Belene Island Foundation

The Belene Island Foundation (Фондация „Остров Белене“) is a Bulgarian non-governmental organization founded in 2016. Its mission is to preserve, restore and maintain the remains of the Belene concentration camp, which operated on the islands of Persin, Magarets and Shturcheto in the Danube River. The camp was the largest, most secret and longest-maintained detention facility for political and ideological opponents of the Bulgarian Communist Party during the totalitarian period after the 1944 coup. The foundation works to create a Memorial Complex, including a Memorial Site and a Memorial Path, in memory of the thousands of innocent victims of the regime between 1944 and 1990, including those who suffered during the forced change of Turkish to Bulgarian names during the so-called "Revival Process". The foundation's project envisages partial restoration of the deliberately erased traces of crimes committed during the first period of the camp (until 1953). This is based on in-depth research and studies of numerous reliable sources, stories, memories and drawings of surviving former camp inmates. A team of architects, together with historians and journalists, has developed a conceptual design for the restoration of the destroyed wooden barracks, punishment cells, guard towers, fencing and other facilities. The Belene camp is the only detention site in Bulgaria where some buildings from its second period (1953–1989) have been preserved, and the territory is entirely intact. This allows the chronology to be reconstructed and the site to be turned into a place of paying tribute to the victims and a place that tells future generations about the atrocities of the "communist" regime, so that the mistakes of the country's recent past are not repeated. The foundation is headquartered in the town of Belene, Pleven Province, at 4 M. Vasilev Street. It maintains an active website (beleneisland.org) that provides information about the camp's history, camp stories, news and initiatives, a photo gallery and contacts. Visitors can visit the second site of the Belene camp by contacting the foundation at least two days in advance to arrange the manner and time of the visit; entry to the island requires an identity document. The foundation also accepts donations through a bank account at DSK Bank. In 2018, the organization was nominated for the "Volunteer Initiative of the Year" award at a ceremony at the Presidency of the Republic of Bulgaria, and in December 2019 it received a special award in the category "Persistence and Memory", organized by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. The foundation has undertaken various initiatives, including the international project REMEMBER: REsearch and Music CommEMorating the Victims of Totalitarian Regimes in Bulgaria and Eastern EuRope, which began in autumn 2019; a traveling exhibition "Witnesses: Memory of the Belene Camp"; a summer school "Why Do We Need to Remember" held in Belene in July 2023; and the start of detailed cleaning of the northern part of the remains of the Belene camp in spring 2023. The project for a memorial park on Belene Island was discussed in Brussels, and the President of Bulgaria has attended national commemorations on Persin Island.

The Belene Island Foundation was established in 2016 as a non-governmental organization with the goal of preserving, restoring and maintaining the remains of the concentration camp located on the islands of Persin, Magarets and Shturcheto. The camp, known as the Belene concentration camp, was the largest, most secret and longest-maintained detention facility for political and ideological opponents of the Bulgarian Communist Party during the totalitarian period after the September 9, 1944 coup. The foundation's project for a Memorial Complex, including a Memorial Site and a Memorial Path, has been in development for more than four years. It aims to honor the thousands of innocent victims of the regime between 1944 and 1990, including those who suffered during the forced change of Turkish to Bulgarian names during the so-called "Revival Process". The project envisages partial restoration of the deliberately erased traces of crimes committed during the first period of the camp, from its creation until 1953. This period ended due to sharp reactions from Western countries against gross violations of human rights and the inhumane conditions in which thousands of innocent Bulgarian citizens were forcibly held without trial or sentence. After thorough research and study of numerous reliable sources, stories, memories and drawings of surviving former camp inmates, a team of architects, together with historians and journalists, developed a conceptual design for the restoration of the destroyed wooden barracks, punishment cells, guard towers, fencing and other facilities. The Belene camp is the only detention site in Bulgaria where some buildings from its second period (1953–1989) have been preserved, and the territory is entirely intact. This allows the chronology to be reconstructed and the site to be turned into a place of paying tribute to the victims and a place that tells future generations about the atrocities of the "communist" regime, so that the mistakes of the country's recent past are not repeated. In 2018, the organization was nominated for the "Volunteer Initiative of the Year" award at a ceremony at the Presidency of the Republic of Bulgaria. In December 2019, it received a special award in the category "Persistence and Memory", organized by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. In autumn 2019, the foundation began work on the international project REMEMBER: REsearch and Music CommEMorating the Victims of Totalitarian Regimes in Bulgaria and Eastern EuRope. The foundation has also organized a traveling exhibition "Witnesses: Memory of the Belene Camp", a summer school "Why Do We Need to Remember" in July 2023, and started detailed cleaning of the northern part of the remains of the Belene camp in spring 2023. The project for a memorial park on Belene Island was discussed in Brussels, and the President of Bulgaria has attended national commemorations on Persin Island.

• Foundation established

• Nominated for "Volunteer Initiative of the Year" at the Presidency of the Republic of Bulgaria

• Received special award "Persistence and Memory" from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee

• Started international project REMEMBER

• Started detailed cleaning of the northern part of the remains of the Belene camp

• Held summer school "Why Do We Need to Remember" in Belene

Non-governmental organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the Belene concentration camp and building a memorial park.

1. 1Official websitebeleneisland.org
2. 2Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Wikipedia (Bulgarian)bg.wikipedia.org