“Temporary Living Conditions”

The Oxford dictionary 2nd ed. defines concentration camp as a camp where non combatants are accommodated” The term “concentration camp” was first used to describe camps operated by the British in South Africa during the 1899-1902 Second Boer War. Originally, it was conceived as a form of humanitarian aid to the families whose farms had been destroyed in the fighting. Later, the camps were used to confine and control large numbers of civilians in areas of Boer guerilla activity which gave new meaning to the word.

How did this term that was not originally associated with torture become defined to us as a killing or labour camp? When one hears the phrase “concentration camp,” one thinks of the Nazi’s extermination camp against the Jews in World War II. A break down of each word allows us to analyze and possibly determine how the phrase “concentration camp” went from a place of aid to a place of punishment. The word concentration itself gives us many clues.

The Canadian Thesaurus gives a person many synonyms for the word, “concentration”. Once I began to study the meaning of each word I began to see how and why it was being used in its present context. For example the terms, “boil down”, “gather”, and “condense” are all defined as bringing something together and making it smaller. They all can be applied to people and populations. The word “condense” for example, also suggests altering. When the state of something is shrunk it has also been altered or transformed. Making something smaller usually means taking something away. In this case, it would be members of a group or population.

The word “concentration” also refers to mental activity. “Thinking” and “focusing” are synonyms of concentration. When we concentrate on something, we zone in or target a particular idea. Therefore this definition may be expanded not just to ideas but also to people. All concentration camps have held certain people; those who have been put there have been targeted because of their ethnic or religious background.

“Concentrate” also means to fix. “Fix” has two definitions and each apply to the way we view a concentration camp. When we fix our minds on something, we are concentrating on a desired idea, but “fix” also means to change something. Hitler wanted to fix the German population by eliminating the Jews. They were the target race so that Germany would be transformed to his will. It is easier to understand why concentration camp is viewed negatively simply by breaking down the word concentration. The word camp gives us further insight as to why it has become such a horrific phrase.