ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses sensorial experiences of imprisonment in the Gestapo prison in Begunje, which was one of several prisons in Slovenia. It argues that imprisonment affected all the prisoners' senses, from their arrival until their release or execution. Begunje is a typical Upper Carniola village in north-western Slovenia about 8 km east of Bled. During the war, 11,477 people were imprisoned so the prison records contain a total of 12,363 prisoners. Many of them had already undergone torture at many Gestapo centres and other prisons. In the special building extension, where ten prison or 'bunker' cells were located and can be visited today as a museum, we can see numerable wartime graffiti made by the inmates. The cells also represented a medium for a transfer of thoughts, feelings, messages and memories and the graffiti are not just scratches on the wall but had very special meanings for the authors and other prisoners.
