S-21 used to be a school until the Khmer Rouge turned it into a prison in the mid seventies. Cambodian nationals who were deemed intelligent (this included anyone who wore galsses), had links with the west or owned a business, were brought here to be interrogated and tortured before being sent to the 'Killing Fields' to be brutally murdererd and buried in mass graves.
The prison has been left as it was found with the addition of photo galleries depicting the attrocities that ocurred here. Walking around and reading about what happened here was incredibly moving and gave a whole new insight into the plight of the Khmer peoples.
In the school courtyard, gym equipment was turned into torture devices.
In one of the buildings a photo gallery of all the people that passed through S-21 on the way to their deaths has been set up. Until the later stages of the tyranny new arrivals did not know what would happen to them here and the look of confusion and apprehension on their faces is plainly evident. I would recommend the book 'First they killed my father', it gives an insight into the horrors of the Khmer Rouge campaign.
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