JÁCHYMOV – gateway to the Ore Mountains

The uranium labour camps in the Horní Slavkov region formed the western branch of the camp system connected with uranium mining, which was established after 1948 and centrally directed according to the Jáchymov model. Within just a few years, Horní Slavkov and its surroundings were transformed into an extensive mining district where thousands of prisoners were deployed in deep mines and associated operations. As in the Příbram region, this was a fully integrated part of the system, not an isolated facility.

The uranium camps in the Příbram region were not a marginal appendix to Jáchymov, but a fully-fledged component of the entire system of labour camps associated with uranium mining. Organisationally, they were subject to the same command structure, operated under an identical security regime, and received prisoners from the registration centres in Jáchymov. In the 1950s, Příbram became one of the main pillars of the uranium economy, and thousands of prisoners worked here in deep mines under the supervision of armed state forces.

The system of uranium labour camps was not limited to Jáchymov. From the late 1940s onwards it expanded to the Horní Slavkov region and later to the Příbram area. These regions were organisationally and administratively subordinated to the management of the Jáchymov uranium mines and together formed an interconnected repressive system.

Vykmanov I (C) and Vykmanov II (L) formed essential components of the Jáchymov uranium labour camp system. While Vykmanov I served as the Central Camp and continues to operate today as Ostrov Prison, Vykmanov II became known as a liquidation camp because of its extremely harsh regime and its connection to the ore-processing facility known as the Red Tower of Death. On the symbolic Way of the Cross, Vykmanov II is represented by the symbol of Judas’ purse.

The Svornost camp (code designation K) was established on 4 December 1949 and abolished on 29 October 1954. Located near the historic Svornost mine, one of the oldest mining sites in Jáchymov, it became known for its harsh living conditions. Today it forms the fourth stop on the educational trail “Jáchymov Hell”, where remnants of the so-called Mauthausen Stairs are preserved.

Eliáš I (Old/Upper Camp) and Eliáš II (New/Lower Camp) formed part of the labour camp system of the Jáchymov uranium mining district and were jointly designated by the code letter N. On the symbolic Way of the Cross near the Church of St Joachim in Jáchymov, the site is marked by a grille symbol. Both camps were closely linked to the rapid expansion of uranium mining after 1945 within the framework of Czechoslovak–Soviet cooperation.

The Rovnost I and Rovnost II camp (code designation P) was one of the largest and harshest labour camps within the Jáchymov uranium mining district. On the symbolic Way of the Cross it is represented by a Christmas bell and forms the thirteenth stop of the educational trail “Jáchymov Hell”. Between 1949 and 1961, the camp primarily held political prisoners serving long sentences who were assigned to uranium mining.

The Mariánská labour camp (code designation B) was the second camp established in the Jáchymov uranium mining district. Founded on 4 June 1949 near the Capuchin monastery at Mariánská, it operated for more than a decade as part of the system of forced labour supplying manpower for uranium extraction.

The Brotherhood camp (code designation M) was one of the most important facilities within the Jáchymov uranium mining district. In the symbolic marking of the so-called Way of the Cross it is represented by the symbol of shackles. During its existence it fulfilled several functions that often overlapped. It served as a prisoner-of-war camp, a corrective labour camp and a forced labour camp, and at the same time operated as a Central Camp (code designation D) responsible for the registration and redistribution of newly arrived prisoners. The site also housed the first command of the Prison Guard Corps in Ostrov and a gravity uranium ore processing plant. After uranium mining ceased, a repository for nuclear materials was established here.

Camp Vršek near the Barbora Mine was one of the harshest labour camps in the Jáchymov mining district. The combination of severe mountain climate, dangerous working conditions and the brutality of the guards made it one of the most feared places of forced labour for political prisoners.