Hoalo ( Vietnamese Hỏa Lò , Fiery Furnace [1] ) is now a museum and tourist site in Hanoi , Vietnam , a small remnant of a former prison built by French colonial authorities in 1896 to contain Vietnamese political prisoners opposing colonialism [1] . The French prison name was “Maison Centrale” .
| Hoalo (Maison Centrale, "Hanoi Hilton") | |
|---|---|
 The French name “Maison Centrale” is preserved above the entrance to the modern museum-prison “Hoalo” | |
| Location | Hanoi , Vietnam |
| Coordinates | |
| Current status | the museum |
| Opening | 1896 |
| Closing | ? |
During the Vietnam War, the prison was used by the North Vietnamese authorities to keep American pilots captive, who gave her the nickname “Hanoi Hilton” ( English Hanoi Hilton ). The most famous former prisoner of the Khoalo prison was the American politician John McCain .
Content
History
French Indochina
The Maison Centrale prison was built by the French colonial authorities in 1896 . It was intended to contain about 450 political prisoners - opponents of the French colonial regime in Indochina [1] .
Rename
In 1954 , after the end of the First Indochina War , the withdrawal of the French from Indochina and the formation of two independent Vietnamese states , the prison came under the control of the North Vietnamese authorities. It was named "Hoalo" by the name of the street on which it was located.
Indochinese Second War
In August 1964, US aviation made the first raid on the Democratic Republic of Vietnam . Two planes were shot down and the lieutenant Everett Alvarec was taken prisoner, who became the first American in Hoaló. After the start of regular bombing in 1965, other pilots began to arrive in prison. Since the United States and North Vietnam were not formally at war, the North Vietnamese authorities preferred to call the captured Americans criminals and initially kept them in prison for criminals instead of a special prisoner of war camp .
Later, Americans began to be distributed in other prisons and camps in different parts of the country, but some were always kept in Hoaló. The most famous prisoners of the prison were Douglas Peterson (who became the first American ambassador to Vietnam in 1997 after the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries), James Stockdale , Robbie Riesner , and John McCain . Due to the difficult conditions of maintenance, American pilots gave Hoalo the ironic nickname “Hanoi Hilton”, by analogy with the well-known hotels of the Hilton Hotels chain . In 1972, the prison was visited by a well-known actress and anti-war activist Jane Fonda , who later declared that the captured Americans were kept in good conditions.
Allegations of torture of US prisoners
The torture of American prisoners of war in North Vietnam occurred during the period of active US involvement in the Vietnam War in 1965-1973.
Prison Museum
In the 1990s, the prison was almost completely demolished. Several commercial buildings were built on its territory, including a 25-storey residential building. In the preserved guard building, located at the gates of the prison, there is a museum of the prison history.
Culture Reflection
- “ Loving and Fighting ” (1987) is an American feature film based on the book of the former prisoner of prison, Hoalo James Stockdale .
- “ Hanoi Hilton ” (1987) is an American feature film, shot according to the memoirs of former prisoners of the Hoalo prison.
Additional facts
- In 1999, a five-star hotel of the Hilton chain was opened in Hanoi, called the Hanoi Hilton Opera.
See also
- Bangkok Hilton Prison
Notes
- 2 1 2 3 Maison Centrale - 1000 Years Thang Long (VietNamPlus) . Archived July 16, 2013.
Links
- Wikimedia Commons Hanoi Hilton Media
- Hanoi Hilton (eng.)