Terror Háza

The House of Terror in Budapest is a memorial museum housed in a neo-Renaissance palace at Andrássy út 60. The building, originally Jewish-owned, served during World War II as the headquarters and prison of the fascist Arrow Cross Party and became the headquarters of the communist state security police after 1945, when it was used as a torture prison. Since 2002, the museum has commemorated the victims of both totalitarian regimes that ruled Hungary from 1944 to 1945 and from 1949 to 1989. The exhibition sets the two dictatorships side by side, with two rooms devoted to the Arrow Cross period and eighteen rooms covering the four decades of communist rule. Through multimedia and emotionally powerful displays, you experience the horror of these eras firsthand. The concept of addressing both systems together sparked controversy before the museum opened, as critics charged that it equated the two regimes and failed to adequately address Hungary's share of responsibility for the Holocaust. In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum also hosts temporary exhibitions.