Budapest Retro Interactive Museum

If you want to relive “bad movies” of a Communist-occupied country, visit the Retro Experience Center in Budapest, where Hungary’s past is on full display. This museum has everything from vintage cars to electronics and household items on display, offering a glimpse into life during Hungary’s retro era. It was such an interesting museum that took you though the artifacts of that time and gave you a feel of what it was like (or maybe still is) to live in a Communist Country!

In the first exhibit you see the “indoctrination” immediately with the 6’ boy holding a flag, “The statue of Pioneer Dezso Gyri”, from the Csillebrc Pioneer, which was one of the pioneer camps of the Communist Party. These were children’s organizations where “scouts” were trained in the Pioneer Movement where there learned what they needed to support the Party. Ironically, this statue came from the site of the camp and children’s railway where they were trained to run a railroad. We went to that camp and took a fun ride on the Children’s Railway the next day. The next displays showed many items from The Hungarian schools where the fundamental belief is to educate young people in whom the ideas of Marxism-Leninism become firmly rooted in knowledge and at the same time a motivating force for any action that is not “moral and political”. They were trained to recognize, expose and fight behavior that is against the ideas that oppose Marxism-Leninism. The school supplies we saw were all “prescribed” and the only items available for youngsters (not much selection since all the school bags, pencil cases etc. looked the same). They wore little drummer or pioneer uniforms. The playgrounds of slides and swings were very basic concrete, iron, chains and were dangerous. Athletics were important- SEE VIDEO.

The "Brezhnev triple" was one of the strangest phenomena of the Kádár era (Hungarian Communist leader from 1956-1988) was the kissing battle known as the "Brezhnev triple" consisting of two kisses on the cheek and a kiss on the mouth to top it off. Kissing friendly male politicians was not actually introduced by Leonid Brezhnev, but by his predecessor, Soviet General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, in an era when even man-woman kisses were rare in diplomacy. Yet the kiss is associated with Brezhnev because of one of the world's most famous press photos, in which the politician, known for his bushy eye-brows, is seen taking a turn with GDR (German Democratic Republic) party leader Erich Honecker. The three kisses are an old Russian Orthodox custom for peace. Khrushchev adored the Hungarian party leader. The 1956 Hungarian-Soviet Friendship Memorial (the original was 15’ high). The inscription “Thanks to the Soviet Union, which liberated our country and helped build Socialism" shaking hands.

There were any interesting displays of the life during Hungarian Communist times and timelines of all the events over those years. Some key dates we noted were: 9/19/60- Kadar and Khruschev arrive at the UN with US protests everywhere. Cuba and Hungary align.

3/15/89- the anniversary of the revolution and a crowd of hundred thousand people protest in Budapest. According to the Party, 120,000 people left the party in the last 1.5 years and only 20,000 new members entered.
4/4/89- The day of Hungary's liberation is considered a national holiday for the last time. On the day of the holiday more than 150,00 Hungarian tourists traveled to Austria for a shopping spree.
5/2/89- The demolition of the "iron curtain", the barbed wire fence on the Hungarian-Austrian (10/7 Party disbands and by 11/21 their foreign debt was over $20 billion).
There were many displays on the outdated technology used in the post-soviet times, including video games. Soviet cars and Space travel were interestingly an important focus during occupied times. Many exhibits talked about how their “advances” in these areas were to build a “super-power” in the World. There were many photos of typical life, somber panel houses on grim winter nighta. It's snowing, the streets are abandoned and no challenge or adventure awaits...Read more