Parts of a wooden plank bed, Butugichag Mine (Kolyma Region), 1940s.
Usually four prisoners - sometimes even more - had to share one wooden plank bed of this type.
Source: "Memorial" Collection, Moscow
Plank bed signs bearing prisoners' names, from a camp along the Salekhard-Igarka transpolar railway, 1940s
In a number of camps, the plates mounted on the plank beds served the purpose of identifying the prisoners. Often just the prisoner's name was entered, but sometimes also the date of birth, criminal code article, length of term and date of release.
Source: "Memorial" Collection, Moscow
Plank bed signs bearing prisoners' names, from a camp along the Salekhard-Igarka transpolar railway, 1940s.
In a number of camps, the plates mounted on the plank beds served the purpose of identifying the prisoners. Often just the prisoner's name was entered, but sometimes also the date of birth, criminal code article, length of term and date of release.
Source: "Memorial" Collection, Moscow
Plank bed signs bearing prisoners' names, from a camp along the Salekhard-Igarka transpolar railway, 1940s.
In a number of camps, the plates mounted on the plank beds served the purpose of identifying the prisoners. Often just the prisoner's name was entered, but sometimes also the date of birth, criminal code article, length of term and date of release.
Source: "Memorial" Collection, Moscow
Life in the camp was dominated by countless directives and prohibitions. The conditions were oppressive and life-threatening.
On their arrival, the inmates frequently found themselves in provisional camps or had to build them themselves. Isolated from society and subjected to inhumane conditions, they now lived a life consisting of heavy labour and a constant struggle for survival. The new arrivals had to find their places within the inmate hierarchy, which was usually ruled by criminal prisoners. A rigid schedule governed the daily routine. Early wake-up call, agonizing roll calls every morning and evening, often at inconceivably low temperatures, and strength-sapping marches to the place of work. Gruelling working hours were the rule, alleviated by only a few short breaks. A day of rest was a rarity.
The majority of the photos come from albums kept by the camp administrations. The latter had photos of this kind taken to provide higher-ranking offices with evidence of how smoothly their detention facilities operated.
Report by Janusz Bardach, 1998 (0:40 min.) in German
J. Bardach (1919-2002), Sentenced to death in 1941 for alleged espionage, later commutation of punishment to ten years of camp imprisonment in the Kolyma Region; early release in 1945
Source: Janusz Bardach and Kathleen Gleeson: Man Is Wolf to Man: Surviving the Gulag, Berkeley, 1999
