Hungary Statues etc. from the House of Terror

[Gordon Craig]

Gents,

After telling myself I should visit the House of Terror for the last two years I finally went by taking a house guest to see it. For those of you who may not be familiar with this place, it was the headquarters of the Arrow Cross at the end of WWII and of the AVH during the early days of the HUPR. Picture taking is not allowed above the main floor but there is no one to stop you on the stairway between floors which is where I took all of these photos with one exception.

Regards,

Gordon

First, a bust of Stalin.

[Gordon Craig]

Followed by Rakosi.

[Gordon Craig]

Next, a wall panel of what appears to be the Red Army.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

A different view of the same wall panel.

[Gordon Craig]

next, the workers militia.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

A statue of a "Heroic Woman" worker in classical Communist era scale. Bigger than life.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

Another wall panel. This time of workers.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

Once you reach the first floor you are on a gallery around the inside of the building over looking a courtyard. From here you get a really good look at the Soviet tank which occupies a large part of the main floor.

[Gordon Craig]

Next, a metal worker. A symbol of the attempt by the Communist regime to turn Hungary from an agrarian society to an industrialized metal producing nation. This move started in 1949 soon after the HUPR came into being.

[Gordon Craig]

The last one for now is a bust of Bal?zs Istv?n dressed in a WWII Soviet uniform and wearing a Hungarian Partisans badge. I have not been able to locate any information on this individual on the net. Perhaps he exists in Charles book of Partisan bios.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Gordon Craig

[Gordon Craig]

The name plate below the bust.

[Guest Rick Research]

Are there tours of the cells? I note the wall with photos of victims-- do they keep some sort of register?

[hunyadi]

Nice photos Gordon - they must have been a bit lax when you were there. It was like the gestapo coming out of the walls when I took out my camera. I got one shot off before they were yelling at me.

Rick - yes there is a list of "victims" which has been assembeled from records and friends. How acurate the list is can be up to debate. The House of Terror web site would be the contact point to get that list IMO. The building underwent several changes after 1956. It is believed that the basement was several levels of prison and torture cells, but they were apparently filled in with concrete and sealed over. The basement now has representations of what the cells were like from eyewitness accounts. This includes original torture devices, beds, etc...(mostly from the city of Vac) it also includes an original air exchanger from another AVH detention/torture chamber which was used in the gurad room to aleviate the stench of human waste, sweat and blood.

Perhaps the most telling portion of the museum is the recreation of a chamber of the "People's Courts". Along the outtter wall is the names and photographs of those who "served" in the Courts. Perhaps the most interesting is the fact that there were still several of those "memorialized" individuals still serving in public offcie when the museum opened. The structure is a popular rallying point for FIDESZ, the conservative / nationalistic political party. :rolleyes: