The Red Tower of Death, or Rudá věž smrti, was a central facility for sorting and crushing uranium ore in what is now Karlovy Vary, Czechia. Its name refers both to its exposed red-brick walls and to the political prisoners who died under the communist regime.
The tower stood beside forced labour camp L, also known as Vykmanov II, described as one of the most dangerous camps in the Jáchymov system. Prisoners worked without protective equipment and inhaled concentrated radioactive uranium dust and radon gas. Exposure was associated with fatal silicosis and lung cancer.
More than 60,000 prisoners passed through Czechoslovakia’s uranium labour camps between 1948 and 1961. Hundreds died at the camps, while others became ill after their release. The Red Tower now serves as a memorial to those victims.
Sources: Atlas Obscura.