THE BELENE CONCENTRATION CAMP IN BULGARIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700050030-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 22, 2011
• Sequence Number: 30
• Publication Date: March 10, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/23: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700050030-1
CLASSIFICATIOgN~RESTRICTT TI~g lw0 g
CENTRALSINTELl.IGENOEREDAGENCY REPORT
!NFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY Bulgaria
SUBJECT Political - Concentration camps
HOW
PUBLISHED Monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED New York
DATE
PUBLISHED Oct 1951
LANGUAGE Bulgarian
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or us 1.m1 .TAn1 oml. T11 .un11 or IMO.... ACT 11
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or m w1T110 u . ...... .........,..........__- ,. -
DATE DIST. /D Mar 1952
NO. OF PAGES 3
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
THE BELENE CONCENTRATION CAMP IN BULGARIA
On 15 September 1951, a Bulgarian who recently escaped from Bulgaria wrote
that Bulgarian prisons and concentration camps are filled with fighters for the
liberation of Bulgaria. He also stated that as of 1 April 1951, over 2,300
families were evacuated from Kula, Vidin, and Belogradchik okoliyas and moved
like cattle to the Dobrrdzha and Stalin regions.
Another Bulgarian, who spent 6 monthe in the Helene concentration camp
and later succeeded in escaping from Bulgaria, gives the following information
on that camp:
The Belene concentration camp is made up of four compounds, Belene No 1,2,
3, and 4.
The first two compounds are located on an island in the Danube, just oppo-
site.Belene, 12 kilometers west of Shvishtov and 15 kilometers east of Nikopol.
The island is about 12 - 13 kilometers long and from 20 to 1,000 meters wide.
The source was first interned in compound No 1.
Compounds No 3 and 4 are located on the Danube 5 and 10 kilometers fre-
spectively77from Belene, in the direction of Nikopol. There may be other camp
compounds at the same location but the source has no knowledge of their exis-
.tence.and location.
From 700 to 1,000 male prisoners are interned in the two compounds on the
island. The food is very poor; for breakfast, every prisoner receives 400 grams
of bread and tea, and for lunch and supper, a very thin soup containing almost
no fat. A tablespoonful of marmalade is distributed among 25 prisoners. Once a
week, a small amount of macaroni is put into the soup: The internees receive
meat once every few months and try to supplement their diet with whatever raw
vegetables and fruit they can find in the vegetable gardenh where they work.
CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTED No I RIC ?E2
STATE
ARMY
NAVY
AIR __
NSRB
FBI
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RESTR! a EI
The prisoners cultivate fields. They have to
be ready to go to work at 0600 hours. Many of them have to walk from 5 to 7
kilometers from the camp to get up at 0400 hours and must
their place of work. They are lined up in the morn-
ing, separated into groups of 20 each, and marched to work
men. _by three armed Militia-
The Belene concentration camp is used for the more active political prisoners.
Crietinal prisoners are not sent there. Some of the internees have been in the is-
land camp since 1949. Others are kept there several weeks and are then sent else-
where. The prisoners believe that the policy of the authorities is to keep shift-
ing internees from one camp to another.
about vier pprivateisonelifves er aident wi his his file, which contains detailed data
activity, etc. For a period of time the administration convictions, the tthes, min political
parate members of the same party into different sgroupen of camp used tc se-
se-
In compound No 1, beatings are not performed Publicly. The prisoner who is
to be punished is taken to the administration building at night, and there he is
beaten and tortured. t the
beginni takenAaway from thenMilitiag of
to therso-callthe ed cbborder troops.
Old age and poor physical condition of a prisoner are of no concern to the
camp administration. All prisoners are treated equally. Only those who have re-
ceived very serious bruises during the beatings are given less strenuous work or
are sent to the hospital to get well.
Many Bulgarian politicians and public figures were interned in compound
No I. Among them was Tsveti Ivanov, former editor of the newspaper Svoboden Narod
(Free People), organ of the opposition Social Democratic Party. He was bey ate- n,
and during the beatings contracted tetanus. Be was already dying when the camp
administration decided to send him to the hospital. Ivanov died in compound No 1.
A prisoner is thoroughly searched upon arrival at camp. He is stripped
naked and everything that he has on his person, such as money and documents, is
taken away from him. He is then given coupons equal in value to the amount of
money he has with him. These coupons an be used only in the camp canteen. The
prisoner is given an ola and worn-out police, military, or prisoner's uniform to
wear in camp.
During 1950, compound No 3 was used by the so-called "Trudova Mobilizatsiya"
(Labor Mobilization). The barracks of this compound are now occupied by camp
internees. There are also seven large tents for internees, a brick building for
the administration, barracks for the militiamen, a kitchen, and a warehouse for
storing food. The entire camp /compound?] is surrounded by a barbed-wire fence.
A painted white line, 10 meters from the fence, marks the death zone. If a pri-
soner crosses that line, the guards shoot to kill without warning.
There is no hospital at compound No 3? Internees who are seriously ill are d by note allowed to isl suetanekind ofe cerdoctor. tificate The
about t the is
working ability is
Y g abilityY of a patient.
Compound No 3 is located 5-6 kilometers from Helene, in the direction of
areonumerous anduverykwellearmed. of rooad bbe. At this etween Helene compound,
the compoound~
is an old country road connecting Belene with Oresh. Behind the compound, the
internees have constricted an irrigation canal 4-5 meters wide and 1.5 meters
deep. The area surrounding the compound is crossed by similar canals which have
been dug by internees.
r.3T TF~t'
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 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/23: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700050030-1
F rL3TR1CTED
world. He may not have any contact with theGinhabitantsccfythe nearby villages.
The internees are followed and spied on constantly by agents of the State
Security Police, who are here called "instructors." These instructors are as-
sisted by the so-called "cultural and educational committees" composed of camp
internees who volunteer as informers in return for small favors and privileges.
The had of the cultural and educational committee in the Belene camp is Groz-'
danov, an old army general. Other members of the committee are Dr Khristo Kun-
chev, It Nikola Ninchev, Levcho Ignatov, and Evatati Popov. These informers are
called "antennas" by the internees. Every new internee who is twice called to
the administration building is suspected by the other prisoners of being an an-
tenna until he gives proof to the contrary.
During 1950, the commanding officer of the camp was Major Kurtev of the
border troops. He was dismissed because of accusations that he displayed weak-
ness toward the camp internees. The most ruthless members of the camp staff are
instructor Donevski, superintendent Pesh, and militiaman Marin. These men are
real sadists.
In compound No 1, the following Bulgarian politicians and public figures are
interned:
Stoycho Moshanov, former cabinet minister, 50 years old, member of the former
Democratic Party: Dr Khralambi Oroshakov, former mayor of Sofia, 60 years old.
member of the former Democratic Party; and Mikhayl Ganchev, 65 years old, member
of the former Democratic Party. The following had been active members of the
Bulgarian National Agrarian Union: Nedko Botev, Petur Surbinski, Kiril Popov,
Sergi Zlatanov, Engineer Bozhkov, Dr Gochev, Asen Payantov, Slavi Popignatov,
Kocho Bonev, Vaugel Gorov, and. Eftim Arsov.
Also interned are Atanas Moskov, a well-known leader of the former Social
Democratic Party; Gen Ivan Velkov, an army career officer; Georgi Dimchev, a
former Macedonian leader; Gen Gocho Gochev, Col Petko Ignatov, and Col Encho
Mateev, all former partisan officers; Dancho Smilov a member of the former
Democratic Party; a group of anarchists; about 20 well-known Bulgarian Commun-
ists, (sympathizers of Traycho Kostov); and three orthodox priests and five pro-
testant ministers, most of them over 70 years old.
The internees are permitted to send out and to receive only two postcards
a month, after these have passed the camp censorship. Relatives are allowed to
visit internees only on 1 January, 1 May, and 9 September. Militiamen search all
visitors and are present at their meetings with internees.
The commanding officer of compound No 3 is Captain Andreev, a brutal person
who shows much bestiality in beating the internees. Prisoners of this compound
dig canals in parts of the Danube region. They are marched to work in groups of
20 to 200 and are guarded by armed militiamen. Work starts at 0600 hours and
continues all day. Each internee is expected to dig 3.5 to 5 cubic meters of
earth a day. Those who have received disciplinary punishments are assigned double
quotas of work.
There is a special "disciplinary detachment" in compound No 3? The internees
assigned to this detachment are tren.;:ed in the most cruel way imaginable. When a
new prisoner arrives, the State Security Police decides whether he should or should
not be put in the disciplinary detachment. The commanding officer of the detach-
ment at compound No 3 is David Vidov, a former chief of the State Security Police
at Berkovitsa. He is cruel and terroristic. The plight of all internees is tra-
gic, but despite hardships and tribulations, all of them live in the hope of an
impending liberation.
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