Camp II (Phu Hai Camp)

Tuesday - 10/05/2022 02:09
This camp is commonly known as Camp II, it was called Bagne I during the French colonial period (1862-1954), then Phu Hai Camp in the period of the former South government after the Paris Agreement in 1973. Prison camp II was built in 1916 (in 1917 as written in some documents), adjacent to the northern wall of Bagne I, completed in 1928. It was named Bagne II and had an overalln area of 15,212m2. Bagne II has 13 prison cells with a somewhat more sophisticated structure than Bagne I. The discipline area consists of 14 cells, isolated rooms, a rice mill cellar, a resistance room... The area was built to the left of the entrance gate, with thick walls separating it from prison cells. The relic is located in Con Dao town, 50 meters from the coast.
According to the regulations, political prisoners were not required to do forced labor. Thanks to that, the Communists detained here soon methodically organized theoretical and cultural studies for participants with different levels, from "pre-elementary Communism" to elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels of Marxist - Leninist theory. Many leaders of our Party and State had mastered the theory in classes at Bagne II such as Nguyen Van Cu, Le Duan, Pham Van Dong, Hoang Quoc Viet, Le Thanh Nghi, Ha Huy Giap…
During the resistance war against the French, the left prison system (6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10) was used as an isolated area from March 1951 to detain "dangerous prisoners". This area became the governing body of the confederation of prisoners and the island committee from 1951 to 1952. During the former government of South Vietnam period, Bagne II was known as Jail II, Camp II. The former South government called Camp II “National Camp,” but in fact, not all of the secessionists were traitors, surrenderers, or followers of the enemy. Apart from the number of "national" political prisoners and a few Communist political prisoners who betrayed and served as henchmen for the enemy, the rest and the vast majority of political prisoners in Camp II were forced to secede because of their limited endurance, different spirits and viewpoints about the struggle. Political prisoners of Camp II had organized many struggles from low to high levels, from signing reactionary petitions to acting against saluting the flag and against the entire prison rules.
phu hai 1
 
phu hai

In April 1960, Camp II was named Nhan Vi Camp and belonged to Correctional Center I, where political prisoners were confined. In November 1963, the Ngo Dinh Diem government collapsed, and the name Nhan Vi was replaced with Camp II (as before), then continued to change to Camp III (1964) and Phu Son Camp (1974).
Bagne II is considered a relic with a long history (ranked after the history of Bagne I which is the longest one), a place with political prisoners’ marks since the birth of the Communist Party of Vietnam. With the advantage of being adjacent to the political prison, Bagne II and Bagne I had a close relationship and coordination in daily activities and struggles. Every ancient tree in the courtyard or a discreet corner in the prison could be a place to hide medicine, food, and necessary

Source: Department of Culture and Sport of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Provice. Photo: Internet

Total notes of this article: 0 in 0 rating

  Reader Comments

You did not use the site, Click here to remain logged. Timeout: 60 second