A museum for remembrance

By: Gyarmathy Dóra, Hungary

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A new museum was opened last Friday, July 07, 2006 in the Hungarian town, Hódmezővásárhely. “Emlékpont – Fél Évszázad Vásárhelyen” (“Memory Point – Half Century in Vásárhely”) – that is the title of the exhibition which aim is to evoke the recent past as an objective lesson for those young people who were not yet alive then.

The “Emlékpont” is not only an exhibition place but also an educational center. It is the first institution in Hungary which tells the story of the era of Communist dictatorship through the history of a town with the help of modern, multimedia equipments. The visitors can get an image about the last 50 years in 9 thematic exhibition halls. They can listen interviews, see photos, documentary films and other objects. The first hall on the ground floor evokes the destroying of the network of small farms, one room is about the victims of the World War II, and the other one presents the former resistance fighters, pays tribute to imprisoned, ruined and executed people. Priests tell how they could profess their faith and remain in the anticlerical ideology and show the way to the others.

The exhibition presents the era and work of Államvédelmi Hatóság (Hungarian Political Police) as well. Visitors can get to know more about the 1956 Hungarian Revolution against the Communist dictatorship and the revenge later through personal fates of people in Hódmezővásárhely. The exhibition halls on the upstairs evoke the “soft” dictatorship of Kádár era. The industry, planned economy, compulsory state holidays and everyday life take place here. The audience can visit the gallery which presents the colorful art of the town and finish their journey through the decades in a buffet which evokes the spirit of 1960’s.