Hungary's Culture Minister Closes House of Terror Museum, Fires Director Mária Schmidt
Hungary's culture minister, Zoltán Tarr, has announced the temporary closure of the House of Terror Museum in Budapest and has also removed its director, Mária Schmidt. The museum is set to reopen later this year after an evaluation of its exhibition materials. This action aligns with Prime Minister Péter Magyar's initiative to diminish Viktor Orbán's impact on state media and cultural entities following Magyar's election win this spring. Established in 2002 during Orbán's initial term, the museum highlighted Hungary's fascist and communist past and was managed by the now-defunct KKETTK Foundation. Critics have previously described it as a 'political stunt.' Recent displays featured works by József Ringhoffer and images from the 1965 Hungarian Revolution.
Key facts
- Hungary's culture minister Zoltán Tarr temporarily closed the House of Terror Museum in Budapest.
- Tarr also fired museum director Mária Schmidt.
- The museum will reopen later this year pending a review of exhibition content, per Tarr's Facebook post.
- The closure is part of Prime Minister Péter Magyar's efforts to reverse Viktor Orbán's control of state media and arts entities.
- Magyar won a landslide election this spring, unseating Orbán after 16 years.
- The museum opened in 2002 during Orbán's first term and covered Hungary's fascist and communist history.
- It was operated by the KKETTK Foundation, which Parliament has dissolved.
- Over 8 million people have visited the museum since 2002, according to the foundation's website.
Entities
Artists
- Zoltán Tarr
- Mária Schmidt
- Péter Magyar
- Viktor Orbán
- József Ringhoffer
- Jens Kalaene
Institutions
- House of Terror Museum
- KKETTK Foundation
- Foundation for Research on Central and Eastern European History and Society
- Parliament
- New York Times
- Budapest Times
- Getty Museum
Locations
- Budapest
- Hungary
- Tiszalök
- Los Angeles