Tepelena Internment Camp: A Site of Remembrance

The Tepelena Internment Camp, located in Tepelenë, Gjirokastër County, Albania, operated as a forced labor camp between April 1949 and March 1954. Modelled after Soviet kolkhozes, it imprisoned convicts, fugitives, deserters, and families of political prisoners, with a particularly high number of children interned. The camp gained international notoriety, even being mentioned in a 1955 U.S. Government report to the United Nations. Initially, two camps were established, one in Berat for northerners and one in Krujë for southerners, until reorganisation saw the Berat internees moved to Tepelena and Porto Palermo Castle. The barracks were repurposed to house internees deemed by the communist government to be reactionaries, kulaks, bourgeois, declassed traitors, and foreign agents. In 1952, nearly a thousand able-bodied prisoners were forced to work in construction. The camp itself was a miniature Soviet gulag, holding approximately 600 people, including families with small children, in a small space. Conditions were brutal, with severe overcrowding, malnutrition, and disease leading to a high mortality rate, especially among children. Today, the Tepelena Internment Camp serves as a memorial and a place of education. While in disrepair, the crumbling ruins attract visitors who come to reflect on Albania's past and honor the victims of the communist regime. Although plans are underway to transform the site into a national museum, the camp remains a powerful symbol of resilience and a reminder of the importance of human rights.