Museum of Underground Prisoners facts for kids
The Museum of Underground Prisoners in Jerusalem tells the story of Jewish underground groups like the Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi. These groups were active before the State of Israel was created. The museum helps us remember their actions and struggles.
History of the Building
From Hostel to Prison
The museum is located in a building that is part of the Russian Compound in Jerusalem. This building was first built as a hostel for Christian pilgrims. This was during the time of the Ottoman Empire, when European countries wanted to have more influence in Palestine. The Russian Compound was built outside the Old City. It included a church, a hospital, and hostels for both men and women pilgrims. You can still see "Marianskya women's hostel" written in Russian above the entrance.
British Mandate Prison
In 1917, the British took control of Palestine from the Ottoman Turks. The British authorities turned the Russian Compound into a security and administration center. The Russian women's hostel became the main British prison. Its long hallways and separate rooms made it perfect for a prison.
Hundreds of prisoners were held here during the British rule. Both Jewish and Arab prisoners were kept together. While many prisoners sentenced to death were held here, Jewish underground members sentenced to death were executed in Acre. The British were afraid of how Jews in Jerusalem would react to executions in the holy city. So, they never used the gallows for Jewish prisoners here.
In each cell, one prisoner was chosen as a supervisor and given a bed. Jewish underground prisoners were sometimes made to make coffins and gravestones. These were for British police and soldiers who had been killed by Jewish underground groups. The guards would often tell them, "What you start on the outside, you finish on the inside."
Between 1946 and 1948, people in Jerusalem called this highly secured area "Bevingrad." The wire fence, bars, and the words "Central Prison Jerusalem" on the door are from the British period. This period ended in May 1948.
Becoming a Museum
During the 1947–1949 Palestine war, on May 15, 1948, the Haganah captured the compound. They had help from the Irgun and Lehi in an action called Operation Kilshon. After Israel was established, the building was used for different things, including storage for the Jewish Agency. In the 1960s, the Israeli government bought most of the compound from the Russian government.
In 1991, the building was given to the Ministry of Defense. They restored the prison and turned it into the museum we see today.
British Mandate Prisons
Prison System Structure
The British system for justice and law enforcement included civil and military courts. It also had a police force called the "Palestine Police" and a prison service. Prisons and detention camps were set up across the country. These included the main prison in Jerusalem, the prison in Acre, and camps at Atlit and Latrun. There was also a women's prison in Bethlehem. British officials held the highest positions in the prison system. Arabs usually worked in the middle and lower ranks, and some Jews also worked there.
Jewish Underground Prisoners
Members of the Jewish underground were seen as political prisoners. They were tried by military courts. They faced charges for things like putting up posters, training with weapons, or having weapons. Sentences depended on how serious the crime was. They could range from a few months to life in prison or even the death penalty.
Jerusalem Central Prison Life
At the start of the British Mandate, about 250 prisoners were held in the Central Prison in Jerusalem. By the end of the period, this number grew to about 500. In the beginning, prisoners were kept in cells without being separated by religion.
However, starting in the mid-1930s, the number of underground prisoners grew. They asked for separate cells. The British agreed to this, and they were put into their own cells. Even though there was tension between Arabs and Jews outside the prisons, relations between Jewish and Arab prisoners were usually normal.
In January 1947, outside tensions affected the prisons. A large fight broke out across the prison. This event was called "The Grand Toshe." After this, the prison was divided into two separate parts. The southern part became the Arab wing, and the northern part became the Jewish wing.
Museum Exhibits
Administration Room
When a new prisoner arrived, they were brought to the registration and reception room. This room is to the right of the jail entrance. Here, the prisoner was registered and given a haircut. Their personal belongings were stored away. After getting their prison clothes from the "clothes storeroom," they were assigned to a cell.
Prisoner Cells
In the cells, you can see the brown prison uniforms, called "burshes." These were mats that prisoners slept on. You can also see the "kardal," which was a bucket used as a toilet. The bed near the window was for the "mukhtar." This was a prisoner chosen by the British to be in charge of the other prisoners in the cell.
Bakery
The prisoners baked bread for their meals. This was usually pita bread.
"Special Treatment" Cell
This cell was for prisoners whose actions were considered less serious. They had better conditions, like sleeping on beds and wearing their regular clothes instead of uniforms.
Clothes Storeroom
This was where prisoners' personal items and clothes were kept. In exchange for their own clothes, they received prison uniforms. These uniforms were made of rough material. They also got two blankets and a "bursh" (mat) for sleeping.
Escape Room
This cell was near the prison fence and held underground prisoners. In 1948, members of Irgun and Lehi dug a tunnel from a corner of this cell. The tunnel went under the last bed and connected to a sewer pipe. This pipe ran under the fence to the outside.
With help from friends outside who pretended to fix the sewer pipe, 12 prisoners escaped. They dressed as city workers and joined their comrades who were fighting in the 1947–1949 Palestine war. In this cell, and others in the prison, you can still see drawings and carvings made by the prisoners. These include names, national symbols like the Star of David, and symbols of groups like the Etzel (a map of Eretz Israel with a hand holding a rifle). There is also a communist party symbol (a star with a scythe in the center).
Synagogue Room
This cell was used by Jewish prisoners and became a synagogue on Shabbat and holidays. This room is connected to the work of Rabbi Aryeh Levin, known as "the father of the prisoners." The rabbi dedicated his life to helping others. He helped lepers at the Lepers' Hospital in Jerusalem, Jewish criminals, and underground prisoners. He formed a special bond with the underground prisoners. For 25 years, the rabbi visited the prison every Shabbat and holiday, no matter the weather. He encouraged the prisoners. After each visit, he would quickly go to the prisoners' families to give them news from their children.
Prison Yards
There were two inner yards used for daily exercise. These yards also had service areas like kitchens and laundry rooms where prisoners worked. A Palmach prisoner named Gideon ("Johnny") Peli worked in the kitchen. His girlfriend, Bracha Fuld, who was also a Palmach member, would write to him and visit him often.
One day, she didn't show up for her scheduled visit. Johnny found a piece of newspaper in a food supply box in the kitchen. It told him why: Bracha had been killed by the British during an operation. She was helping illegal immigrants land from the Orde Wingate ship on the Tel Aviv shore in March 1946. After he was released from prison, Johnny fought in the 1947–1949 Palestine war. He was killed in one of the battles for the Kastel in March 1948.
Workshop Section
Prisoners worked in workshops as part of their daily routine. These workshops included a carpentry shop, a printing shop, and an area for shoemaking and sewing. In these areas, prisoners made sleeping mats and sewed uniforms. The British also used these workshops for outside purposes, like printing or preparing coffins for British soldiers and policemen.
Exercise Yard
This yard was used for prayer and exercise by Muslim prisoners. On the wall, you can see a drawing of the crescent of the "Machrav." This indicates the direction of Mecca, which is where Muslims face when praying. This yard was also used for punishments like lashings.
In December 1946, Benjamin Kimhi, a 16-year-old member of Etzel, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and 18 lashings. This was for his part in robbing the Ottoman Bank in Jaffa. The robbery was meant to get money for underground activities. When Etzel learned about the lashing sentence, they warned the British not to carry it out. Because of the tense situation, the warden decided to do the lashings in his office instead of the exercise yard.
The next day, in an action known as "Night of Lashings," an Etzel team kidnapped several British officers. They gave them 18 lashings before releasing them. One of the teams was caught by the British at a routine checkpoint. Three members of this group, Mordechai Alkachi, Yechiel Dresner, and Eliezer Kashani, were executed in the Acre Prison.
The Mustashfa (Prison Dispensary)
The dispensary was separate from the prison cells. It had an office for a doctor who visited once a week, and an isolation room. Prisoners were often given two bottles of medicine, one red and one yellow, for almost any sickness. This shows that the medical care provided to prisoners was very basic.
Warden and Secretariat Office
The warden's office was separated by a wall from the nearby secretariat room. (This wall has not been rebuilt.) The entrance to these rooms was from the outside. On a shelf to the left of the door, you can see items that prisoners used to smuggle things in and out of the prison. Forbidden items that were hidden during cell inspections are also displayed here.
Solitary Confinement
Prisoners who broke prison rules were kept in these narrow cells, which were called "hell." Examples of forbidden acts included fighting or being rude to a jailer. The warden decided this punishment. The time spent here could range from a few hours to two weeks.
Memorial Room to the Executed
This room displays pictures of the thirteen men who were executed during the British Mandate. They were members of the three Jewish underground groups. Pictures of two members of the Nili underground, who were executed during the Ottoman period, are also shown. Additionally, there are pictures of three Israeli agents who were executed in Arab countries after Israel was established.
Death Row and Gallows
Most of the Jewish underground members who were sentenced to death were executed at the Acre Prison. At that time, Acre was a city with many Arab residents. About 100 Arab prisoners were executed at the Jerusalem prison during the Mandate. Prisoners sentenced to death wore red uniforms. They were kept in two cells near the gallows room while they waited for their execution.
Outside the Building
Monument to Moshe Barzani and Meir Feinstein
Moshe Barzani and Meir Feinstein were buried on the Mount of Olives. After the Six-Day War, memorials were placed on their graves by the Israel Defense Forces. Their original gravestones were brought to the prison courtyard. They now stand there as monuments to their memory. Menachem Begin, who was the commander of Etzel and later Israel's sixth prime minister, asked in his will to be buried next to them on the Mount of Olives.
