When you look up "concentration camp" on Google, the second hit is "internment camp" on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment#Earliest_usage_of_concentration_camps_and_origins_of_the_term and it says: "The Random House Dictionary defines the term concentration camp as: a guarded compound for the detention or imprisonment of aliens, members of ethnic minorities, political opponents, etc., and, the American Heritage Dictionary defines it as: A camp where civilians, enemy aliens, political prisoners, and sometimes prisoners of war are detained and confined, typically under harsh conditions.
<snip> "…even Nazi concentration camps were not necessarily death camps. For example, some camps were sources of slave labor: the inmates were exploited rather than killed, although many were worked to death or killed for refusing to work. Because of these negative connotations, the term concentration camp, originally itself a euphemism, has been replaced by newer euphemisms such as internment camp, resettlement camp, and detention facility, regardless of the actual circumstances of these camps, which vary a great deal.
Here is another piece from PBS http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/index.html: "These Japanese Americans, half of whom were children, were incarcerated for up to 4 years, without due process of law or any factual basis, in bleak, remote camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. They were forced to evacuate their homes and leave their jobs; in some cases family members were separated and put into different camps. President Roosevelt himself called the 10 facilities concentration camps. Some Japanese Americans died in the camps due to inadequate medical care and the emotional stresses they encountered. Several were killed by military guards posted for allegedly resisting orders."
George Takai (Lt. Sulu from the original Star Trek series) talks about what it was like when his family was moved to a concentration camp.
RESOURCES and LESSONS for TEACHING ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE - especially race, ethnicity, and culture. You will find MANY LINKS TO SITES & ARTICLES, BUT ONLY THE FIRST FEW PARAGRAPHS (due to copyright laws), so please press the link to read the articles in their entirety. TO SEARCH, use the "SEARCH BY LABEL OR CATEGORY" section in the right column.
What's this blog about?
I teach several courses under the broad topic of "Multicultural Education," prioritizing social justice issues of access, power/privilege, & narrowing the academic achievement gap. I am a person of color and I almost always have a white co-teacher. We include topics, such as: racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, ethnocentrism, deculturalization, transforming curriculum, etc. This is a place where I post information that we teach; lesson plans for activities; and resources we use and/or which are shared with me by my adult students.