Comme des lions de pierre

Between 1947 and 1951, the Greek government interned around 80'000 soldiers and civilians for “communist activity” on the Island of Makronisos. They were forced to go through re-education programmes in order that they might get back on the right track guided by the ideology of the extreme right-wing nationalist King Paul. Numerous prisoners, including the famous poet Yannis Ritsos wrote texts that they buried inside bottles and managed to bring home from the camp. These texts fuel images of this barbaric laboratory which was set up to facilitate the “mental reprogramming” of members of the communist resistance.