Secret police files released in Hungary, 37 years after fall of communism

Hungary has opened communist-era secret police files to the public, in a controversial move the government says will help Hungarian society heal itself from the traumas of 45 years of communist rule. Critics say the move comes too late, that the files themselves are incomplete, and that the move risks sowing division and causing unnecessary anguish to family members.

The date of the opening is symbolic - on 4 November 1956 Soviet tanks rolled through Budapest and other cities, to crush Hungary's short-lived revolution. "I ask everyone to treat this long overdue publication of documents with dignity and humanity," Prime Minister Péter Magyar told reporters at the state archives in Budapest.

"Many families will now face difficult information, often related to a deceased relative," he added.