French colonial masters used Hoa Lo Prison to imprison the political opponents belonging to Indochina. Later on, North Vietnamese also used this prison for US prisoners during the Vietnam war. American’s used to call it as Hanoi Hilton in the later period. This facility was destroyed in the 1990s but its main gatehouse remained intact and now serving the role of a museum. Name Hoa Lo normally translated from Vietnamese into English as the fiery furnace. The genesis of this name is in street name Pho Hoa Lo. In this street, stoves were being sold in abundance in pre-colonial times.
The Hoa Lo Prison was built by the French in Hanoi, Vietnam during the period from 1886 to 1889 when Vietnam was considered part of French Indochina. French used to call it as Central House. It was particularly used for those political workers who were involved in inciting the people for independence. Previously, it was quite small, but in 1913, expansion increased its capacity from 460 to 600. Still it remained overcrowded and the number of prisoners remained more than 700. By 1954, more than 2000 prisoners were kept inside it in filthy and miserable conditions. After the defeat at Battle of Dien Bien Phu and Geneva Accord of 1954, the prison came directly under the government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam. From here on, the prison served as an education center and it was preserved as a historical place.
A complete visit of Hoa Lo Prison will tell you stories of disgust, sorrow, and hatred depending upon the political views you hold. The prison displays a true picture that how Vietnamese suffered at the hands of foreigners who occupied their land illegally. Stories of execution of locals will haunt you. Facilities at that time in the prison were not of today’s kind. Vietnamese were kept in worst possible conditions as the French colonials intended to give exemplary punishment to all those demanding independence from them. Thus it had become symbol of French’s oppression.
During Vietnam war, the American prisoners which were kept here mostly belong to air force. Many came to Hanoi injured and their conditions worsened as they were kept in it. You can read a lot of literature about the prison on internet. In some accounts, you would find that the Vietnamese government deny that stories associated with torturing of POW during Vietnamese war are fabricated.
To pay a visit to this place, presently you can enter via the fate on Hoa Lo street termed as Monster’s Mouth. The easiest path to reach to the prison is by taxi. Hoa Lo Prison remained open from 8 to 5 AM except for a lunch break.
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