The foundation of the collection began with the establishment of the Museum of Modern History in 1957 – from 1966 it was named Hungarian Museum of the Workers' Movement. In 1991, this museum was merged into the Hungarian National Museum, together with its significant collection of contemporary documents. The Collection of Contemporary Documents, was managed as a separate unit, was first under the care of the Department of Contemporary History and then its successor, the Historical Repository. It is now a collection of the Department of Modern History.
Collecting documents is not a classical museum duty, as it is the responsibility of other public collections, mainly archives and libraries. However, for a history museum, documents are indispensable, because without them it is impossible to organize a modern historical exhibition and a satisfactory and authentic presentation of the 20th century.
The chronological scope of collecting is from the end of the 19th century lasting to the present day. As Hungary's political and economic structure after 1945 followed the Soviet-style communist model for more than four decades, the primary duty was to collect material related to the Hungarian workers' movement and working class life. However, after the political transition, scope and aspects collecting have broadened considerably.
Contact Zoltán Balahó, balaho.zoltan@hnm.hu Tel.: + 36 1 327 7723
Structure of the Collection of Contemporary Documents
The structure of the collection is not built up by collection units, although its material can be grouped chronologically, geographically, institutionally and in terms of individuals. Classification of the documents is made difficult by their large quantity (around 39 000 items) and their extreme diversity.
The most important documents are related to the most significant figures in Hungarian political history. Outsstanding are those bearing the handwritten signature of historical figures, like Ferenc Deák, Franz Joseph I, Gyula Andrássy, István Tisza, Mihály Károlyi, Miklós Horthy, István Bethlen, Gyula Gömbös, Mátyás Rákosi, Imre Nagy, János Kádár.
Spanish letter of protection for members of the Schwartz family in Budapest. After the official Spanish diplomat, Ángel Sanz-Briz, had been forced to leave Hungary in the autumn of 1944, he was replaced by his friend Giorgio Perlasca Italian merchant, who acted as a Spanish consul and saved thousands of Jews in besieged Budapest. He moved into the Spanish Embassy, where he issued protective letters, provided food and medicine to the people in the shelter, and rescued people held captive by the Arrow Cross. His bust now stands next to the Hungarian National Museum, in front of the Italian Cultural Institute in Bródy Sándor utca.
Founded in 1916, the "Ezermester" (Jack-of-all-trades) scout troop was organized for workers' children of the MÁVAG (Hungarian Royal State Iron, Steel and Machine Works) in Budapest, and their name indicates that their task was to carry out technical tasks. They have collected hundreds of signatures in their guest book. The most valuable ones were collected at the 1933 Scout Jamboree in Gödöllő. The picture shows the signatures of British military officer Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of scouting, Governor Miklós Horthy and the Hungarian geographer-politician Pál Teleki, the "chief scout". The guest book is a donation of Sándor Kónya, an old scout.
American General Harry Hill Bandholtz was the head of the American Military Mission in Hungary in 1919–1920. He prevented Romanian troops occupying Budapest from looting the Hungarian National Museum on October 5, 1919. Today, his bronze statue stands in front of the American Embassy in Szabadság tér in Budapest and his memorial plaque is next to the main staircase of the museum. His manuscript, already typed in English at home, is bound in three burgundy half-leather volumes. The diaries were purchased by Hungarian American collector Lajos Szatmáry and donated to the museum.
The National Museum's letter of protection for its buildings and collections, from the time of the siege of Budapest in 1944–1945. The trilingual letter of protection was intended to keep war events and marauding soldiers away from the museum building. The appeal, also written in Cyrillic letters, was addressed to the Russian soldiers who ransacked the museum's cellars and many of the offices and storerooms from 16 January 1945, consequently several of the artefacts in the crates were damaged or lost. Deputy Director-General Nándor Fettich kept diary notes of the events, which give us an idea of the extent of the damage. This valuable piece of museum history was donated to the museum in 2017.
