The Stasi past of scientists and scholars

People who have been exposed as former Stasi spies usually justify their actions by claiming they were forced to collaborate. Holding up renowned scientists and scholars as an example, historian Krisztian Ungvary argues that in actual fact they did have a certain amount of freedom of action. He points out that when historians György Ranki and Ferenc Glatz and the literary scholar Mihaly Szegedy-Maszak simply refused to collaborate with the Stasi, this had no severe repercussions for their careers. Historian Karoly Vigh, on the other hand, was quite willing to spy on his famous colleague, Domokos Kosary. "The files contain many reports that prove there weren't only traitors, but also courageous people under the dictatorship. Numerous accounts that show how the Kadar regime [Janos Kadar was leader of the communist party from 1956 to 1988] worked have been recorded for posterity. Sooner or later they will come to light. It lies in the interest of Hungarian society that the perpetrators and victims of these accounts be made known."

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » History, » Hungary
All available articles from » Krisztián Ungváry

» To the complete press review of Monday, May 22, 2006