Propaganda and Educational Films from the Film Studio of the Hungarian Ministry of Interior

Series

Some of the films in the holdings of OSA Archivum are VHS copies of films made by the Studio on U-MATIC during the eighties. Others are copies made by OSA staff on VHS and DVD in 2004-2005. We tried to find and copy the 35 mm originals of those made on celluloid, but in many cases this occurred only after we found and copied the 16 mm films. Thus, for some of the titles we have multiple copies in the collection, low quality and fragmented copies are complemented with high quality, full-length versions.

The most highlighted pieces of this collection are films dealing with border protection and state security. The former introduce the viewer into the life of border patrols, as well as the operation mode and functions of the technical device that sealed the border between Hungary and Austria and was commonly called the "iron curtain." A few dramatized films help the viewer imagine what brutal methods were used to catch and arrest (and occasionally shoot) those civilians who tried to cross the state border illegally. The latter show the work of state security forces into minute details, from methods and techniques of illegal surveillance to professional secret house searches, and from counter-intelligence actions to recruiting and managing the network of secret agents. The more traditional propaganda films were supposed to promote the work of the police forces, and were also used to train Ministry of the Interior staff. On occasion, such films were produced for communist celebrations or anniversaries.

Not Expected

Not Restricted

Third party rights are to be cleared.

Processed by Judit Krausz and Zsuzsanna Zádori, 2013 and 2019.