Re: Concentration camp


benlizross <benlizro@xxxxxxxxxx> writes:
I tried posting this twice to the "Strange land" thread, but for some
reason it did not seem to move beyond my local server.

The question being discussed there was whether "concentration camp" was
a phrase or concept known in the USA before 1945. I now have some
positive evidence, thanks to ProQuest's files of the NY Times.

One interesting finding is that there is a strictly military sense (not
recognized by OED) of "camp where troops are concentrated", and this
first appears in the NYT in 1898, with reference to the Spanish-American
War. It also turns up in the 1920s in an account of an unsuccessful
military coup attempt in Mexico.

The term was used in the Boer war too (1899-1902). Whether that made
the term known in the US, I don't know.

By the way, is the German abbreviation for it, KZ (pronounced
kah-tsett in German), known in the English speaking world?
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Concentration camp
    ... The question being discussed there was whether "concentration camp" was ... One interesting finding is that there is a strictly military sense (not ... The term was used in the Boer war too. ... To note that refugee camps and disaster-relief camps were occasionally ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: [OT] Why Bush?
    ... >>I suppose I have to remind you that the concentration camp was ... >>invented by Britain in the Boer War. ... > Disagree. ...
    (alt.lang.asm)
Loading