In 2018, the Municipality of Zalaegerszeg, the Zala County Organization of POFOSZ, and the Association for Preserving the Heritage of 1956, with the professional cooperation of the Göcseji Museum, established an exhibition and memorial site dedicated to the victims of communism.
The exhibition is housed in the former building of the State Protection Authority (ÁVH) on Mártírok Road, which became the Zalaegerszeg headquarters of the ÁVH following the nationalisation of 1948. On the approximately eighty-square-metre area of the memorial site, reconstructed in its original form, period interiors evoke the brutality of the communist dictatorship.
Passing through the ground-floor porter’s booth and the duty officer’s room, visitors descend to the basement level, where prison cells, communal spaces, memorial rooms, and an authentic interrogation room can be visited. The rooms in the basement recall the dictatorial events of the era and present the stories of three individuals affected by the regime: the lives of Margit Hári, Károly Borsos, and Ferenc Hegedűs are brought to life through moving details. Thanks to modern directional sound technology, visitors can also listen to the personal recollections of the victims.
One of the most harrowing parts of the memorial site is the torture and interrogation room, which recreates with striking accuracy the atrocities that took place there. The blood channel embedded in the concrete floor, the period typewriter, stool, rubber hose, and hemp rope soaking in a basin all reflect the methods of interrogation, while audio effects based on original testimonies evoke the room’s tragic past.
Good to Know
The exhibition can only be visited by prior appointment at Mártírok Road 5-7, Zalaegerszeg.
The memorial site may be visited free of charge on the following days:
- 25 February – Memorial Day for the Victims of Communist Dictatorships,
- 23 October – National Holiday commemorating the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence,
- 4 November – National Day of Mourning marking the suppression of the 1956 Revolution.
