8.
The House of Terror
So
now I understand. The first thing you should do on arrival in Budapest
is go and visit the House of Terror. The things you learn there about
the immediate past lead to an understanding of the city, its appearance
and the demeanor of the people. If I compare my life to one of theirs
born in 1945 or thereabouts there is no comparison.
The
building now known as the House of Terror housed firstly the Hungarian
Arrow Cross Party, which called it “The House of Loyalty”.
This was the party headquarters of the Hungarian Nazis. The German
Nazis didn’t come here until 1944, when the Hungarian government
made feeble attempts to get its ally to end the war they were obviously
losing. The building then became the German Nazi headquarters, then
after the war, the (Soviet) State Security Department, later renamed
the State Security Authority. Sounds cheerful doesn’t it?
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This
is an absolutely must see exhibition, tastefully done but very grim.
On entry you’re confronted with an enclosed courtyard in the
centre of the building, filled with a huge Russian tank, and the
faces of all the victims of the Soviet Era purges. The stories are
told with a brilliant combination of multi-media, film, photos,
museum rooms and music. It’s hard to imagine how the people
could recover from such dark times. No wonder Budapest is such a
run down city, and no wonder Dad left, and then brought his family.
The Terror House should be the first port of call for any visitor
to Budapest. Visitors are asked not to take photos. |
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Coming
from a loving family in a peaceful country, I cannot understand why people
behave in such grotesque, despicable, murderous and hateful ways. Especially
as they demonstrate that they know! We read “. . . the cellar of
number 60 Andrassy Road was modified several times. All tell-tale traces
were painstakingly removed.” They knew what they were doing. The
Russians crushed the 1956 Revolution with an iron fist, and only eleven
years after the war, Budapest was once again in ruins. The number of wounded
is given as 20,000, and two thousand five hundred died. About 200,000
left the country. 150,000 were arrested, and 229 executed. Imagine our
country invaded by a strong military force, and apply those numbers to
it when the inevitable insurrection comes to pass. The Soviets remained
another thirty five years until 1991, when their power was waning.
The country, buildings, economy, and most of all the people have only had sixteen years to recover so far. The lucrative inner city traffic free pedestrian malls are very clean and cared for. The rest are not, yet. So now we understand why there are such damaged old buildings, especially in the poorer areas, why they won’t look at us, and why they don’t tell us where the Chemist is.
The country, buildings, economy, and most of all the people have only had sixteen years to recover so far. The lucrative inner city traffic free pedestrian malls are very clean and cared for. The rest are not, yet. So now we understand why there are such damaged old buildings, especially in the poorer areas, why they won’t look at us, and why they don’t tell us where the Chemist is.