The ghost prison camp of Goli Otok, the “barren island” gulag
By Pierre Kosmidis
Goli otok (Naked Island), “The Croatian Alcatraz” was in use from 1948 to 1988.
From 1949 to 1958, a period known as “Informbiro”, opponents of the regime of Tito and Stalinists were imprisoned and tortured. According to statistics, some 16,000 prisoners were incarcerated at Goli Otok.
Escape from Goli Otok was almost impossible and for decades only few people were aware of the hellish conditions on the island.
The prison facilities are at present left to decay. Many paintings are still visible on the walls.
Today, tourists visit the last gulag of Europe and learn about the hidden history of the country formerly known as Yugoslavia, before the 1990s civil war.
