HÀ NỘI — General Mai Chí Thọ (1922-2007) and his comrades had to eat small rotten fishes and boiled buffalo meat that tasted like rubber when they were imprisoned at Hỏa Lò Prison in 1940-1945.

The story of Thọ and other Vietnamese soldiers are told at an exhibition that opened on Wednesday in Hà Nội.

Titled Bare Feet, Steel Will, the exhibition reflects the strong will and courage of those who followed President Hồ Chí Minh’s determination to gain independence.

The exhibition depicts portraits of heroes such as Võ Nguyên Giáp, Đinh Đức Thiện, Mai Chí Thọ and Nguyễn Chí Thanh, who were excellent students of President Hồ.

They devoted themselves to fight for Việt Nam and contributed to the victory of Điện Biên Phủ (1954) and the Hồ Chí Minh Campaign (1975) as well as during the history of fighting invaders.

“During two long and arduous wars, the elite Vietnamese people entered in the war with their ‘bare feet’ and fight against the enemy by their ‘steel will’,” said Nguyễn Thị Bích Thủy, head of the management board of the Hỏa Lò Prison Relic, where the exhibition takes place.

“They had extraordinary strength to overcome all difficulties and challenges, with the will to win, the faith in their country without any self-interest, following the path of revolution with all their hearts.”

“As people say ‘Fire proves gold, adversity proves men’, many young revolutionary people had been trained and became matured through years and months of imprisonment in Hỏa Lò, Sơn La, Côn Đảo and Buôn Mê Thuột. They contributed to our glorious history,” he said.

The exhibition of 250 photos and objects will run until June 15 at Hỏa Lò Prison Relic, 1 Hỏa Lò Street, Hà Nội, to celebrate Liberation Day which falls on April 30. — VNS