During a recent trip which included Budapest, Hungary, I visited the House of Terror which was originally called the House of Loyalty by the fascist Arrow Cross party until the end of the Second World War, and then the House of Terror when it was taken over by the newly installed Communist regime. This was not the first visit to the building, but it is so stark that it merits multiple visits to begin to understand the horrors that Communism has foisted on individuals around the world.
Many years ago, my first Political Science professor was a Hungarian immigrant. He had a “life”; he was in the Hungarian army during World War II, was critical of the Germans, was arrested and thrown into a camp. When the Soviets “liberated” Hungary, they put him into the new communist government since the Nazis had arrested him. He survived the purge of Laszlo Rajk and was designated to be the Minister of the Interior by during the Hungarian revolution in 1956. When the revolution failed, he fled Hungary and ended up in Detroit in the Hungarian neighborhood. Given his background, he had an honored place in the community, but as he said, “I would be a big fish in a little pond”. He learned English, went to university in the U.S. and moved into the big pond (all of the U.S.) where he became a professor and real estate developer: a real capitalist!
He brought his real-world experiences to the class and was instrumental in making his students realize that those who believe in Socialism or Communism are not open to rational thought. Because of their religious like belief in their dogmas, compromise is not an option,
At various points in the House of Terror are excellent handouts explaining various sections and actions of the prison. I shall forward one each week so that you may better understand what the reality of life under a Communist system offers.
