Maison Centrale, Hanoi

Maison Centrale (Hỏa Lò) was a prison in Hanoi originally used by the French colonists in Indochina for political prisoners, and later by the North Vietnam government for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. During this later period, it was known to American POWs as the "Hanoi Hilton". Following Operation Homecoming, the prison was used to incarcerate Vietnamese dissidents and other political prisoners. In 1993 most of the prison was demolished and only part of the prison was converted to a museum largely focusing on how the Vietnamese suffered at the hands of the French.

The main entrance to the prison.

The prison was built by the French from 1898 to 1901, when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina, and it is located near Hanoi's French Quarter. It was intended to hold Vietnamese prisoners, particularly political prisoners agitating for independence who were often subject to torture and execution.

Entering the ground of the prison.

In order to make it very difficult for the prisoners to escaped, the top of the wall is filled with broken glass so that it makes it harder to get to the other side of the wall without cutting themselves.

Panoramic view of the prison when the French was under control.

A 1913 renovation expanded its capacity from 460 inmates to 600. It was nevertheless often overcrowded, holding some 730 prisoners on a given day in 1916, a figure which rose to 895 in 1922 and 1,430 in 1933. By 1954 it held more than 2000 people; with its inmates held in subhuman conditions, it had become a symbol of colonialist exploitation and of the bitterness of the Vietnamese towards the French.

An enforced old gate that used to be the entrance to the prison.

Picture of prisoners who took part of the "Hanoi Poisoning" case on June 27, 1908 were detained in Hoa Lo prison by the French.

A typical prison uniform on the left and on the right are pictures of women who took part in Ba Dinh upraising and arrested by the French.

This where prisoners do their business, in a small whole.

The museum showing a typical scene where the prisoners are kept.

Their feet are shackled and they are all sitting next to each other in a row.

Prisoners often starved, tortured, are always beaten and isolated.

The Cachot, considered the most severe confinement area, housed prisoners deemed dangerous or insubordinate. This section was characterized by extreme darkness, confined spaces, and poor ventilation. Prisoners subjected to Cachot confinement often experienced severe physical and psychological deterioration.

Hoa Lo Prison, one of the most brutal prisons with extremely cruel punishment, is a historical place that has witnessed the strong determination of Vietnamese revolutionaries and their sacrifice for the country.

Sculpture depicting underground sewer in death cells yard.

On the night of December 14th 1951, 16 Hoa Lo death sentence political prisoners escaped through his underground sewer, Five of them succeeded and rejoined the resistance base to continue the struggle.

Quarters for male political prisoners

Detention area for female prisoners.

The guillotine room stands as the prison’s most infamous artifact. Standing 2-4 meters tall, it consisted of wooden supports holding a large blade mechanism. Below, semi-circular boards formed a complete circle to contain executed prisoners’ remains.

The list of patriotic soldiers who participated in Hanoi "Poisoning" case. They were sentenced to death by the French in Tonkin court in 1908.

The Poisoning at Hanoi Citadel was a poisoning plot which occurred in 1908 when a group of Vietnamese indigenous tirailleurs (infantry) attempted to poison the entire French colonial army's garrison in the Citadel of Hanoi. The aim of the plot was to neutralize the French garrison and make way for Hoang Hoa Tham's rebel army to capture Hanoi. The plot was disclosed, and then was suppressed by the French.

Portraits of some political female prisoners who were confined by the French from 1930- 1940

Iron shackle

Vietnamese soldiers taking over Hoa Lo Prison from the French in 1954. Following the defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and the 1954 Geneva Accords the French left Hanoi and the prison came under the authority of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Thereafter the prison served as an education center for revolutionary doctrine and activity, and it was kept around after the French left to mark its historical significance to the North Vietnamese

The second part of the museum is dedicated to the Vietnam war and the repatriation of American prisoners in 1973.

Since the beginning of the Vietnam War, this prison was mainly used for American prisoners of war from 1946 to 1973. Finally, after the U.S. and North Vietnam agreed to a ceasefire in early 1973, the 591 American POWs still in captivity were released.

The iconic, Pulitzer Prize winging photograph of "Bust of Joy".

The photograph came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War and the prevailing sentiment that military personnel and their families could begin a process of healing after enduring the horrors of war.

Memorial wall in the courtyard.

Over nearly a decade, as the U.S. fought the North Vietnamese on land, air, and sea, more than 700 American prisoners of war were held captive by enemy forces. For those locked inside the Hao Lo prison, this meant years of daily torture and abuse.

Nixon ordered that start of Operation Linebacker II on the night of December 1972 targeting objectives in Hanoi and Haiphon. Since February 1972, a large number of B52 aircrafts were dispatched to two aircrafts, Andersen and U-Tapao, By early December 1972, 209 B2 aircrafts were stationed at these two airbases, accounting for more than half of US military's B52 fleet.

Many of the US pilots were arrested held captive here. On the left is Navy Lieutenant Commander Robert Deane Woods born in 1936 in Idaho. In July 1966, he served in the Vietnam war. On October 12. 1966, his aircraft was shot down in southern Than Hoa. After two days of hiding in the forest, he was captured by local militia and soldiers, the taken to Hoa Lo Prison. On March 4, 1973, Lieutenant Commander Robert Deane Woods was repatriated at Gia LAm Airport, Hanoi.

Air force Lieutenant Colonel Hervey Stuffiford Stockman, born in 1922 in New Jersey. On June 11, 1967, his F4 Phantom II aircraft was shot down in Kep Town (Bac Giang). He was subsequently held captive in various locations: fafilm Camp on Nguyen Trai street, 17 Ly Nam De street, and Hoa Lo Prison.

With his artistic talent, Hervey was provided with paper, drawing pens, paints, etc.. by the prison camp to pursue his passion for painting. Some of the painting in his illustrated diary titled :Odyssey", the unfinished expedition of Wellington Blackflye" were created during his time at Hoa Lo prison in1970. On March 4, 1973, Air force Major Hervey was repatriated at Gia Lam Airport, Hanoi.

Amongs the former prisoners, Pete Peterson became the first US ambassador to Vietnam and another was US Senator and one-time presidential hopeful John McCain. A highlight for many visitors is in one of the last galleries, which displays McCain’s flight suit and parachute, and a picture of locals pulling him out of the water after he crashed his plane in Truc Bach Lake.

Photos also show him years later revisiting the prison, where he reports being so mercilessly tortured.

John Mc Cain at Hoa Lo prison.

At 7:00 Am on February 12th, 1973, American pilots left Hoa Lo Prison for good.

Hundreds of American soldiers were captured and kept prisoner in the Hỏa Lò prison, which the Americans ironically dubbed the “Hanoi Hilton.” Far from a luxury hotel, here the prisoners of war were kept in isolation for years on end, chained to rat-infested floors, and hung from rusty metal hooks. At the end of the war, these soldiers were finally freed from their own personal hell, many of them including the late Arizona Senator John McCain that went on to become a prominent politicians and public figures. But others were not so lucky, as many as 114 American POWs died in captivity during the Vietnam War, many within the unforgiving walls of the Hanoi Hotel.

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