Hoa Lò Prison
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Sue Wolfe
About this spot
Hoa Lò Prison was built by the French colonists in Indochino for political prisoners. Later it became a prison for U.S. POWs during the Vietnam War and was nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton.”
Hoa Lò (fiery furnace) takes its name from the stores selling wood and coal-fire stoves concentrated on the street. The French referred to the prison as Maison Centrale which is the designation of prisons in France for dangerous or long sentence detainees. The prison was originally intended to hold 460 inmates. It was often overcrowded—eventually the prison held 2,000 people in inhumane conditions. It became a symbol of colonialist exploitation and fueled the bitterness of the Vietnamese towards the French.
After the Geneva Accords in 1954, the prison came under the authority of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. It was kept as an education center for revolutionary doctrine and activity.
In 1964, a new area of the prison was opened for incoming American POWs—mostly downed U.S. pilots. It was one of several locations used to house, torture, and interrogate captured servicemen. After the Paris Peace Accords, neither the U.S. nor its allies formally charged North Vietnam with war crimes.
In the 1990s most of the prison was demolished to make way for Hanoi Towers—a modern office and hotel complex. The remaining gatehouse houses a museum.
The museum focuses on the prison as it was during the French colonial period with quarters for male and female Vietnamese political prisoners. There is a small room dedicated to the U.S. POW timeframe. The story is told from Vietnam’s point of view.
Hoa Lò (fiery furnace) takes its name from the stores selling wood and coal-fire stoves concentrated on the street. The French referred to the prison as Maison Centrale which is the designation of prisons in France for dangerous or long sentence detainees. The prison was originally intended to hold 460 inmates. It was often overcrowded—eventually the prison held 2,000 people in inhumane conditions. It became a symbol of colonialist exploitation and fueled the bitterness of the Vietnamese towards the French.
After the Geneva Accords in 1954, the prison came under the authority of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. It was kept as an education center for revolutionary doctrine and activity.
In 1964, a new area of the prison was opened for incoming American POWs—mostly downed U.S. pilots. It was one of several locations used to house, torture, and interrogate captured servicemen. After the Paris Peace Accords, neither the U.S. nor its allies formally charged North Vietnam with war crimes.
In the 1990s most of the prison was demolished to make way for Hanoi Towers—a modern office and hotel complex. The remaining gatehouse houses a museum.
The museum focuses on the prison as it was during the French colonial period with quarters for male and female Vietnamese political prisoners. There is a small room dedicated to the U.S. POW timeframe. The story is told from Vietnam’s point of view.
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