Historical background of the site
Before the camp was established, one of Jáchymov’s streets, Obere Tanne, ran through this area. It followed a water channel past the Vysoká jedle adit, the medieval silver mine Hohe Tanne, and continued towards the town pond. The location has a long mining history.
During the Second World War, the German administration set up a prisoner-of-war camp here for French and Soviet prisoners who worked at the Svornost mine. After the war, German POWs were interned at the site and mined uranium ore until 3 December 1949. The camp was notorious for heavy infestation by bedbugs. Before the site was handed over, a final group of around fifty prisoners carried out cleaning and disinfection. On 4 December 1949, the first 405 convicted prisoners arrived. Although the official capacity was 600, as many as 750 inmates were held there in May 1951.
Camp operation
Initially, prisoners walked to work past residential houses. According to some recollections, the inscription “Prací ke svobodě” (“Through Work to Freedom”) stood above the gate; others, including writer Karel Pecka, deny its presence here and associate it with the Central Camp Bratrství. To prevent contact with civilians, a staircase of 260 steps was built to connect the camp directly with the mine. Prisoners soon called it the “Mauthausen Stairs”.
The camp stood on a narrow terrace further reduced by double fencing. All operational buildings had to fit within this confined space. The absence of a drinking water source was a major problem; prisoners had to carry water uphill after exhausting shifts underground. The shortage worsened hygiene and led again to bedbug infestations. According to testimonies, the camp commander Slánský once permitted fumigation of the barracks, allowing prisoners to sleep outside during the process.
The staircase formed part of the secured perimeter with watchtowers and a guardhouse. Its makeshift construction caused frequent accidents. On 30 September 1951, Rudolf Kindl and Ilja Stalev-Chubenov attempted to escape via the stairs. Both were shot, and their bodies were displayed at the foot of the staircase as a warning. Prisoners who removed their caps in respect were punished with confinement.
Punishments and conditions
Former anti-aircraft shelters from the German period were used as punishment cells. These were concrete pits in the ground. Prisoners held there received reduced food rations, were unable to lie down and were often beaten. In winter the cells were unheated and poorly ventilated.
Closure and memory
The camp was abolished on 29 October 1954. Buildings were demolished and the area levelled. Ironically, a waterworks facility was later built at the site of the former main gate. In the 1990s, the Barbora Mining Association established the “Jáchymov Hell” educational trail and restored part of the staircase. Since 2005, the Sokolov Museum has overseen the site, built a symbolic gate and reconstructed the stairs. Because of the later waterworks construction, the gate could not be placed at its original position. Foundations of camp buildings and one former shelter have been uncovered, but the entire area has not yet undergone systematic archaeological research. A 3D model of the camp is displayed in the entrance exhibition of Adit No. 1.
Fotogalerie: https://mipalfi.rajce.idnes.cz/Tabor_Svornost/
