Turn prison into revolutionary school

At the beginning of the 1950-1951 school year, seeing the resounding border victory, the Trung Vuong Resistance Student Union of Ms. Do Hong Phan happily came up with a plan to celebrate the victory with activities: Hanging the red flag with a yellow star made of cloth, setting off firecrackers, distributing leaflets...

On November 7, 1950, the celebration was a great success, exciting the youth of Hanoi but making the enemy "hot-faced." A series of Trung Vuong students were arrested, including Ms. Phan.

“At the Secret Service, they slapped me until my face was black and blue. Then they took me to the prison. My friends and I had to endure torture with electric cameras,” Ms. Phan recalled with a shudder.

Her whole body jolted from the electric shocks, but she refused to say anything. She had a bowl of rice, so she smashed it and cut her wrist to commit suicide.

Upon learning of the incident, the French soldiers took her to Phu Doan Hospital (now Viet Duc Hospital) for treatment. Here, Ms. Phan was arranged to stay in a private room, with two guards day and night. After her health recovered, they transferred her to the women's prison, Hoa Lo Prison.

Here, Ms. Phan experienced beatings, but also received care and encouragement from female political prisoners. After more than 2 months of imprisonment at Hoa Lo Prison, the French colonialists released her on January 21, 1951, because she was not yet 18 years old.

Another member of the youth resistance movement imprisoned in Hoa Lo Prison was Mr. Duong Tu Minh, the youngest son of Professor Duong Quang Ham.

During his studies at Chu Van An School, Mr. Minh and his sister Duong Thi Cuong participated in the student resistance organization with the main job of organizing activities for students of the resistance schools to publish secret newspapers, distribute leaflets, hang flags, and propagate for the resistance...

In the summer of 1950, the enemy launched a campaign to terrorize the movement. They arrested more than 100 students, including Mr. Minh and his sister. However, because there was no evidence, they were released after 2 weeks.

Shortly after his release from prison, Mr. Duong Tu Minh was admitted to the Hanoi National Salvation Youth Union. He was one of the active participants in printing and distributing the secret newspaper of the Hanoi Resistance Student Union called Nhua Song.

In October 1952, Mr. Minh's printing facility at home was exposed due to a tip-off. So, at only 17 years old, Mr. Minh was arrested for the second time.

The enemy knew that he was an active member of the movement, so when he entered Hoa Lo Prison, he was given "special care" and tortured by having wires clamped around his ears and then electrocuted, throughout his imprisonment.

Recalling the days of “lying on thorns and tasting gall,” he said: “The prison guards fed us spoiled food, humiliated the prisoners, then beat us and sprayed us with strong water hoses. The leaders were imprisoned in the dark Cachot prison (a dark prison where prisoners who practiced revolutionary propaganda were punished). Prisoners were kept in isolation, shackled at night, forced to eat, sleep and use the toilet on the spot, the floor was tilted upside down so that prisoners could not lie down. After a short time, prisoners suffered from edema, blurred vision, and scabies due to lack of hygiene, light and oxygen. There was only one small window on the wall the size of a palm that let in light, causing anyone to become mentally exhausted.”

Mr. Minh was interrogated on many issues related to the newspaper Nhua Song but refused to say a word. Although they wanted to charge Mr. Minh and his comrades with serious crimes, due to insufficient evidence, the colonial government issued a temporary release order and released Mr. Minh and his three friends on bail.

According to Mr. Duong Tu Minh, despite the harsh prison regime with many cruel forms of torture, the enemy still could not subdue the will and patriotism of the communist soldiers. The prisoners were still steadfast and determined, finding ways to dig tunnels and escape from prison. Not only that, here Mr. Minh continued to receive help, training,education and maturity from the communist soldiers.

Political and cultural classes, foreign languages, and speeches were secretly organized by the Hoa Lo Prison Party Cell. There were no school supplies, so the cement floor was turned into a blackboard, and lime was used as chalk, which was erased after class.

Over the years, time can erase many things, but for Mr. Minh, the days of fighting the enemy in "hell on earth" will forever be unforgettable.

Mr. Minh was asked to participate in teaching fellow prisoners, while others who knew French were assigned to be the head of the camp representative committee, able to deal directly with the warden and fight to protect the rights of the prisoners.

Mr. Minh still remembers clearly that on New Year's Eve of 1953, all the prison camps displayed red flags with yellow stars and self-drawn portraits of President Ho. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the camps switched to decorating with peace flags and paper peach blossoms. The camp leaders organized tug-of-war competitions, chess matches, and art performances.

“We also stood and watched the Western guards. They did not understand, or even if they did, they would have difficulty refuting the hidden meanings of the resistance prisoners who wished for independence and freedom and tactfully cursed the colonialists who had invaded the country. I enjoyed being immersed in those vibrant struggles and forgot all the sadness of having to celebrate Tet in prison,” Mr. Minh shared.

Another revolutionary soldier at Hoa Lo Prison was Meritorious Teacher Nguyen Tien Ha (birth name Nguyen Huu Tu, born in 1928), a member of the Hoang Dieu National Salvation Youth Union (Hoang Dieu is the secret name of Hanoi).

In 1949, Mr. Nguyen Tien Ha was a cadre of the Hanoi City Team. In a fierce battle, facing the enemy, in May 1950, he was captured by the enemy and taken to the Secret Service (now the Hanoi City Police Headquarters at 87 Tran Hung Dao).

Mr. Ha and some other comrades dug through the wall to escape from prison, but on the way to the base, they were surrounded and captured by the enemy again. This time, he had to endure much more brutal torture.

“They let us go by plane, which meant hanging us from the rafters, electrocuting us, then by submarine, and shoving us into a water tank to choke and suffocate us, but we were determined not to reveal anything,” Mr. Ha recalled.

The two brothers are Mr. Nguyen Tien Ha (aka Nguyen Huu Tu) and Ta Quang Chien (aka Nguyen Huu Van). Mr. Chien is one of the eight bodyguards named by Uncle Ho: Truong, Ky, Khang, Chien, Nhat, Dinh, Thang, Loi. (Photo: NVCC)

Meritorious Teacher Nguyen Tien Ha was once a member of the Hoang Dieu National Salvation Youth Union. (Photo: Minh Thu/Vietnam+)

He participated in revolutionary activities as a professor. (Photo: Minh Thu/Vietnam+)

His youthful memories are preserved in this book. (Photo: Minh Thu/Vietnam+)

He was awarded the title of Excellent Teacher by the State along with many other noble recognitions. (Photo: Minh Thu/Vietnam+)

After the brutal beating, Mr. Ha was taken to Hoa Lo Prison. Here, thanks to the care and medicine provided by his comrades, his health gradually recovered. He was elected by his comrades to the Party Committee, then became the Party Secretary of the prison, continuing to fight in the camps while organizing cultural, political, and foreign language classes.

At the end of 1952, when they could not convict him, the enemy released Mr. Ha. Immediately after his release from prison, he tried to contact the unit, operating semi-publicly under the name of Professor Tran Huu Thoa. Since then, he continued to participate in revolutionary activities associated with the cause of education.

Thus, the persistent and heroic revolutionary struggle of the people of Hanoi contributed significantly to the “Victory Day of Hanoi,” and then, after nine years of resistance against the French, on October 10, 1954, the liberation army marched into the capital, the national flag proudly flying on top of the Hanoi Flagpole./.