Prison Museum

 I went into the prison museum expecting a typical museum: reenacted room setups, photos and artifacts, and a description of things along the way. However, I found this museum to be very different from this, as they kept it very true to the original and not glamorizing it at all. The cells were small and mostly empty, and the building itself felt bone chillingly cold, just as it would have during the time of its use. I found it interesting that rather than trying to explain the history in many artifacts and photos, or by adding things to the rooms to provide clarity, we relied mainly on our tour guide to provide stories and explanations of each area. I found that hearing stories of how the prisoners lived and what they endured to be much more meaningful and powerful than reading about it in a short paragraph provided on a sign nearby. To me, this created much more emotion in an already very emotional place, and I found myself really feeling heartbroken for so many of the people who were kept there. Being able to walk through areas were children were kept, where prisoners went to church but still had to be isolated, and the final underground area were so many prisoners were kept until they were executed added so much depth and sadness to the prison that signs and recreations would never be able to capture. 

I found this to be a very meaningful experience. I think that throughout history, prisons are framed as “places where bad people are held”, and this museum helped to demonstrate that while criminals are held there also, it was often used to hold and torture innocent people. I found myself sympathizing with the stories we were told of the prisoners, and feeling so much sadness for the ways they were treated, and I think the prison is a great historical example to learn from to hopefully not repeat the history of it in the future.