THE STORY OF THE AVO

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300264-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 8, 2011
• Sequence Number: 264
• Publication Date: April 21, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION RESBICTSRICTED
T
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGE
REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
CD NO.
COUNTRY
Hungary
DATE OF
INFORMATION
1950
SUBJECT
HOW
Political - Police, AVO
DATE DIST. ~_)
Apr 1950
PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHED
Biweekly newspaper
St. Cloud, France
NO. OF PAGES
4
DATE
PUBLISHED 31 Jan, 14 Feb 1950
LANGUAGE Hungarian
SUPPLEMENT T
REPORT NO.
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THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
[The author does not reconcile his use of "NKVD11 and "MVD."7
The Hungarian State Security Departmeat(AVO) occupies the gray block of build-
ings bounded by Andrassy Road,Vorosmarty, Aradi, and Csengery streets in Budapest.
The premises are surrounded by a cheval-de-frise and patrolled by police armed with
machine guns.
Local inhabitants try to avoid this part of the city and if they must pass
this way, they always use the far sides of the street.
Cross Party rule. Gabor Peter (aliL1s Beno Auspitz) himself was not a Muscovite.
The Gabor Peter group occupied 60 Andrassy Street with the permission of the
The history of the AVO begins with the establishment of the Hungarian State
Political Police in November 1944 at Debrecen, then the headquarters of the pro-
visional government. It was headed by Andras Tompe, a Spanish Civil War legion-
naire. Two months later, on 11 January 1945, Gabor Peter also established a po-
litical police unit out of the Communist ;!esistance movement group which had op-
erated under the code name Maroth, Szir, and Feher. The group, with approximately
30 members, was headed by Miklos Padanyi, Dr Gyula Decsi, and former police cap-
tain Andras Gyenes-Dienes, in whose home Gabor Peter was hidden during the Arrow
Soviet military commander Chernishev. When the provisional government moved to
Budapest, Andras Tompe clashed with Gabor Peter. The latter had assumed the rank
of general and pulled his rank on Tompe who had only taken the rank of colonel.
There was a good deal of disagreement between the t? men and for several weeks
the two groups operated independently, with the Tompe group taking over the for-
mer Vigyazo Ferenc Street police headquarters. Laszlo Solyom, who was named Bu-
dapest commissioner of police at this time, championed the cause of his friend
Gabor Peter. The dispute was finally settled in favor of Gabor Peter by Brno
Gero, the highest ranking Hungarian appointee of the Russian NKVD. Tompe lost
out because he had been a Spanish legionnaire. The two political police organ -
zations were merged. Tompe was put at the head of the provincial police and as a
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consolation raised to the rank of general. Nevertheless, the competition between
the two groups continued, wits Gabor Peter always having the upper hand, until
,TM Tompe was finally taken on', of circulation along with Rajk, another "Spaniard."
In 1945, while :,ne country as a whole was in financial ruin, the AVO had ample
funds with whirl- to expand. They bought 62 Andrassy Road, 39 and 41 Csengery Street,
then 64, 66, 68;-70, and 103 Andraasy Road and 37 Csengery Street, and finally the
whole block. They also purchased new automobiles and other equipment. The secret
source of funds for this expansion was traced to 14 trunks of looted gold treasure
buried by fleeing Arrow Cross Party members in a cellar on Szent Jstvan Boulevard.
The location of this treasure was communicated to the political police as a part of
a deal for leniency toward a former Arrow Cross Party leader who had been condemned
to death by the People's Court.
Until the end of 1945, the political police operated as a defensive organiza-
tion under, the direction of former police captain Andras Gyenes-Dienes who was given
'the rank of major.
Early in 1946, NKVD General Baklanovtalled Gdbor Peter to 33 Vilma Kiralyno
Road fSoviet MVD headquarters in Hungary] and .old him the political police must be
reorganized along the Soviet NKVD pattern. To carry out this program, Janos Kovacs,
a Soviet citizen and high-ranking NKVD officer was imported from Moscow to work as
a deputy to Gabor Peter. Kovacs was given only the rank cf'lieutenant colonel but
became in fact the secret guiding hand of the political police. Kovacs trusted no
one, including Gabor Peter. First. It Laszlo Ceiling was appointed liaison officer
between 60 Andrassy Road and 33 Vilma Kiralyno Road; Important positions in organizing
the Hungarian MVD also went to Soviet MvL maj Antal Weller anu MVD Lt Col Jozsef Fick-
ert.
Janos Kovacs transformed the organization into'an offensive weapon which was to
use every available means to bring the Communist Party into power. With this change
there was also a change in name from political police to State Security Department.
Following the Moscow pattern, the AVO is organized into the following 17 separate
subdivisions:
1 The domestic political unit headed by Col Sandor Horvat (former lieutenant
colonel) infiltrates party and political organ, .ations and conducts surveillance
over the activities of political figures.
2. The foreign political unit headed by Colonel Iatvan De'sany (former major)
infiltrates the Hungarian embassies, consulates, and missions abroad and conducts
surveillance over foreign embassies, consulates, and missions in Hungary.
3. The church unit headed, by Maj Janos Tibanyi (promoted from first lieuten-
ant after the arrest of Cardinal Mindszenty) works its way into the churches end
spies on church personalities, with special attention being paid to the Roman Cath-
olic church.
4. The youth unit headed by Maj Gyorgy Szollosi infiltrates youth organiza-
tions and movements.
5? The social unit headed by Maj Endre Woititz (formerly captain) infiltrates
the aristocracy, former bourgeoisie, and politicians and watches over their ac-
tivities.
6. The ministries unit headed by Col Dr Bela Janikowszky (formerly lieuten-
ant colonel) infiltrates the ministries and their agencies and observes the ac-
tivities of the officers.
7. The observation unit headed by Lt Col Gyula Princz, former Arrow Cross
Party functionary, watches over the public in general; on the et, e+._~. in Teota
rants, hotels, motion-picture houses, etc.
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8. The policy staff headed by Col Dr Gyula Decsi (promoted from major because
of the successful campaign against Cardinal Mindszenty) holds hearings and gets
confessions from people brought before them.
9. The social organizations unit headed by Col Endre Szaberszky (formerly
lieutenant colonel) infiltrates social organizations, directs the secret records
office, and keeps the infamous AVO black list.
10. The records office headed by Cap, Rudolf Pohl (formerly first lieutenant)
prepares and keeps records.
11. The AVO people's prosecutor's office headed by Maj Peter Pal Takacs brings
to trial and examines those accused of unlawful acts.
12. The economic office headed by Maj Mihaly Szabolcsi uses the terror machine
of the State Security Department for economic purposes.
13. The passport unit headed by Maj Antal Weller (also a Soviet MVD major)
controls foreign travel of Hungarians and finds out the real object of their trips
abroad.
14. The organizational unit headed by Lt Col Tamers Matroy (formerly major) re-
cruits personnel for the AVO units in Budapest and for the rest of the country, and
conducts political sl.:rveiliance over AVO personnel.
15. The e:nistere' and president's service unit headed by Lt Col Jozsef Fick-
ert (also a Soviet MVD lieutenant colonel) provides personal bodyguards for these
government officials and also watches over their private lives.
16. The districts unit headed by Ma.j Imre Sander (formerly first lieutenant)
represents the AVO section of the Budapest district police stations and has func-
tions similar to the above-mentioned seventh unit.
17. The economic unit headed by i;::l Andras Vilianyi (up to the time of his ar-
rest) is really the same as the Economic Police which appears to be an independent
unit but is actually a unit of the AVO. This unit cooperates closely with all the
other units in tracking down economic "criminals."
The above 17 units were scattered in all parts of the city under great secrecy
from the end of 1946 to the spring of 1947. Only the organizational unit and these
closely connected to it remained at 60 Andrassy Rroi, and the cthera el'- moved into
private homes or mansions. The move was not even known to Balassa. Commissioner of
Police for the entire country. This was a sign that the AVO had broken away from
and was going ahead of all the other police organizations.
With the reorganization of the AVO completes, Janos Kovacs started on the in-
filtration program in earnest. First, a 6-week evening course based on the works
of Yagoda, the organizer of t'.e Russian GPI; was given at 60 Andrassy Road. The
course was given by MVD Maj A,-tai Weiler and NKVD Lt CD! Jezsef Fickert. At the
end of the course, 14,670 former lower-ranking Arrow Cross Party men were summoned
to appear before the AVO. Almost an equal number were taken from the internment
camps. All of them were then coerced into becoming informers and reporting to Mai
Gyula Princz, in writ_ng, if they should hear of any illegal activ ies.
At this same time, the social unit of the AVO summoned all of Budapest's for-
tunetellers and spiritualists and asked them also to become informers under threat
of having their licenses revoked. Approximately 7,000 fortunetellers and other
charlatans agreed to inform the AVO as to who consulted them, when, and what ques-
tions they asked. The fortunetellers were also instructed to answer their reac-
tionary patrons, the retired army officers, aristocrats, and church officeholders
in such a way that they would not expect any help from the West.
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A Gestapo list of infiltrators which Lieutenant Colonel Szaberszky had in his
possession gave the names of several leading actors and actresses. it was no
trouble to convert these into AVO informers and to get others with whom to build up
the spy organization In the motion-picture industry.
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