Hanoi Hilton

The Hanoi Hilton (Vietnamese: H?a Lò) was a prison used by the North Vietnamese for prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. Captured POWs reported that the conditions there were miserable, and the food so bad, that the prison was ironically nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by the inmates, in reference to the well-known and upscale Hilton Hotel chain.

Related Topics:
Vietnamese - Prison - North Vietnam - Prisoners of war - Vietnam War - Hilton Hotel

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American authorities stated that the Hanoi Hilton was used as a place for the North Vietnamese Army to torture and interrogate captured soldiers, mostly Americans. Others countered by stating that prisoners were treated with decency and that the prison was no worse than prisons for POWs and political prisoners in South Vietnam such as the one on Con Son Island.

Related Topics:
North Vietnamese Army - Torture - Interrogate - Con Son Island

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When prisoners of war began to be released from this and other North Vietnamese prisons in the late 1960s and early 1970s, their testimonies revealed widespread and systematic abuse of prisoners of war. Initially this information was suppressed by American authorities for fear that conditions might worsen for the prisoners remaining in North Vietnamese custody.

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Neither the United States nor its allies ever formally charged North Vietnam with the war crimes revealed to have been committed there, nor demanded extradition of Vietnamese officials who had violated the Geneva Convention at the Hanoi Hilton. The present government of Vietnam firmly holds to the view that the Hanoi Hilton was a prison for criminals, not POWs, and that those held in the Hanoi Hilton were "pirates" and "bandits" who had attacked Vietnam without authority.

Related Topics:
War crimes - Geneva Convention

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Vice Presidential candidate James Stockdale was held as a prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton, as well as Senator John McCain, who spent five and a half years there. Actress Jane Fonda reportedly visited the Hanoi Hilton as part of an anti-war demonstration. This sparked later stories whose authenticity continues to be debated, that her actions with regard to prisoners there caused several of them to be further abused.

Related Topics:
James Stockdale - John McCain - Jane Fonda

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The Hanoi Hilton was depicted in an eponymous 1987 Hollywood movie.

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In 1999, Hilton International and the Vietnamese government jointly built the Hilton Hanoi Opera, a $64 million dollar luxury hotel in Hanoi.

Related Topics:
Hilton International - Hilton Hanoi Opera - Hanoi

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