history

PER

On February 1, 1945, what was then called PRO ( Politikai Rendészeti Osztály , "Political Police Department") was founded in the Budapest Police Headquarters and was initially under the leadership of Gábor Péter .

In the chaotic conditions after the withdrawal of the German army, the first unified state security organization began to take decisive positions according to plans that were already in place. The PRO was intentionally made up of a majority of Jews so that the wanted members of the government of Miklós Horthy or the Arrow Cross members could be identified by their former victims.

One of the first tasks was to track down the files of the former government and law enforcement agencies. Even at this time, the investigating departments were planning an index system.

Even before it came to power in 1949, the Communist Party had the Ministry of the Interior, headed by the communist politician László Rajk from 1946 . The secret funding of the organization created the conditions for the rapid expansion of the political police.

So that the extent of the "organization fighting against the reaction" (" reakció ellen harcoló szervezet ") remained hidden from the bourgeois parties, they used sources of money that were not recorded in the budget. Criminal means such as blackmailing entrepreneurs and private individuals were often used. These illegal acts were continued by the successor organizations (see: Financing).

ÁVO

The organization, known as ÁVO ( Magyar Államrendőrség Államvédelmi Osztálya , "State Security Department of the Hungarian State Police") since 1946 , was directly under the supervision of the Interior Minister of the Communist Party. The 13 subdivisions were busy with the gathering of news, security and surveillance of parties, churches, social associations and emigration from Hungary.

At that time, the state security departments began to be expanded to include police headquarters in the county seats and larger directorates. Although the officially prescribed area of ​​responsibility of the ÁVO primarily related to the protection of the democratic state order (Law VII. Tc 1946 ) or to the detection of war crimes and the investigation of violations of international law under Horty's rule, the authority collected and registered domestic and international law foreign police data. Since the ÁVO started work, it has monitored leaders of the coalition parties and listened to phone calls from opponents of the regime.

ÁVH

As a result of the appointment of János Kádár as Minister of the Interior, a further step towards the independence of the authority was taken with an order of September 10, 1948. It was now called Belügyminisztérium Államvédelmi Hatósága ("State Protection Authority of the Ministry of the Interior") and was equipped with an extended sphere of activity, but was still subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. The additional competencies related to border protection, the police authorities for inland waterway and air traffic, the KEOKH ( Külföldieket Ellenőrző Országos Központi Hatóság , “Central State Authority for the Monitoring of Foreigners”) and the right to issue passports.

In 1949 the organization also became independent from the Ministry of the Interior. The State Security Authority ( Államvédelmi Hatóság ) was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers by ordinance . The new organizations founded a year later were integrated into the Military Policy Department ( KATPOL ), Military Defense and Border Guard of the Ministry of Defense. Since then, a distinction has been made between two armed units: The members of the so-called “blue ÁVO” ( kék ávó ) belonged to the notorious state security , the uniforms of the “green ÁVO” ( zöld ávó ) indicated that they belonged to the border guards.

The organization sought to ensure total surveillance. Internally, it was structured strictly hierarchically. Its sub-units and the broad network of agents covered the whole country. In 1953, the denunciator network comprised 40,000 people. The index cards of 1,280,000 citizens were recorded in the “ Index Register ” ( Nyilvántartási Osztály ) section.

functionality

Overview of the state security
time 1945 February 1945 end of the year 1948 1948 September 1949 September 1953
Organization name PER PER ÁVH ÁVH ÁVH ÁVH
Employee 98 500 1839 2500 8760 5000
More staff 15,000 in the border guard
7,000 in the armed task force
total 28,000 30000

Within two years the PRO, which originally had few employees, was unorganized and weakened by internal rivalries, was restructured into a dreaded terrorist organization of the Communist Party. The institution achieved a power of its own, which part of the party leadership was rightly wary of. On the basis of the information obtained by secret service methods, between 1946 and 1947 she expanded her activities to include the communist party.

The direct supervision and control of the organization was exercised by Rákosi or the closest circle of the party leadership. At the time of its establishment, its status was determined at a meeting of the Central Committee as follows: “The ÁVH is a special body, the organ of the Central Committee” ( “ÁVH egy speciális szerv, a KV szerve” ). From 1948, following the Soviet example, and with thorough support from Soviet advisors, the ÁVH carried out various show trials .

Since 1950 the ÁVH began to expand internment camps , took over the country's prisons , organized evictions , monitored the borders and developed surveillance of all areas of life, the total dictatorship of the communist party. The ÁVH also played an important role in suppressing the Hungarian uprising in 1956.

financing

Maintaining the ÁVH was costly. After the war had caused severe damage and there was economic shortage due to the bad economy, it was uncertain whether the costs would be covered. The flats for conspiratorial purposes alone required considerable sums. A large part of the payments to finance the Ministry of Interior went to the ÁVH, but these funds were not enough to keep the activities going. Therefore the members exercised various sideline activities. Blackmail was a typical way of collecting money. Another means was to issue passports for big capitalists willing to emigrate in exchange for valuable items such as paintings, furniture or technical equipment. Such money and valuables were also often withheld. Much fell into the hands of Colonel Ernő Szűcs , for example , the deputy of Gábor Péter or Major Andor Csapó , who, as head of finance, appropriated extorted goods in the course of house searches. Gyula Princz headed the ÁVH brigade, which killed Szűcs, in whose safe valuables and cash worth more than one million forints (some in foreign currency) were found.

The part of the sum on which the ÁVH kept precise accounts had a total value of 13,160,000 forints . Between 1951 and 1953, spending nearly doubled. A total of at least 3.2 billion forints was spent. At that time the median income in Hungary was around 800 forints.

In addition, the ÁVH also operated money laundering . Although the sums in circulation were less precisely recorded, some traces were left behind. In one case, it was probably a sum of more than two billion that was brought to Hungary by the Stasi from West Germany.

Important internal departments

  • “Fighting Internal Reactionaries Department” ( Belső Reakció Elleni Harc Osztály ) under the direction of Ernő Szűcs
  • Intelligence service
  • " Card Register Department" ( Nyilvántartási Osztály )

Famous pepole

  • Miklós Bauer (born January 20, 1921 in Budapest; † June 12, 2008 there), lieutenant colonel and interrogation officer of the ÁVH. He already worked under Rákosi for the ÁVO and was interned in Andrássy út when the Stalinists fell in power, but he was able to avoid a show trial. He was taken over for the ÁVH.
  • Vladimír Farkas (* as Vladimir Lőwy on August 12, 1925 in Košice ; † September 2002 in Budapest), lieutenant colonel and one of the leaders of the ÁVH. He published his memoir in 1990 entitled Nincs mentség. Az ÁVH alezredese voltam. ("There is no excuse. I was lieutenant colonel of the ÁVH", ISBN 9638035129 )
  • Gábor Péter (* as Benjámin Eisenberger on May 18, 1906 in Újfehértó ; † on January 23, 1993 in Budapest) He played an important role in 1948 and 1949 show trials following the takeover of power by the communists. His political influence ended in 1952.
  • László Piros (* May 30, 1917 in Újkígyós , † January 2006 in Szeged ), from 1950 to 1953 commander of the ÁVH, later Minister of the Interior
  • Ernő Szücs, Colonel
  • István Bálint, Dr. (* 1912; † 1984) neurologist, psychiatrist, doctor of the ÁVH, head of the medical department, closest confidante of Péter; medical advisor for the development of efficient interrogation methods.
  • Andor Körösi, Dr. Deputy of Bálint
  • Márton Károlyi
  • József Csete
  • Gyula Princz
  • Alajos Réh

Locations

There were two ÁVH prisons in Budapest:

  • The ÁVH headquarters were located in the building at 60 Andrássy út . A prison was connected in the basement, the underground system of which extended over the entire block. Today the Terror Háza Museum is located there .
  • A cellar prison was also operated at Belgrád rakpart No. 5 in the 5th district . Today the capital's public prosecutor's office is housed there.
  • The so-called ÁVH house was built in 1953 at Attila út 59-61 in the 1st district , in which employees of the organization lived.

The four internment camps were in Recsk , Kazincbarcika , Kistarcsa and Tiszalök .

Human rights violations

Photos of victims on the facade of the House of Terror

The ÁVH was feared for its cruel methods. Physical and psychological torture methods were used during the interrogations. Beatings, gags , kicks, being allowed to drink from a toilet after being given salty food, deprivation of food, sleep deprivation, uninterrupted use of shackles and other humiliations were common. The ventilation was turned off in the prisons at night.

The procedure for arrests became popularly known under the term csengőfrász ( something like “fear of the doorbell ringing”). This meant that the ÁVH often rang their victims at night from the selected apartments and led them away. Black GAZ-M20 Pobeda were mostly waiting in front of the house .

When ÁVH members began to oppose their leaders in 1953, many committed suicide knowing what to expect.

Official dissolution of the ÁVH

The official dissolution of the ÁVH was one of the most important tasks of de-Stalinization . The first steps took place within the framework of a power struggle within the party leadership. After Stalin's death on March 5, 1953, a struggle within the party broke out. As a result, Imre Nagy became the Prime Minister of Hungary, who reversed the Stalinist policy of previous years.

In January and February 1953, Gábor Péter and his supporters were arrested and charged with Zionism in a Soviet-style show trial. The charges also included violations of social property, embezzlement, aiding and abetting to flee abroad, violation of state secrets, abuse of service and crimes against the people. Rákosi tried to maintain his power by trying to adapt to the new Moscow guidelines. When Beria was imprisoned in the Soviet Union , Rákosi was given the opportunity to shift the main responsibility for his violations of the law to Gábor Péter, the so-called "Hungarian Beria". Instead of holding Rákosi personally responsible, the party accepted responsibility in a declaration under Soviet pressure, which is why the ÁVH was neglected to investigate thoroughly.

The investigation of the circle around Péter was completed at the end of 1953. In December a first and finally on January 15, 1954 a second final judgment was made. First and foremost, the violations of the law by the ÁVH and their role in the introduction and implementation of illegal methods were emphasized.

Following Soviet instructions, the Council of Ministers signed at the meeting on July 17, 1953, dissolving the ÁVH as an independent body and liaising with the Ministry of the Interior. The decision was made in secret and the decision was not made public. This caused various misunderstandings in the state apparatus itself. Another factor contributing to the confusion was that although the organization's independence was formally abolished, the ranks of the state security were maintained. It was also noticeable that the state security departments within the Interior Ministry were separate.

In 1954, László Piros was appointed Minister of the Interior, who made the ministry the Ministry of State Protection. By the summer of 1956, the situation within the ÁVH calmed down. As a result, opponents of the system professed to protest against the regime with renewed strength at rallies. Before the reforms, this would have been punished with severe retaliation. As a result of the discord within the party, no action was taken against all critics.

In the circles of the Interior Ministry, the boundaries between ÁVH and the police became more and more blurred. First and foremost, the concept of János Kádár originated , according to which the weakened ÁVH was increasingly replaced by the police. During the Hungarian uprising, the police were therefore suspicious of the revolutionaries.

In his radio address on October 28, 1956, Imre Nagy announced the dissolution of the state security authority of the Rákosi regime and promised to build a democratic police force, even if the ÁVH had been dissolved de jure three years earlier under Nagy's first prime ministerial presidency. During the uprising, the authority disintegrated. A few members withdrew into illegality, while others joined the Pufajkás , an armed unit assembled at short notice that was active in suppressing the Hungarian uprising. Still others joined directly Soviet troops and set out to seek out and monitor insurgents.

After November 4, 1956, the reorganization of the state security began with thoroughgoing Soviet support. Part of the leadership probably also contributed to this. The Kádár government could not afford to continue to carry out this unpopular task openly. A completely new ÁVH would also have posed a potential threat to Kádár. Ferenc Münnich , the commander in chief of the armed forces, as deputy prime minister on behalf of the "Hungarian Revolutionary Workers and Peasants Government" ( Magyar Forradalmi Munkás-Paraszt Kormány ) banned the reorganization of the state security organs in a decree. At the same time, he issued the regulation that the departments that had been set up against the ban up to that point were to be dissolved immediately. The Pufajkás continued the activities of the ÁVH unchanged.

In December 1956, all ÁVH employees were officially dismissed and placed under surveillance to determine whether they were involved in the lawlessness of the state security. Confessions were obtained and trials launched on false accusations. This resulted in imprisonment but also mistreatment, exile, etc. The investigative commission examined almost all of the former ÁVH staff.

In 1961 the MSZMP Politburo put the question of the responsibility of the ÁVH members back on the agenda. In August 1962, a resolution was adopted naming the main culprits and making the crimes committed by the State Security Agency public. However, there was little judicial consequence or the truth was not fully revealed. For example, the shady role of Kádár in the trial against László Rajk was kept secret.

After 1963, the state security existed in the form of an internal agent system.

Quotes

"Az ÁVH a párt ökle." ( Mátyás Rákosi , 1949) - ("The ÁVH is the fist of the party.")

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kozák Gyula: Az ember Identitas nélkül - Évkönyv XI. (2003, Budapest, 1956-os Intézet, 95–110)
  2. ↑ see structure of the state security authority ( Memento from May 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (Hungarian)
  3. ↑ Tamáska Péter: Tiszti kezek . Magyar Nemzet Magazin , 2006. jan. 21st

literature

György Moldova: Az elbocsátott légió . Magvető Könyvkiadó, Budapest 1989, ISBN 963-14-1596-1 (Hungarian, first edition: 1969, “The discharged legion”).

Web links