Photos of the 1956 Revolution

The 157 photographs taken by Hungarian and Western photo journalists in Hungary during the revolution of 1956 were collected by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Hungarian Desk for the purposes of an exhibition to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the revolution in Munich. Some of these photos were published in a special edition of Life magazine in November, 1956, which caused fears that the Hungarian political police might use the photographs to identify street fighters, demonstrators and other participants of the Revolution. Indeed, at the archives of the Hungarian Ministry of Interior there are four large folders containing altogether about 800 photos from news clippings from the Western press on the 1956 revolution. Personal data (name, profession, address, etc.) are attached to many of the photos, making it evident that the Hungarian police did use these images to identify and arrest people.