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Coordinates: 47°30′25″N 19°03′54″E / 47.5069°N 19.0651°E / 47.5069; 19.0651
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{{Short description|Museum in Budapest, Hungary}}
{{Short description|Museum in Budapest, Hungary}}
{{other uses}}
{{for|the films|House of Terror (1960 film)|House of Terror (1973 film)}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox museum
{{Infobox museum
| name = House of Terror
| name = House of Terror
| native_name = Terror Háza
| native_name = Terror Háza
| native_name_lang = hu
| native_name_lang = hu
| image =Budapest Haus des Terrors.jpg
| logo = Logo-of-museum.png
| image = Budapest Haus des Terrors.jpg
| imagesize = 200
| imagesize = 200
| caption = House of Terror
| caption = House of Terror
| coordinates = {{coord|47.5069|19.0651|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates = {{coord|47.5069|19.0651|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| established = 24 February 2002
| established = 24 February 2002
| location = [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]
| location = [[Budapest]], Hungary
| type =
| type =
| collection =
| collection =
| visitors = more than 1,000 per day
| visitors =
| director = Dr Mária Schmidt
| director = [[Mária Schmidt]]
| publictransit =
| publictransit =
| network =
| network =
| website = [http://www.terrorhaza.hu/?language=eng terrorhaza.hu]
| website = {{url|terrorhaza.hu/en}}
}}
}}
'''House of Terror''' is a museum located at [[Andrássy Avenue|Andrássy út]] 60 in [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]. It contains exhibits related to the [[Government of National Unity (Hungary)|fascist]] and [[People's Republic of Hungary|communist]] regimes in 20th-century Hungary and is also a memorial to the victims of these regimes, including those detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in the building.


The '''House of Terror''' ({{Langx|hu|Terror Háza Múzeum}}, {{IPA-hu|ˈtɛrːor ˈhaːzɒ ˈmuːzɛum|pron}}) is a museum located at [[Andrássy Avenue]] 60 in Budapest, Hungary. It contains exhibits related to the [[Government of National Unity (Hungary)|fascist]] and [[People's Republic of Hungary|communist]] regimes in 20th-century Hungary and is also a memorial to the victims of these regimes, including those detained, interrogated, tortured, or killed in the building.
The museum opened on 24 February 2002 and the Director-General of the museum since then has been Dr [[Mária Schmidt]].


The museum opened on 24 February 2002, and its director general has been [[Mária Schmidt]].
The House of Terror is a member organization of the [[Platform of European Memory and Conscience]].<ref name="Platform">{{cite web|url=http://www.memoryandconscience.eu/2011/10/20/czech-prime-minister-petr-necas-the-years-of-totalitarianism-were-years-of-struggle-for-liberty/|title=Czech Prime minister Petr Nečas: The years of totalitarianism were years of struggle for liberty|date=14 October 2011|publisher=[[Platform of European Memory and Conscience]]|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330062517/http://www.memoryandconscience.eu/2011/10/20/czech-prime-minister-petr-necas-the-years-of-totalitarianism-were-years-of-struggle-for-liberty/|archive-date=30 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Visitors including [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]], [[Francis Fukuyama]] and [[Hayden White]] have praised the Museum.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kisantal Tamás, Krommer Balázs|url=http://epa.oszk.hu/00800/00861/00030/pdf/white.pdf|title=Discussion with Hayden White|language=hu|date= 2005|access-date=November 10, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://wwwold.terrorhaza.hu/index2.html |title=A Terror Háza honlapja |access-date=2016-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703052121/http://wwwold.terrorhaza.hu/index2.html |archive-date=2008-07-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The House of Terror is a member organization of the [[Platform of European Memory and Conscience]].<ref name="Platform">{{cite web|url=http://www.memoryandconscience.eu/2011/10/20/czech-prime-minister-petr-necas-the-years-of-totalitarianism-were-years-of-struggle-for-liberty/|title=Czech Prime minister Petr Nečas: The years of totalitarianism were years of struggle for liberty|date=14 October 2011|publisher=[[Platform of European Memory and Conscience]]|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330062517/http://www.memoryandconscience.eu/2011/10/20/czech-prime-minister-petr-necas-the-years-of-totalitarianism-were-years-of-struggle-for-liberty/|archive-date=30 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Visitors including [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]], [[Francis Fukuyama]], and [[Hayden White]] have praised the institution.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kisantal Tamás, Krommer Balázs|url=http://epa.oszk.hu/00800/00861/00030/pdf/white.pdf|title=Discussion with Hayden White|language=hu|date= 2005|access-date=10 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://wwwold.terrorhaza.hu/index2.html |title=A Terror Háza honlapja |access-date=9 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703052121/http://wwwold.terrorhaza.hu/index2.html |archive-date=3 July 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Building==
==Building==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2023}}
The building was used by the [[Arrow Cross Party]] and [[State Protection Authority|ÁVH]].


The building was previously used by the [[Arrow Cross Party]] and [[State Protection Authority|ÁVH]].
The museum was set up under the government of [[Viktor Orbán]]. In December 2000 the Public Foundation for the Research of Central and East European History and Society purchased the building with the aim of establishing a [[museum]] in order to commemorate these two bloody periods of [[History of Hungary|Hungarian history]].


The museum was set up under the government of [[Viktor Orbán]].{{When|date=December 2023}} In December 2000, the Public Foundation for the Research of Central and East European History and Society purchased it with the aim of establishing a museum in order to commemorate the [[Government of National Unity (Hungary)|fascist]] and [[People's Republic of Hungary|communist]] periods of [[History of Hungary|Hungarian history]].
During the year-long construction work, the building was fully renovated inside and out. The internal design, the final look of the museum's [[Collection (museum)|exhibition]] hall, and the external facade are all the work of architect Attila F. Kovács. The reconstruction plans for the House of Terror Museum were designed by architects [[János Sándor]] and Kálmán Újszászy. The [[Reconstruction (architecture)|reconstruction]] turned the exterior of the building into somewhat of a [[monument]]; the black exterior structure (consisting of the decorative entablature, the blade walls, and the granite footpath) provides a frame for the museum, making it stand out in sharp contrast to the other buildings on [[Andrássy Avenue]]. Inside the building, the Museum has a [[T-54 tank]] on display.

During the year-long construction period, the building was fully renovated inside and out. The internal design, the final look of the museum's exhibition hall, and the external facade are all the work of architect Attila F. Kovács. The reconstruction plans for the museum were designed by architects [[János Sándor]] and Kálmán Újszászy. The reconstruction turned the exterior of the building into somewhat of a monument: the black exterior structure (consisting of the decorative entablature, the blade walls, and the granite footpath) provides a frame for the museum, making it stand out in sharp contrast to the other buildings on [[Andrássy Avenue]]. Inside the building, the museum has a [[T-54 tank]] on display.


==Permanent exhibition==
==Permanent exhibition==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2023}}
With regard to communism and fascism, the exhibition contains material on the nation's relationships to [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]]. It also contains exhibits related to Hungarian organisations such as the fascist [[Arrow Cross Party]] and the communist [[ÁVH]] (which was similar to the Soviet Union [[KGB]] secret police). Part of the exhibition takes visitors to the basement, where they can see examples of the cells that the ÁVH used to break the will of their prisoners.


The museum's permanent exhibition contains material related to the nation's relationships to [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]]. It also contains exhibits related to Hungarian organisations such as the fascist [[Arrow Cross Party]] and the communist [[ÁVH]] (similar to the Soviet [[KGB]]). Part of the exhibition takes visitors to the basement, where examples of cells used by the ÁVH to torture prisoners can be seen.
Much of the information and the exhibits are in Hungarian, although each room has an extensive information sheet in both English and Hungarian. Audio guides in English, German, Spanish, Russian and Italian are also available.


Much of the information and the exhibits are in Hungarian, although each room has an extensive information sheet in both English and Hungarian. Audio guides in English, German, Spanish, Russian, and Italian are also available.
The background music to the exhibition was composed by former [[Bonanza Banzai]] frontman and producer [[Ákos Kovács (singer)|Ákos Kovács]]. The scoring includes the work of a string orchestra, special stereophonic mixes, and sound effects.


The background music to the exhibition was composed by former [[Bonanza Banzai]] frontman and producer [[Ákos Kovács (singer)|Ákos Kovács]]. The score includes the work of a string orchestra, special stereophonic mixes, and sound effects.
Visitors may not take photographs or use video cameras inside of the building. There is no reduced fee for [[International Council of Museums|ICOM]] members.

[[Image:Victims House of Terror.jpg|thumb|Images of victims on the outside of the House of Terror Museum, Budapest.]]
[[Image:Victims House of Terror.jpg|thumb|Images of victims on the outside of the House of Terror Museum]]


==Controversy==
==Controversy==
[[Image:Budapest Terror Museum Tank.jpg|upright|thumb|T-55 tank, with photos of the victims of Hungarian Communism|alt=]]
[[Image:Budapest Terror Museum Tank.jpg|thumb|T-55 tank, with photos of the victims of Hungarian Communism]]

Some historians, journalists, and political scientists such as Magdalena Marsovszky or Ilse Huber have argued that the museum portrays Hungary too much as the victim of foreign occupiers and does not recognise enough the contribution that Hungarians themselves made to the regimes in question as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oe1.orf.at/highlights/67719.html|language=de|title=Das Haus des Terrors in Budapest: Umstrittenes Museum über Ungarns Zeitgeschichte|last=Huber|first=Ilse|access-date=February 18, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712211336/http://oe1.orf.at/highlights/67719.html|archive-date=July 12, 2012}}</ref><ref name="marszovszky2011">{{cite book|last1= Marszovszky|first1=Magdalena |editor1-first=Claudia |editor1-last= Globisch |editor2-first=Agnieszka |editor2-last=Pufelska |editor3-first=Volker |editor3-last= Weiß |title=Die Dynamik der europäischen Rechten. Geschichte, Kontinuitäten und Wandel |trans-title=The Dynamics of the European Right. History, Continuity and Change |year= 2011|publisher=VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften |location= Wiesbaden |language=de |isbn=978-3-531-17191-3 |pages=55–74|trans-chapter="The Martyrs are the Magyars". The Holocaust in Hungary from the Perspective of the House of Terror in Budapest and the Ethnification of Memory in Hungary |chapter="Die Märtyrer sind die Magyaren". Der Holocaust in Ungarn aus Sicht des Hauses des Terrors in Budapest und die Ethnisierung der Erinnerung in Ungarn }}</ref>
Criticism has also been raised that far more space is given to the terror of the communist regime than the fascist one. One answer to these criticisms was that while the German occupation and fascist regime of [[Ferenc Szálasi]] lasted less than a year, the Hungarian Communist regime lasted for 40 years. The museologists of the museum also reminded critics that the [[The Holocaust in Hungary|Hungarian Holocaust]] has its [[Holocaust Memorial Center (Budapest)|own museum]], within three kilometres distance, so there is no need to repeat its content.
Some historians, journalists, and political scientists such as Magdalena Marsovszky or Ilse Huber have argued that the museum excessively portrays Hungary as the victim of foreign occupiers and does not sufficiently recognise the contribution that Hungarians themselves made to the regimes in question.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oe1.orf.at/highlights/67719.html|language=de|title=Das Haus des Terrors in Budapest: Umstrittenes Museum über Ungarns Zeitgeschichte|last=Huber|first=Ilse|access-date=18 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712211336/http://oe1.orf.at/highlights/67719.html|archive-date=12 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="marszovszky2011">{{cite book|last1= Marszovszky|first1=Magdalena |editor1-first=Claudia |editor1-last= Globisch |editor2-first=Agnieszka |editor2-last=Pufelska |editor3-first=Volker |editor3-last= Weiß |title=Die Dynamik der europäischen Rechten. Geschichte, Kontinuitäten und Wandel |trans-title=The Dynamics of the European Right. History, Continuity and Change |year= 2011|publisher=VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften |location= Wiesbaden |language=de |isbn=978-3-531-17191-3 |pages=55–74|trans-chapter="The Martyrs are the Magyars". The Holocaust in Hungary from the Perspective of the House of Terror in Budapest and the Ethnification of Memory in Hungary |chapter="Die Märtyrer sind die Magyaren". Der Holocaust in Ungarn aus Sicht des Hauses des Terrors in Budapest und die Ethnisierung der Erinnerung in Ungarn }}</ref> Criticism has also been raised that far more space is given to the terror of the communist regime than the fascist one.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} One answer to these criticisms was that while the German occupation and fascist regime of [[Ferenc Szálasi]] lasted less than a year, the Hungarian Communist period lasted forty years. The [[Museology|museologists]] have also reminded critics that the [[The Holocaust in Hungary|Hungarian Holocaust]] has its [[Holocaust Memorial Center (Budapest)|own museum]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}


==References==
==References==
[[Image:Logo-of-museum.png|thumb|right|The logo of the museum]]
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Clear}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commonscat}}
{{Commons category|House of Terror Museum}}
*{{Official website|URL=https://www.terrorhaza.hu/?language=eng}}
* {{official website|terrorhaza.hu/en}}
*[https://www.terrorhaza.hu/en House of Terror Budapest]- English language website


{{Budapest}}
{{Budapest}}
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[[Category:Museums in Budapest]]
[[Category:Museums in Budapest]]
[[Category:Headquarters of political parties]]
[[Category:Headquarters of political parties]]
[[Category:Political repression in Communist Hungary]]

Latest revision as of 14:48, 17 December 2024

House of Terror
Terror Háza
House of Terror
Map
Established24 February 2002
LocationBudapest, Hungary
Coordinates47°30′25″N 19°03′54″E / 47.5069°N 19.0651°E / 47.5069; 19.0651
DirectorMária Schmidt
Websiteterrorhaza.hu/en

The House of Terror (Hungarian: Terror Háza Múzeum, pronounced [ˈtɛrːor ˈhaːzɒ ˈmuːzɛum]) is a museum located at Andrássy Avenue 60 in Budapest, Hungary. It contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist regimes in 20th-century Hungary and is also a memorial to the victims of these regimes, including those detained, interrogated, tortured, or killed in the building.

The museum opened on 24 February 2002, and its director general has been Mária Schmidt.

The House of Terror is a member organization of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience.[1] Visitors including Zbigniew Brzezinski, Francis Fukuyama, and Hayden White have praised the institution.[2][3]

Building

[edit]

The building was previously used by the Arrow Cross Party and ÁVH.

The museum was set up under the government of Viktor Orbán.[when?] In December 2000, the Public Foundation for the Research of Central and East European History and Society purchased it with the aim of establishing a museum in order to commemorate the fascist and communist periods of Hungarian history.

During the year-long construction period, the building was fully renovated inside and out. The internal design, the final look of the museum's exhibition hall, and the external facade are all the work of architect Attila F. Kovács. The reconstruction plans for the museum were designed by architects János Sándor and Kálmán Újszászy. The reconstruction turned the exterior of the building into somewhat of a monument: the black exterior structure (consisting of the decorative entablature, the blade walls, and the granite footpath) provides a frame for the museum, making it stand out in sharp contrast to the other buildings on Andrássy Avenue. Inside the building, the museum has a T-54 tank on display.

Permanent exhibition

[edit]

The museum's permanent exhibition contains material related to the nation's relationships to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It also contains exhibits related to Hungarian organisations such as the fascist Arrow Cross Party and the communist ÁVH (similar to the Soviet KGB). Part of the exhibition takes visitors to the basement, where examples of cells used by the ÁVH to torture prisoners can be seen.

Much of the information and the exhibits are in Hungarian, although each room has an extensive information sheet in both English and Hungarian. Audio guides in English, German, Spanish, Russian, and Italian are also available.

The background music to the exhibition was composed by former Bonanza Banzai frontman and producer Ákos Kovács. The score includes the work of a string orchestra, special stereophonic mixes, and sound effects.

Images of victims on the outside of the House of Terror Museum

Controversy

[edit]
T-55 tank, with photos of the victims of Hungarian Communism

Some historians, journalists, and political scientists such as Magdalena Marsovszky or Ilse Huber have argued that the museum excessively portrays Hungary as the victim of foreign occupiers and does not sufficiently recognise the contribution that Hungarians themselves made to the regimes in question.[4][5] Criticism has also been raised that far more space is given to the terror of the communist regime than the fascist one.[citation needed] One answer to these criticisms was that while the German occupation and fascist regime of Ferenc Szálasi lasted less than a year, the Hungarian Communist period lasted forty years. The museologists have also reminded critics that the Hungarian Holocaust has its own museum.[citation needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Czech Prime minister Petr Nečas: The years of totalitarianism were years of struggle for liberty". Platform of European Memory and Conscience. 14 October 2011. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  2. ^ Kisantal Tamás, Krommer Balázs (2005). "Discussion with Hayden White" (PDF) (in Hungarian). Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  3. ^ "A Terror Háza honlapja". Archived from the original on 3 July 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  4. ^ Huber, Ilse. "Das Haus des Terrors in Budapest: Umstrittenes Museum über Ungarns Zeitgeschichte" (in German). Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  5. ^ Marszovszky, Magdalena (2011). ""Die Märtyrer sind die Magyaren". Der Holocaust in Ungarn aus Sicht des Hauses des Terrors in Budapest und die Ethnisierung der Erinnerung in Ungarn" ["The Martyrs are the Magyars". The Holocaust in Hungary from the Perspective of the House of Terror in Budapest and the Ethnification of Memory in Hungary]. In Globisch, Claudia; Pufelska, Agnieszka; Weiß, Volker (eds.). Die Dynamik der europäischen Rechten. Geschichte, Kontinuitäten und Wandel [The Dynamics of the European Right. History, Continuity and Change] (in German). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. pp. 55–74. ISBN 978-3-531-17191-3.
[edit]