Initially, Goli was built for political prisoners, the actual or fictitious enemies of the Communist Party. Sometimes it was enough just to suspect on someone and he would end up in a ship that drove him to the penitentiary. Often without trial.
The prisoners were expected to talk about their neighbors, friends and relatives and point out the enemies of the state. The one who did not cooperate or knew nothing useful to say would be proclaimed as a boycotted prisoner. They would tie the cloth to his the back with a wire meaning that it was allowed, or even desireable, to hit that prisoner. In the evening in front of the barracks a so-called “warm rabbit” waited for him, a row similar to that upon arriving at the island.
The worst thing anyone could say to the investigators was that he is innocent. Who would go to the island was determined by the State Security Administration (UDBA), an infallible protection service of internal affairs. If an innocent person ended up on the Island this would mean that UDBA made a mistake and she did not make a mistake. The one who ended up there certainly must have sinned, or at least thought about doing something bad.
At a building near the dock, there was a great inscription “The Party’s concern for our health is a bright example of humanity”. An inscription that speaks enough about himself.
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Goli otok (‘Naked Island’) - Rab island Croatia
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