Submitted by Devan Just on the 2020 winter session study abroad program in Budapest, Hungary sponsored by the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration…
I’ve been looking forward to this excursion for quite some time, so when the day finally came that we were visiting the House of Terror, I was beyond excited. The building itself is extremely unique, and there is just a feeling of sadness when looking at it. Walking in, I was a little confused, as I guess I was expecting something else. The 1st floor was pretty interesting, especially the setup with the tank. When walking through the rooms, some were definitely more hard hitting than others. Some rooms made my heart sink, as they brought up some pretty painful historical context, whereas others, I felt like the audio guide didn’t explain enough and left me somewhat confused. In class that day, we had discussed how we should pay attention to the way history is presented to us, as it has almost been rewritten by the current political party. I definitely feel like I saw that at the House of Terror. I felt that the significance of some of the events was somehow downplayed. I was honestly disappointed that some of the events weren’t explained as much, and that the violence of this particular era was partially skipped over. The only time that I truly felt that the House of Terror impacted me was when we went down to the basement. That was really what made the visit stand out to me, and I definitely would’ve felt disappointed in the museum if it wasn’t for the basement. Even after feeling as if the House of Terror did not live up to what I expected, I do recommend it. I do think that it holds a lot of historical context and does a decent job at explaining parts of its history. I wish the museum spent more time on the victims, as I feel like the House of Terror does not do them justice. I also have questions about the room with the bricks. I still have no idea the significance of it, and the audio guide did not explain it at all.