Hoa Lo Prison was originally built to serve as a prison under French rule. The French locked up political prisoners and called it the ‘Maison Centrale’ building. The building opened the doors in 1896 and there was room for about 450 prisoners, but the reality showed that the number of prisoners was often more than four-fold. The detainees therefore lived in terrible circumstances. The way the prisoners were treated was also below all levels.
Later, during the Vietnam War, American prisoners of war stayed here. The soldiers called the prison ‘Hanoi Hilton‘. The most famous prisoner is Republican Senator and former president candidate John McCain
Most of the prison had to take place for the Hanoi Towers, a skyscraper, but the area for the complex has been well preserved. Today, the former prison serves as a museum in which you will learn more about the prison and the Vietnamese independence struggle.
If you walk through the Hỏa Lò prison, it feels that the French past felt more horrible than the American. A large part of the prison is dedicated to the inhuman conditions under which the Vietnamese Communists were detained during French rule. There is a space that shows how prisoners were chained to each other, prints of prison life and even a real guillotine with photos of beheaded Vietnamese!
A smaller part of the prison is dedicated to the period that the American pilots were in prison. One of the most interesting pieces to be exhibited is the pilot suit that John McCain wore when his A4E Skyhawk was shot during the attack at the Yen Phu power plant.