BROTHERHOOD (CODE DESIGNATION M)
History
Uranium mining at the Brotherhood mine, originally known as the “Gallery of the Saxon Nobility,” was resumed on 12 June 1945. At first only civilian employees worked there, but they were gradually supplemented by prisoners of war. The prisoner-of-war camp was officially established on 31 July 1947, and during the following winter the first one hundred prisoners were transferred there. In the early 1950s, 395 inmates convicted under retribution legislation worked here and were accommodated in a separate section of the camp.
The Central Camp Brotherhood (code designation D) was established on 4 February 1950. It had the layout of an irregular rectangle and was situated between two slopes above Jáchymov, connected to the town by a dirt road. Water was supplied from two wells, and wastewater was discharged into a stream flowing through the camp. Prisoners worked mainly at the Brotherhood mine. The camp functioned as the main reception and registration centre for all newly arrived prisoners, who were subsequently redistributed to other camps according to the type of sentence, length of imprisonment, age and current labour demands of individual mines. The maximum occupancy was reached in 1951, when 505 permanent prisoners were registered. The camp was closed on 12 December 1954, and its central function was taken over by the Vykmanov camp.
The Brotherhood Camp (code designation M) itself was established on 21 February 1950 on the ground plan of an irregular pentagon. Its first commander was Warrant Officer Andríc of the Prison Guard Corps, followed by Warrant Officer Pták of the National Security Corps. The regime in the camp was strict. The site included a so-called punishment cell, consisting of a wooden hut with a basement concrete pit measuring approximately 2 by 1.5 metres and two metres in height, used for disciplinary confinement. According to testimonies, up to twenty prisoners were forced into this space at one time. Prisoners worked in the Brotherhood mine and in the adjacent gravity processing plant. As of 1 April 1950, 441 convicted inmates were registered. A stream divided the camp into two parts. On the left bank, near the gate, stood the command barrack with the office of so-called “camp trustees,” prisoners entrusted with implementing orders and ensuring the camp’s operation. Behind it were prisoner barracks and storage buildings. The right bank served as the assembly ground. The camp was abolished on 13 June 1954.
Description of the Site and Technological Facilities
Part of the mining operation was a gravity processing plant used to enrich uranium ore by removing waste rock. The plant at Brotherhood was the first facility of this kind on the territory of Czechoslovakia. Built in 1946, it initially operated using simple methods: prisoners crushed the ore manually with hammers and separated the waste rock by hand. The resulting concentrate was further processed in mills and crushers. Based on this model, another plant was constructed in 1948 in the Eliáš Valley as part of the Eliáš mine and camp. The concentrated ore was transported to the Technical Control Department in the Vykmanov camp and subsequently processed either in the crushing facility at the Red Tower of Death site or in the chemical processing plant in Nejdek, commissioned in 1952. The gravity processing plant at Brotherhood was closed in 1955.
