Tuol Sleng genocide museum

As one of the most visited sites by both local and foreign tourists in Cambodia, the Tuol Sleng Museum is located in the heart of Phnom Penh. This facility, once a high school, was converted into a detention center known as S-21. Discover this site that has left a profound mark on Cambodia's history and bears witness to the brutality of the Khmer Rouge era.

History

Once part of Tuol Svay Prey High School, the buildings of the large complex were converted into a prison and interrogation center by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. They named it the "Security Prison 21" or "S-21." Reconstruction began with the installation of barbed wire on each window of the building where prisoners were electrified. The classrooms were also transformed into torture chambers and cells for prisoners.

Between 1975 and 1979, nearly 17,000 people were recorded as being imprisoned at Tuol Sleng. The prison held between 1,000 and 1,500 prisoners, who were tortured and killed along with their families. Initially, the first victims were from the Lon Nol regime, including soldiers, government officials, doctors, students, and others. Later, the mass arrests and executions targeted well-known communist politicians, such as Khoy Thoun and Vorn Vet, as well as their families.

In 1979, the Vietnamese army rediscovered the prison, and it was reopened by the Cambodian government as a historical museum. Since January 1980, Tuol Sleng has been renamed the Khmer Genocide Museum. The first journalist to document the site was Vietnamese reporter Ho Van Tay. At that time, the journalist and his colleagues followed and photographed decaying corpses at the doors of Tuol Sleng. These photos are now displayed in the museum. Detailed documents, written by the Khmer Rouge prison staff, were also discovered. However, other negatives found remain anonymous to this day.

Visiting the Tuol Sleng Museum

The S-21 prison formerly

With a guide, you will learn about scenes that took place in each building. For instance, on the first floor, the classrooms were not connected, but they were transformed into a central corridor. On both sides, small, rudimentary cells made of bricks were created, with wooden doors featuring small square windows. The cells varied in size, with the smallest measuring 1.5 m² and able to hold three to four people. Some instructions that the detainees were to follow are marked on certain cell doors.

Building B, a separate structure, contains smaller former classrooms with metal-barred windows, which served as individual torture rooms. Men and women were tied and tortured on iron bed frames to extract confessions. These confessions, often suggested by the torturers, were unrelated to reality. The prisoners were forced to confess to being members of foreign democratic regimes or to working for foreign intelligence agencies.

Building D, located on the second floor, served as common detention rooms. The Khmer Rouge could imprison up to fifty prisoners per room. They were forced to lie on the ground, tightly aligned with their family members. The prisoners, gathered and numbered, were bound together with long iron bars and cast-iron rings.

The site today

The courtyard of the former school measures approximately 400 meters by 600 meters. Recently renovated, the Tuol Sleng Museum now displays various photos and documents depicting the gruesome events in Cambodia’s history. Sensitive souls should beware! What you see in this museum will leave a lasting impression. There are scenes of torture, unrestrained violence, photos of tortured victims, and rooms filled with torture instruments.

The site consists of four main buildings, named Buildings A, B, C, and D. Building A contains large cells where the bodies of the last victims were discovered. Building B serves as the gallery displaying numerous black-and-white photos. In Building C, you will see the old cells where the Khmer Rouge placed prisoners. Finally, Building D displays leg-irons and torture instruments. In this building, there are also paintings showing tortured, suffocated, and hanged prisoners, created by former detainee Vann Nath.

The video room is located on the third floor, and the exhibition room is on the second floor. The photos depict scenes of torture, such as mutilated prisoners chained to their beds. During the visit, you will notice that the rooms and the entire complex are undergoing renovations, suggesting that the site’s authenticity could be lost if it is not preserved as it was. You can see new flooring and ceiling coverings throughout the complex.

S-21 Staff

The head of the prison was Kang Kek Ieu, known as Duch. Other notable figures at S-21 included Kim Vat aka Ho (deputy head of S-21), Peng (head of the guards), Mam Nai aka Chan (head of the interrogation unit), and Tang Sin Hean aka Pon (interrogator). The prison staff numbered around 1,720 people. About 300 people were in administration and managed the internal labor, while the remaining 1,400 were general workers who worked in the kitchens. Most of the workers were children from the families of the prisoners. It is hard to believe that the guards were as young as 10 to 15 years old, and under the supervision of their elders, they became much more brutal than the adults. Some even discreetly raped the female detainees at S-21.

Non-Cambodian prisoners

An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people entered S-21. These prisoners included 79 foreigners, most of whom were tourists captured off the southern coast of the country. It is said that only 200 people survived, seven of whom were present when the site was discovered. While the majority of the victims were Cambodian, some foreigners were also imprisoned, including 488 Vietnamese, 31 Thais, 1 Laotian, 1 Arab, 1 British, 4 French, 2 Americans, 1 New Zealander, 2 Australians, and 1 Indonesian. Many Indians and Pakistanis were also imprisoned at Tuol Sleng, and none of them survived.

Tuol Sleng Survivors

Of the 17,000 people imprisoned at Tuol Sleng, only seven survived. By September 2011, only three of the survivors were still alive: Chum Mey, Bou Meng, and Chim Math. Bou Meng is an artist, Chum Mey was a machine repairman, and Chim Math was spared because she belonged to the district of Stoeung in Mampong Thom, like the chief Duch. Vann Nath, who was also spared, was the artist who painted the scenes in the prison at the time. He died on September 5, 2011.

Hours

• The museum is open every day from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM and from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM.