Especially in the 50s and 60s, any Bulgarian who heard the name Belene would have a chill running down their spine. The town, which is located close to the Romanian border, is both famous and infamous.
Famous for the fantastic natural area surrounding the town of approximately 7,000 inhabitants. A picturesque area on the Danube River with a lot of small islands, marshlands with a rich wildlife, where certain species are only found here and nowhere else in the world.
But Belene also hides an open secret, namely the former communist labor camp on the island of Persin and the active maximum security prison named after the town, Belene Prison.
And as a parenthesis for this travelogue, there is also a nuclear power plant near the town that has never been completed. Belene collects controversial stories.
A little info from our AI friend::
The prison on the island of Persin near Belene (Белене) in Bulgaria is often called Belene Prison . Its official name is Belene Labor Camp (Трудов лагер Белене). It was used as a political labor camp during the communist regime in Bulgaria, especially from 1949 to 1989.
The prison is notorious for being one of the most brutal labor camps in Eastern Europe, where political prisoners, intellectuals, and others considered "enemies of the state" were sent to hard physical labor in harsh conditions. It holds a dark place in Bulgarian history and today stands as a symbol of communist-era oppression.
Unfortunately, these camps were something that followed the entry of communism into Europe after World War II, and the regime in Bulgaria did not ignore this trend either. In fact, just three months after communism was introduced, the first concentration camp was ready. At first glance, it was not something that I had directly associated with Bulgaria, despite the fact that I knew it had been communist, so I was curious about this.
I had decided to visit the camp in Belene, as my friend Mirela, who studies history at the University of Veliko Tarnovo, has written a thesis on Bulgarian concentration and labor camps. I was also really happy that she had time to come with me on this trip.
On the way to Belene, the sun shone from a cloudless sky and with about 10-12 degrees in January, there was nothing to complain about. Unfortunately, about 30 kilometers from our destination, a thick layer of fog had settled over the area and this continued until we reached our destination in Belene, where we were to meet our guide, Ventsislav (Венцислав), at the local church. The weather had changed and now with zero degrees and fog, the city seemed so gloomy and deserted. It also seemed as if the birds had stopped singing and there were no people on the streets. It set the mood for the trip to the labor camp.
Our guide appeared and shortly after saying hello, he asked for our ID and passport. The area is strictly guarded by police because of the maximum security prison on the island of Persin. And the way to get to the island was a bit special, as we had to walk on a military-built floating bridge. The guide would follow in his car when we got to the opposite bank. We were strictly ordered NOT to take pictures on the bridge itself and in the area around the prison. So I only have this depiction of our crossing the bridge reproduced from memory and a little AI.
It was very strange to walk in the middle of the river completely surrounded by fog without being able to see either bank. It's like being in a scene from an American horror movie. But in the cool way where you don't get killed in the end (if you stay good friends with the guards, that is).
We got across that part of the Danube River unscathed and continued in our guide's jeep together. I asked about it, but we weren't even allowed to think about driving past the prison, which houses some of the most notorious criminal elements in Bulgaria - and that's saying a lot.
But instead we continued across to the other side of the island in beautiful scenic, but also a bit gloomy surroundings, considering the fog and the cold weather. There is no doubt that when spring comes, this area will be transformed into a blooming paradise for birds and wildlife.
The road we drove on was built by the prisoners in the labor camp, all with hands and backs, wheelbarrows and shovels - all 50 km of road on the island. Since the road is built a few meters up on swampy areas, it had the side effect of draining the soil which could then be used as farmland and also to hold cows and pigs.
We arrived just outside the camp, where the old wooden gate was still there with the caption "Да, човек звучи гордо" - "Yes, man sounds proud".
Our AI friend has this comment:
The phrase comes from Maxim Gorky's play На дне (At the Bottom) from 1902, where one of the characters, Luka, says:
"Человек – это звучит гордо!" (Man sounds proud!).
Gorky's phrase was originally intended as an idealistic and humanistic statement about the dignity and potential of man. However, in the Soviet Union it was transformed into a slogan of socialist realism, expressing a glorification of the working class and the role of man in socialist society.
Irony in the context of the Persin camp:
The labor camp on the island of Persin near Belene was one of the most notorious communist prison camps in Bulgaria, where political dissidents, intellectuals and other "undesirables" were interned in extremely harsh conditions. Having this quote at the entrance to the camp therefore seems extremely ironic, since the inmates were denied the very human dignity and pride that the quote claims.
Like the "Arbeit macht frei" sign at Nazi concentration camps, this quote at the Persin camp can be interpreted as a cynical or sarcastic reminder of the ideological contrast between propaganda and reality.
The illustration of the camp is made by a former inmate. On the drawing you only see 8 brown wooden barracks, but the camp was much bigger. There were 24 barracks and 15.000 to 30.000 people are estimated to have be imprissoned there when it was active. Belene was not designed as a mass execution site but as a place of prolonged punishment, where prisoners often succumbed to starvation, disease, beatings, and exposure. Some sources estimated the numbers of death to be around 300 to 500 people.
The interesting thing is that just before the fall of communism, the communst regime quickly demolished the wooden barracks. They let the Danube River flood the buildings to hide all traces of what had happened here. As if the regime and the people involved knew very well that what they were doing was wrong. That should and must make people think.
Here you can see the main building and the other buildings that remain, as well as a watchtower.
Information signs about the labor camp. Below you can also see the bridge in daylight.
The sign reads:
On this site was the infamous second section of the Belene concentration camp, which became a symbol of the communist dictatorship in Bulgaria.
Here, on June 1, 1990, for the first time, surviving prisoners, their relatives, friends and supporters of democracy from all over Bulgaria gathered to honor the thousands of victims of totalitarianism.
The truth about the Belene camp will remain in the memory of Bulgarians, stronger than granite, as a support against tyranny.
Let us remember that suffering was the high price of freedom.
June 2005 from BZNS-NS – Pleven region
Pictures from the main building. Since the wooden barracks were destroyed, we only had the opportunity to see the stone buildings which also housed a lot of prisoners.
Interesting fact: The main buildings had many similarities to a school with classrooms and hallways on several floors. And in fact, our guide told us that the architect, as a profession, originally designed schools. Hopefully, the design of concentration camps is a closed chapter.
There were some illustrations made of life in the camp and some drawings of the prisoners themselves. The portraits also had the purpose of later being able to identify the people who had no contact with family or friends outside.
Prisoners who died in the camp were buried on the small islands nearby, and these drawings could be the only thing left of their existence. Our guide told us an incredible story of a visit to the camp not many years ago. People on the tour actually reconized one of the inmates from the drawing as a member of their family.
The camp at Belene is the last and most recent labor camp where buildings still remain. All others have been demolished, so there are efforts underway to establish a Memorial Park. The project envisions transforming the remnants of the camp into a comprehensive memorial complex, including a museum. This initiative is spearheaded by the Belene Island Foundation, which is actively seeking support to realize this vision.
There is really much to tell and a lot of horrific stories from the communist era and when the camp was in operation. It is difficult to understand all the suffering that has taken place on this beautiful and picturesque island.
The trip ended where it started. We drove back through the beautiful swamp landscape to the pontoon bridge, well entertained by our guide and the many stories he could tell about Belene and the area: the active prison, the unfinished nuclear plant, the abandoned part of the city where workers for the nuclear power plant were supposed to have lived. There are lots more to experience here.
It was a special and really enlightning trip, but also gloomy and harsh. If you visiting Bulgaria it is definitely worth experiencing. Especially in spring and summer you can explore the nature around Persin and Belene in full bloom.
We thank our guide Ventsislav many times for his patience and his captivating stories.
More information can be found here:
Histories from Belene: belene.camp
Danube wave (Дунавска вълна) danubewave.bg
America for Bulgaria Foundation: Let the Sunshine In... on Belene
Bonus info:
The camp is located in the swamp area on the island of Persin and on the way home it was possible to go up to this lookout tower. On normal days without fog it is possible to see a lot of different bird species from up here.
Overall, it is a very fantastic area that is definitely worth visiting in the summer.
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