Belene (labor camp)

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Belene

The Belene camp was established on the island of the same name as the first labor camp in Bulgaria after the Bulgarian Communist Party and the "Fatherland Front" seized power in 1944. From 1949 to 1989, during the rule of the Communists, many opponents of the regime and so-called "counter-revolutionaries" were deported to the island and murdered there. The induction into the camp was mostly politically motivated. Reasons for this could be: the destruction of Stalin monuments , aid for enemy (German) soldiers, membership of the Roman Catholic Church in Bulgaria or the farmers' association, training completed in non-communist countries, espionage for "Anglo-American capitalism " or Criticism of the Soviet military presence in Bulgaria etc.

The camp was operated by the Bulgarian State Security . The prisoners worked in agriculture: 600,000 m² of vegetable growing, cattle breeding, intensive hemp cultivation with a small factory for hemp ropes. The camp was officially called the “Labor and Re-education Camp”. In today's Bulgarian historiography, however, it is often referred to as a “ concentration camp ”. Thousands of prisoners perished in the camp from starvation and exhaustion from work. One prisoner reported: “We worked 70-80 hours in a row to unload a ship with 100 tons of stones. The order was that there would be no food again until the ship was unloaded ”.

The labor and re-education camp was officially closed in 1962. The islands were also used as a prison camp afterwards. For example, between 1985 and 1989 were Bulgarian Turks, the Bulgarisierung opposed interned on the island.

The former prisoners of the Belene labor and re-education camp meet annually in spring for a memorial day on the island. Even after the fall of communism in Bulgaria it is difficult to come to terms with it, because the archives of the former state security are still closed, although their opening was a point in the association agreement with the EU. The opening of the archives is opposed primarily by circles in the successor party of the communists, the Bulgarian Socialist Party . To date, none of those affected has received any compensation.

To this day there is a prison in the west of the island, which previously operated parallel to the labor camp. The connection to the mainland consists of a small pontoon bridge that is accessible for cars. To enter the bridge, you have to pass the prison administration of today's prison on the island, which is located on the city shore of Belene. Tourists are not allowed to enter the main island of Belene.

The camp and some of the survivors are the subject of the ZDF documentary “Forward but never forget! Ballad about Bulgarian Heroes ”, which was filmed in 2007 by the Mainz town clerk of Bulgarian origin, Ilija Trojanow .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Metjo Georgiew Metew (Метю Георгиев Метев): Унищожаването на българския гражданин метю Георгиев Метев от Габровров от Габровров от Габровров Габров от Габров. In: Блогът на Лалю Метев (blog about Lalju Metev). October 23, 2011, accessed November 5, 2019 (Bulgarian).
  2. ↑ a b c Forward and never forget! Ballad about Bulgarian heroes. In: ZDF.de. December 16, 2007, archived from the original on December 14, 2007 ; accessed on November 5, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b Dimitar Sirakov (Димитър Сираков): Българският ГУЛАГ. Свидетели: На Белене има хиляди човешки кости - Костадин Цветанов. In: Portal decommunization. Archived from the original on July 29, 2009 ; Retrieved November 5, 2019 (Bulgarian, words of a survivor - Dimitar Sirjakow).
  4. ↑ Forward but never forget. Ballad about Bulgarian heroes. (No longer available online.) In: TV Movie. Archived from the original on October 14, 2008 ; accessed on November 5, 2019 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Electronic diary of the Mainz town clerk (2007): Forward and never to be forgotten - Ballad about Bulgarian heroes (original title) in the Internet Movie Database (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tvmovie.de

Coordinates: 43 ° 39 ′ 28.2 "  N , 25 ° 8 ′ 17.5"  E