A Unique Position to Better Understand Struggles

In January, 2020, I was thrilled to begin the internship program at the Blinken Open Society Archives. I had just been accepted into the Budapest Semester Program at George Mason University, and I was thrilled at the prospect of exploring a new city, and learning from faculty at Central European University and the Archives.

Balázs Leposa • April 03, 2020

New Collection on Hungarian Emigré Circles in the US

Providing insight into the publishing and academic activities of Hungarian emigré circles in the US, the Peter Pastor Collection was donated to Blinken OSA in 2018 by Peter Pastor, a professor emeritus of history at Montclair State University, New Jersey. After being processed and cataloged, the collection is now ready for research (and will be physically available once the Archives can reopen after the outbreak is over).

Blinken OSA, Hidden Galleries Project • March 30, 2020

Replica of a Distorted Reality

As the exhibition Faith – Trust – Secrecy is temporarily closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, the OSA blog will present segments of the show with links to the Hidden Galleries Digital Archive, where the featured stories and themes can be explored in more detail. More on the exhibition from the OSA blog:

Blinken OSA • March 25, 2020

Brotherhood and Self-Esteem – On Béla Bartók's Birthday

March 25 is the birthday of Béla Bartók. We honor the memory of Bartók with a lecture by József Mélyi, a 1931 letter the composer wrote to Octavian Beu, and a 1988 radio report on the preparations for the return of Bartók's ashes to Hungary.

Blinken OSA, Hidden Galleries Project • March 24, 2020

Secret Religious Activitiy

Blinken OSA • March 22, 2020

Illusion and Patriotic Duty: the Paranoia Archive

“The situation is between peacetime democracy and war,” said the Prime Minister of Hungary, as the government introduced state of emergency in the country.

Blinken OSA • March 17, 2020

Through the Telephone

As a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak, public March 15 commemorations had to be cancelled in 2020. Whoever wanted to celebrate this day, they had to do so at home.

Blinken OSA • March 13, 2020

Michel Foucault: Discipline and Punish. The Birth of the Prison

"(...) in order to see perfect disciplines functioning, rulers dreamt of the state of plague." To comprehend the meaning and the gravity of the Hungarian government's decision of declaring a state of emergency, one should revisit Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish. The full text is available online, here we share a segment from the chapter Panopticism (pp195–200.)

Katalin Dobó, Judit Hegedűs • March 06, 2020

Posters Made by Atelier Populaire in 1968

The Archives received posters produced by Atelier Populaire, a workshop that supported the 1968 Paris protests with graphic works. “He threw shit at the fan!” Or literally: "He is the bed shitter." One of the best-known posters retorts Charles de Gaulle’s criticism of students.

Blinken OSA • March 03, 2020

Toward a Visual Ethics of Secret Police Archives

Opening speech to the exhibition Faith – Trust – Secrecy by James Kapaló, curator, Principal Investigator of the Hidden Galleries project. (Photo: Milán Rácmolnár)