Überwachung von Medienschaffenden der deutschen Minderheit im kommunistischen Ungarn
Surveillance of media representatives of the German minority in communist Hungary

Summary/Abstract: Dictatorships do not trust their citizens. They try to keep them under control, including by means of surveillance. Between 1949 and 1989 the Hungarian state, like other Eastern Bloc countries, built up and expanded its own control structures. Members of the German minority and their organizations, among others, became targets of observation. Those working as journalists in the minority media were of particular interest, as they were well networked and mobile within their national community. They were spied on or recruited themselves. Journalists from the German-language media were under particularly intense observation, as possible contacts with the FRG were considered highly suspicious. Although the materials of the Hungarian State Security Archive have only been preliminarily processed so far, and findings about the minority media in particular have been slow to reach the public, recent research shows that the surveillance of German journalists in Hungary was similar to that of other media, but they were of particular importance due to their possible connections to the FRG.

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