Acts of violence committed at the Plzeň-Bory prison between 1948 and 1952  Cover Image

Násilí páchané na politických vězních na Borech v letech 1948–1952
Acts of violence committed at the Plzeň-Bory prison between 1948 and 1952

Author(s): Tomáš Bursík
Subject(s): History
Published by: Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů

Summary/Abstract: The name of the Bory prison near Plzeň is a synonym for Czechoslovak penitentiaries. Built in the second half of the 19th century, this prison saw its darkest period in the middle of the 20th century when political prisoners of the communist regime served their sentences. Not only were the accusations imposed upon them false, their trials fabricated, and confessions, if any, forced by violence – the terror continued throughout the actual imprisonment. Tomáš Bursík reveals particular cases of torturing prisoners, names specific wardens responsible for it, and describes their atrocities as well as the subsequent investigation in the 1960’s. While the investigation shed some light on the crimes committed behind the walls of the Bory penitentiary, it did not lead to the punishment of the culprits in the end.

  • Issue Year: II/2008
  • Issue No: 04
  • Page Range: 113-123
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: Czech