List Of Concentration And Internment Camps
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

This is a list of internment and concentration camps, organized by country. In general, a camp or group of camps is designated to the country whose government was responsible for the establishment and/or operation of the camp regardless of the camp's location, but this principle can be, or it can appear to be, departed from in such cases as where a country's borders or name has changed or it was occupied by a foreign power. Certain types of camps are excluded from this list, particularly refugee camps operated or endorsed by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
. Additionally,
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
s that do not also intern non-combatants or civilians are treated under a separate category.


Argentina

During the
Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...
which accompanied the 1976–1983 military dictatorship, there were over 300 places throughout the country that served as secret detention centres, where people were interrogated, tortured, and killed. Prisoners were often forced to hand and sign over property, in acts of individual, rather than official and systematic, corruption. Small children who were taken with their relatives, and babies born to female prisoners later killed, were frequently given for adoption to politically acceptable, often military, families. This is documented by a number of cases dating since the 1990s in which adopted children have identified their real families. These were relatively small secret detention centres rather than actual camps. The peak years were 1976–78. According to the report of
CONADEP National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (Spanish: ', CONADEP) was an Argentine organization created by President Raúl Alfonsín on 15 December 1983, shortly after his inauguration, to investigate the fate of the ''desaparecidos'' (v ...
(Argentine National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons) Report. 8,960 were killed during the Dirty War. It states that "We have reason to believe that the true figure is much higher" which is due to the fact that by the time they published the report (in late 1984) the research wasn't fully accomplished;
human rights organizations :''The list is incomplete; please add known articles or create missing ones'' The following is a list of articles on the human rights organisations of the world. It does not include political parties, or academic institutions. The list includes ...
today consider 30,000 to be killed (
disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...
). There was a total of 340 secret detention centres all over the country's territory.


Australia


World War I (Australia)

During World War I, 2,940 German and Austrian men were interned in ten different camps in Australia. Almost all of the men listed as being Austrians were from the
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
n coastal region of
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
, then under Austrian rule. In 1915 many of the smaller camps in Australia closed, with their inmates transferred to larger camps. The largest camp was
Holsworthy Internment Camp Holsworthy Internment Camp was the largest camp for prisoners of war in Australia during World War I. It was located at Holsworthy, near Liverpool on the outskirts of Sydney. There are varying estimates of the number of internees between 4,000 and 7 ...
at
Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...
. Families of the interned men were placed in a camp near
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
.


World War II (Australia)

During World War II, internment camps were established at
Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
and
Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...
in
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
for ethnic Germans in Australia whose loyalty was suspect; German refugees from
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
including the "''Dunera'' boys"; and Italian immigrants, many were later transferred to
Tatura Tatura is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia, and is situated within the City of Greater Shepparton local government area, north of the state capital (Melbourne) and west of the regional centre of Shepparton. At the 2 ...
in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
(4,721 Italian immigrants were interned in Australia). The
Department of Immigration and Border Protection The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) was a department of the Government of Australia that was responsible for immigration, citizenship and border control (including visa issuance). It has now been subsumed into the Depart ...
currently jointly manages two immigration centres on
Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...
and
Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...
s with the host governments of
Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...
and
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, for the indefinite detention of asylum seekers attempting to reach Australia by boat. The claims of the asylum seekers to refugee status are processed in these centres. They are a part of the Australian government's policy that asylum seekers attempting to reach Australia by boat will never be permitted to settle in Australia, even if they are found to be refugees, but may be settled in other countries. The clear intention of the Australian government's policy is to deter asylum seekers attempting to reach Australia by boat. The great majority of boats come from Indonesia, which is used as a convenient jumping-off point for asylum seekers from other countries who want to reach Australia. These centres are not
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
-endorsed refugee camps, and the operation of these facilities has caused
controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
, such as allegations of
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
and other breaches of
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
.


Austria-Hungary


World War I (Austria-Hungary)

Starting in 1914, 16 camps were built in the Austrian regions of Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg and Styria. The majority of prisoners came from Russia, Italy, Serbia and Romania. Citizens deemed enemies of the state were displaced from their homes and sent to camps throughout the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. In addition of (internment camp) for civilians of enemy states, Austria-Hungary incarcerated over one million Allied prisoners of war.


Austria

* Braunau in
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
(today: Broumov in the Czech Republic), * Drosendorf internment camp * Grossau internment camp * Heinrichsgrien (today: Jindřichovice
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
) * Illmau internment camp - in the
Waldviertel The (Forest Quarter; Central Bavarian: ) is the northwestern region of the northeast Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is bounded to the south by the Danube, to the southwest by Upper Austria, to the northwest and the north by the Czech Repu ...
* Katzenau - The largest internment camp in the territory of the monarchy, located on the right bank of the Danube near
Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
, was used as an internment camp for civilians after Italy entered the war. *
Karlstein an der Thaya Karlstein an der Thaya is a municipality and market town in the district of Waidhofen an der Thaya in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one o ...
internment camp * Kirchberg an der Wild internment camp - in the
Zwettl district Bezirk Zwettl is a district of the state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Colu ...
* Markl internment camp - In Windigsteig in the
Waldviertel The (Forest Quarter; Central Bavarian: ) is the northwestern region of the northeast Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is bounded to the south by the Danube, to the southwest by Upper Austria, to the northwest and the north by the Czech Repu ...
region *
Neulengbach Neulengbach is a municipality in the district of Sankt Pölten-Land in Lower Austria. Population Historical personalities In 1911, the twenty-one year-old artist Egon Schiele met the seventeen-year-old Walburga (Wally) Neuzil, who lived with ...
internment camp * Sittmannshof internment camp - located near Loibes in Lower Austria's
Waldviertel The (Forest Quarter; Central Bavarian: ) is the northwestern region of the northeast Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is bounded to the south by the Danube, to the southwest by Upper Austria, to the northwest and the north by the Czech Repu ...
region between 1915 and 1916. * Steinklamm internment camp - located in the municipality of
Rabenstein an der Pielach Rabenstein an der Pielach is a municipality in the district of Sankt Pölten-Land in Lower Austria, Austria. Geography Rabenstein an der Pielach lies in the middle of the Pielach valley in the Mostviertel in Lower Austria. About 45.51 percent of ...
in
Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
. * Thalerhof internment camp - Between 1914 and 1917, around 30,000 people from Eastern Europe (mainly Ukrainians) were interned in the Thalerhof camp near Feldkirchen, south of
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
.


Bosnia and Herzegovina

*
Doboj Doboj ( sr-cyrl, Добој, ) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Bosna river, in the northern region of the Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 ...


Hungary

* Arad (today in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
) *
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
*
Cegléd Cegléd (; german: Zieglet) is a city in Pest county, Hungary, approximately southeast of the Hungarian capital, Budapest. Name The name of the town is of disputed origin. The name may be derived from the word "szeglet" (meaning "corner") due t ...
*
Csót Csót is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast ...
*
Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Danu ...
*
Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia ...
* Keczkemét * Kenyérmező * Nagymegyer (today Veľký Meder
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
) *
Nezsider Neusiedl am See (; cs, Nezider; hr, Niuzalj; hu, Nezsider; sk, Nezider) is a town in Burgenland, Austria, and administrative center of the district of Neusiedl am See. Neusiedl am See is located on the northern shore of the Neusiedler See. ...
- The Nezsider concentration camp in Hungary, about 17,000 internees, mostly from Serbia and Montenegro, were held throughout the war. * Tápiósüly (today part of Sülysáp) - internment camp for civilians, including women and children, 45 km East of
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...


Bosnia and Herzegovina


Bosnian war

In a UN report, 381 out of 677 alleged camps have been corroborated and verified, involving all warring factions during the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
.


Bulgaria


World War I (Bulgaria)

During World War I,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
was part of the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
with Germany, Austria Hungary and Turkey. The Bulgarians established their largest prison camps in Sofia as well as smaller working camps across the kingdom but also military prison camps in Bulgarian occupied Serbia. * Dobritch (Bazargic) * Gorno Panicherevo - Located near
Stara Zagora Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province. Name The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieva ...
, holding prisoners of war and Serbian civilian internees, including women, children, a French school teacher and 84 Orthodox priests (according to Red Cross inspection of 11 May 1917) *
Haskovo Haskovo ( bg, Хасково ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Develo ...
- This prison camp held both Serbian prisoners of war and civilian internees, including women, children, and priests. * Orhanie (today called
Botevgrad Botevgrad ( bg, Ботевград ) is a town in western Bulgaria. It is located in Sofia Province and is close to Pravets. Botevgrad lies 47 km from Sofia. History and name The village was called Samundzhievo (Самунджиево) until ...
) held both prisoners of war and civilian internees, mostly Serbian but also Russian. * Philippopolis - The camp was established on the site of a former cholera hospital and incarcerated approximately 5,250 Serbian, British, and French with a majority of Serbian civilians. * Rakhovo (today
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
) *
Sliven Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...
- Sliven held approximately 19,900 Serbian, Romanian, Russian, British, and French prisoners, including sixteen Serbian Orthodox priests. *
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
- The Bulgarian army maintained three prison camps around the city, holding a total of 20,000 prisoners of war and civilian internees. ** Camp 1 - Mostly French prisoners ** Camp 2 - Mostly Serbian prisoners ** Camp 3 - Mostly Serbian prisoners with some Russians, Romanians and Italians


Bulgarian occupied Serbia

*
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
* Struga (today
North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
) - In Bulgarian-occupied province of Monastir in southwestern Serbia.


Cambodia

The
totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
régime established over 150 prisons for political opponents, of which
Tuol Sleng The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum ( km, សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង) or simply Tuol Sleng ( km, ទួលស្លែង, link=no, ; lit. "Hill of ...
is the best known. According to Ben Kiernan, "all but seven of the twenty thousand Tuol Sleng prisoners" were executed.


Canada


World War I (Canada)


Ukrainian Canadian internment

In World War I, 8,579 male "aliens of enemy nationality" were interned, including 5,954
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
s, including ethnic
Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
,
Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...
, and
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
. Many of these internees were used for
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
in internment camps.


Camps and relocation centres elsewhere in Canada

There were internment camps near Kananaskis, Alberta;
Petawawa, Ontario Petawawa is a town located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 18,160 (2021 Census), Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County. Geography The town lies on the west b ...
;
Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadia ...
;
Minto, New Brunswick Minto (2016 pop. 2,305) is a Canadian village straddling the border of Sunbury County and Queens County, New Brunswick. It is located on the north shore of Grand Lake, approximately 50 kilometres northeast of Fredericton. Its population meets ...
;
Amherst, Nova Scotia Amherst ( ) is a town in northwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, and south of the Northumberland Strait. The town sits on a height of land at the eastern boundary of th ...
and
St. John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...
. About 250 people worked as guards at the Amherst, Nova Scotia camp at Park and Hickman streets from April 1915 to September 1919. The prisoners, including
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
, cleared land around the experimental farm and built the pool in Dickey Park.


World War II (Canada)

During the World War II, the Canadian government interned people of German, Italian and Japanese ancestry, besides citizens of other origins it deemed dangerous to national security. This included both
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
s (including Canadians such as
Adrien Arcand Adrien Arcand (October 3, 1899 – August 1, 1967) was a Canadian journalist who promoted a series of fascist political activities between 1929 and his death in 1967. During his political career, he proclaimed himself the Canadian Führer. He wa ...
who had negotiated with
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
to obtain positions in the government of Canada once Canada was conquered),
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
mayor
Camillien Houde Camillien Houde (August 13, 1889 – September 11, 1958) was a Quebec politician, a Member of Parliament, and a four-time mayor of Montreal – one of the few Canadian politicians to have served at all three levels of government. Political c ...
(for denouncing
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
) and
union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
organizers and other people deemed to be dangerous
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
s. Such internment was made legal by the
Defence of Canada Regulations The ''Defence of Canada Regulations'' were a set of emergency measures implemented under the ''War Measures Act'' on 3 September 1939, a week before Canada's entry into World War II. The extreme security measures permitted by the regulations ...
, passed 3 September 1939. Section 21 of which read: :The Minister of Justice, if satisfied that, with a view to preventing any particular person from acting in a manner prejudicial to the public safety or the safety of the State, it is necessary to do so, may, notwithstanding anything in these regulations, make an order ..directing that he be detained by virtue of an order made under this paragraph, be deemed to be in legal custody.


Internment of Jewish refugees

European refugees who had managed to escape the Nazis and made it to Britain, were rounded up as "enemy aliens" in 1940. Many were interned on the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
, and 2,300 were sent to Canada, mostly Jews. They were transported on the same boats as German and Italian POWs. They were sent to camps in
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and
Quebec province Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
s where they were mixed in with Canadian fascists and other political prisoners, Nazi POWs, etc.


German Canadian internment

During the Second World War, 850
German Canadians German Canadians (german: Deutsch-Kanadier or , ) are Canadian citizens of German ancestry or Germans who emigrated to and reside in Canada. According to the 2016 census, there are 3,322,405 Canadians with full or partial German ancestry. Some ...
were accused of being spies for the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
, as well as subversives and saboteurs. The internees were given a chance by authorities to defend themselves; according to the transcripts of the appeal tribunals, internees and state officials debated conflicting concepts of citizenship. Many German Canadians interned in Camp Petawawa were from a migration in 1876. They had arrived in a small area a year after a Polish migration landed in
Wilno, Ontario Wilno is a settlement in the Madawaska Valley, Ontario, Township Municipality of Madawaska Valley, Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Geography Wilno is nestled in the rolling, picturesque terrain of the Madawaska River (Ontario), Madawaska valley ...
. Their hamlet, made up of farmers primarily, was called Germanicus, and is in the bush less than from
Eganville Eganville is a community occupying a deep limestone valley carved at the Fifth Chute of the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Eganville lies within the township of Bonnechere Valley. Eganville is also known as the Ordovician ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. Their farms (homesteads originally) were expropriated by the federal government for no compensation, and the men were imprisoned behind barbed wire in the AOAT camp. (The Foymount Air Force Base near
Cormac Cormac is a masculine given name in the Irish and English languages. The name is ancient in the Irish language and is also seen in the rendered Old Norse as ''Kormákr''. Mac is Irish for "son", and can be used as either a prefix or a suffix. ...
and Eganville was built on this expropriated land.) Notable was that not one of these homesteaders from 1876 or their descendants had ever visited Germany again after 1876, yet they were accused of being German
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
agents. 756 German sailors, mostly captured in
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
were sent from camps in India to Canada in June 1941 (''Camp 33). By 19 April 1941, 61 prisoners had made a break for liberty from Canadian internment camps. The escapees included 28 German prisoners who escaped from the internment camp east of
Port Arthur, Ontario Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur had been the district seat of ...
in April 1941.


Italian Canadian internment

On 10 June 1940, Italy joined the war on the Axis side. After that,
Italian Canadians Italian Canadians ( it, italo-canadesi, french: italo-canadiens) comprise Canadians who have full or partial Italian heritage and Italians who migrated from Italy or reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, 1,546,390 Canadians ...
were heavily scrutinized. Openly fascist organizations were deemed illegal while individuals with fascist inclinations were arrested, most often without warrants. Organizations seen as openly fascist also had properties confiscated without warrants. A provision under the Canadian ''
War Measures Act The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could t ...
'' was immediately enacted by Prime Minister
William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...
. Named the
Defence of Canada Regulations The ''Defence of Canada Regulations'' were a set of emergency measures implemented under the ''War Measures Act'' on 3 September 1939, a week before Canada's entry into World War II. The extreme security measures permitted by the regulations ...
, it allowed government authorities to take the necessary measures to protect the country from internal threats and enemies. The same afternoon that Italy joined the Axis powers, Italian consular and embassy officials were asked to leave as soon as physically possible. Canada, which was heavily involved in the war effort on the Allies' side, saw the Italian communities as a breeding ground of likely internal threats and a haven of conceivable spy networks helping the fascist Axis nations of Italy and Germany. Though many Italians were anti-fascist and no longer politically involved with their homeland, this did not stop 600–700 Italians from being sent to internment camps throughout Canada.Massa, Evelyn Weinfield, Morton: WE NEEDED TO PROVE WE WERE GOOD CANADIANS: CONTRASTING PARADIGMS FOR SUSPECT MINORITIES, pp. 17–19 Canadian Issues Spring 2009. The first of these Italian prisoners were sent to Camp Petawawa, in the Ottawa River Valley. By October 1940 the round up had already been completed. Italian Canadian Montrealer, Mario Duliani wrote "The City Without Women" about his life in the internment camp Petawawa during World War II; it is a personal account of the struggles of the time. Throughout the country Italians were investigated by
RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
officials who had a compiled list of Italian persons who were politically involved and deeply connected in the Italian communities. Most of the arrested individuals were from the Montreal and Toronto areas; they were pronounced
enemy aliens In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured an ...
.Iacovetta, Franca Pg 21–22"> Iacovetta, Franca: Such Hardworking People, pp. 21–23 McGill-Queen's University Press. After the war, resentment and suspicion of the Italian communities still lingered. Laval Fortier, commissioner for overseas immigration after the war, wrote: "The Italian South Peasant is not the type we are looking for in Canada. His standard of living, his way of life, even his civilization seem so different that I doubt if he could ever become an asset to our country". Such remarks reflected a large proportion of the population who had negative views of the Italian communities. A
Gallup poll Gallup, Inc. is an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Starting in the 1980s, Gallup transitioned its bu ...
released in 1946 showed 73 percent of Québécois were against immigration, with 25 percent stating Italians were the group of people most wanted kept out — even though the pre-war years had proved that Italians were an asset to the Canadian economy and industry, as they accomplished critical jobs that were seen as very unappealing, such as laying track across rural and dangerous landscapes and building infrastructure in urban areas.Iacovetta, Franca Pg 21–22"/>


Japanese Canadian internment and relocation centres

During World War II, Canada interned residents of Japanese ancestry. Over 75% were Canadian nationals and they were vital in key areas of the economy, notably the fishery and also logging and berry farming. Exile took two forms: relocation centres for families and relatively well-off individuals who were a low security threat, and internment camps which were for single men, the less well-off, and those deemed to be a security risk. After the war, many did not return to the Coast because of bitter feelings as to their treatment, and fears of further hostility from non-Japanese citizens; of those that returned only about 25% regained confiscated property and businesses. Most remained in other parts of Canada, notably certain parts of the
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
Interior and in the neighbouring province of Alberta.


=Camps and relocation centres in the West Kootenay and Boundary regions

= Internment camps, called "relocation centres", were at Greenwood,
Kaslo Kaslo is a village on the west shore of Kootenay Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. A member municipality of the Central Kootenay Regional District, the name derives from the adjacent Kaslo River. At 2016, the p ...
, Lemon Creek, New Denver, Rosebery, Sandon,
Slocan City The Village of Slocan is in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The former steamboat landing and ferry terminal is at the mouth of Springer Creek, at the foot of Slocan Lake. The locality, on BC Highway 6 is about by roa ...
, and
Tashme The Tashme Incarceration Camp ( nglicized pronunciationor apanese pronunciation was a purpose-built incarceration camp constructed to forcibly detain people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast of Canada during World War II after th ...
. Some were nearly-empty
ghost towns Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by Alle ...
when the internment began, others, like Kaslo and Greenwood, while less populous than in their boom years, were substantial communities.


=Self-supporting centres in the Lillooet-Fraser Canyon region

= A different kind of camp, known as a self-supporting centre, was found in other regions.
Bridge River The Bridge River is an approximately long river in southern British Columbia. It flows south-east from the Coast Mountains. Until 1961, it was a major tributary of the Fraser River, entering that stream about six miles upstream from the town of ...
,
Minto City Minto City, often called just Minto, sometimes Minto Mines, Minto Mine, Skumakum, or "land of plenty", was a gold mining town in the Bridge River Valley of British Columbia from 1930 to 1936, located at the confluence of that river with Gun Cree ...
,
McGillivray Falls McGillivray may refer to: People * McGillivray (surname) Places * McGillivray Creek (British Columbia), a creek in the Lillooet Country of British Columbia ** McGillivray, British Columbia (formerly McGillivray Falls) in the Lillooet Country of B ...
, East Lillooet, Taylor Lake were in the
Lillooet Country The Lillooet Country, also referred to as the Lillooet District, is a region spanning from the central Fraser Canyon town of Lillooet west to the valley of the Lillooet River, and including the valleys in between, in the Southern Interior of Br ...
or nearby. Other than Taylor Lake, these were all called "Self-supporting centres", not internment camps. The first three listed were all in a mountainous area so physically isolated that fences and guards were not required as the only egress from that region was by rail or water. McGillivray Falls and
Tashme The Tashme Incarceration Camp ( nglicized pronunciationor apanese pronunciation was a purpose-built incarceration camp constructed to forcibly detain people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast of Canada during World War II after th ...
, on the
Crowsnest Highway The Crowsnest Highway is an east-west highway in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. It stretches across the southern portions of both provinces, from Hope, British Columbia to Medicine Hat, Alberta, providing the shortest highway connection b ...
east of
Hope, British Columbia Hope is a district municipality at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern end ...
, were just over the minimum 100 miles from the Coast required by the deportation order, though Tashme had direct road access over that distance, unlike McGillivray. Because of the isolation of the country immediately coast-wards from McGillivray, men from that camp were hired to work at a sawmill in what has since been named Devine, after the mill's owner, which is within the 100-mile quarantine zone. Many of those in the East Lillooet camp were hired to work in town, or on farms nearby, particularly at
Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
, while those at Minto and Minto Mine and those at Bridge River worked for the railway or the hydro company.


Channel Islands

Alderney Alderney (; french: Aurigny ; Auregnais: ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest ...
in the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
was the only place in the British Isles where the Germans established concentration camps during their
Occupation of the Channel Islands The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are two island countries and British Cr ...
. In January 1942, the occupying German forces established four camps, called
Helgoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...
,
Norderney Norderney ( nds, Nördernee) is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany. The island is , having a total area of about and is therefore Germany's ninth-largest island. Norderney's population amounts ...
,
Borkum Borkum ( nds, Borkum, Börkum) is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany. It is situated east of Rottumeroog and west of Juist. Geography Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait ...
and
Sylt Sylt (; da, Sild; Sylt North Frisian, Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian ...
(named after the German North Sea islands), where captive Russians and other East Europeans were used as slave labourers to build the
Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...
defences on the island. Around 460 prisoners died in the Alderney camps.


Chile

* Concentration camps were used during the
Selk'nam genocide The Selk'nam genocide was the genocide of the Selk'nam people, one of three indigenous tribes populating the Tierra del Fuego in South America, from the second half of the 19th to the early 20th century. The genocide spanned a period of betwe ...
. * Concentration camps existed throughout Chile during
Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
's dictatorship in the 1970s and 80s. An article in
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
Review of Latin America reported that "there were over eighty detention centers in Santiago alone" and it gave details of some. Information on detention centers is included in the Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation (
Rettig report The Rettig Report, officially The National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation Report, is a 1991 report by a commission designated by Chilean President Patricio Aylwin (from the ''Concertación'') detailing human rights abuses resulting in dea ...
). Some of the detention centers in Chile in this period:


People's Republic of China


Laogai

Laogai ''Laogai'' (), short for ''laodong gaizao'' (), which means reform through labor, is a criminal justice system involving the use of penal labor and prison farms in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and North Korea (DPRK). ''Láogǎi'' i ...
(), the abbreviation for (), which means reform through labor, is a
criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...
system involving the use of penal labour and
prison farm A prison farm (also known as a penal farm) is a large correctional facility where penal labor convicts are forced to work on a farm legally and illegally (in the wide sense of a productive unit), usually for manual labor, largely in the open ai ...
s in the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(PRC). ''Láogǎi'' is different from ''láojiào'', or
re-education through labor Re-education through labor (RTL; ), abbreviated ''laojiao'' () was a system of administrative detention on Mainland China. Active from 1957 to 2013, the system was used to detain persons who were accused of committing minor crimes such as pet ...
, which was the abolished administrative detention system for people who were not criminals but had committed minor offenses, and was intended to "reform offenders into law-abiding citizens". Persons who were detained in the ''laojiao'' were detained in facilities that were separate from those which comprised the general prison system of the ''laogai''. Both systems, however, were based on penal labour. The system has been estimated to have caused tens of millionsChang, Jung and Halliday, Jon. '' Mao: The Unknown Story.'' Jonathan Cape, London, 2005. p. 338:
By the general estimate China's prison and labor camp population was roughly 10 million in any one year under Mao. Descriptions of camp life by inmates, which point to high mortality rates, indicate a probable annual death rate of at least 10 per cent.
Rummel, R. J.
China’s Bloody Century: Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900
''
Transaction Publishers Transaction Publishers was a New Jersey-based publishing house that specialized in social science books and journals. It was located on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. Transaction was sold to Taylor & Francis in 2016 and merged with ...
, 1991. pp. 214–215
Aikman, David.
The Laogai Archipelago"
, ''
The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...
'', September 29, 1997.
of deaths and it has also been likened to
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
by its critics.Chapman, Michael. "Chinese slaves make goods for American malls", ''Human Events,'' 07/04/97, Vol. 53, Issue 25. The memoirs of
Harry Wu Harry Wu (; February 8, 1937 – April 26, 2016) was a Chinese-American human rights activist. Wu spent 19 years in Chinese labor camps, and he became a resident and citizen of the United States. In 1992, he founded the Laogai Research Fou ...
describe his experience in reform-through-labor prisons from 1960 to 1979. Wu recounts his imprisonment for criticizing the government while he was in college and his release in 1979, after which he moved to the United States and eventually became an activist. Officials of the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
have argued that Wu far overstates the present role of Chinese
labor camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...
s and ignores the tremendous changes that have occurred in China since the 1970s.


Falun Gong

The
Chinese-language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...
word ''
laogai ''Laogai'' (), short for ''laodong gaizao'' (), which means reform through labor, is a criminal justice system involving the use of penal labor and prison farms in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and North Korea (DPRK). ''Láogǎi'' i ...
'', short for ''Láodòng Gǎizào'' ("reform through labor"), referred to penal labour or to
prison farm A prison farm (also known as a penal farm) is a large correctional facility where penal labor convicts are forced to work on a farm legally and illegally (in the wide sense of a productive unit), usually for manual labor, largely in the open ai ...
s in the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Chinese authorities dropped the word ''laogai'' itself in 1994 and replaced it with the label "prison". Translated from Chinese, original source was In the 1960s, critics of the government were arrested and sent to the prisons which were organized like factories. There are accusations that the products of penal labor are sold for profit by the government. There are also accusations that Chinese labor-camps produce goods which are often sold in foreign countries with the profits going to the PRC government. The products include everything from green tea to industrial engines to coal dug from mines. There have been reports of
Falun Gong Falun Gong (, ) or Falun Dafa (; literally, "Dharma Wheel Practice" or "Law Wheel Practice") is a new religious movement.Junker, Andrew. 2019. ''Becoming Activists in Global China: Social Movements in the Chinese Diaspora'', pp. 23–24, 33, 119 ...
practitioners being detained at the
Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital The Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital, officially known as the Liaoning Provincial Thrombosis Treatment Center of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, is a public hospital opened in December 1988 in the Sujiatun district of Shenyang, in northeast ...
, or at the "Sujiatun Concentration Camp". It has been alleged that Falun Gong practitioners are killed for their organs, which are then sold to medical facilities. The
Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...
rejects these allegations. The
US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
visited the alleged camp on two occasions, first unannounced, and found the allegations not credible.U.S. Finds No Evidence of Alleged Concentration Camp in China
, U.S. State Department, 16 April 2006
Chinese dissident and Executive Director of the
Laogai Research Foundation The Laogai Research Foundation is a human rights NGO located in Washington, D.C, United States. The foundation's mission is to "gather information on and raise public awareness of the Laogai—China's extensive system of forced-labor prison camp ...
,
Harry Wu Harry Wu (; February 8, 1937 – April 26, 2016) was a Chinese-American human rights activist. Wu spent 19 years in Chinese labor camps, and he became a resident and citizen of the United States. In 1992, he founded the Laogai Research Fou ...
, having sent his own investigators to the site, was unable to substantiate these claims, and he believed the reports were fabricated.Harry Wu challenges Falun Gong organ harvesting claims
, ''South China Morning Post'', 8 September 2006


Xinjiang

at least 120,000 members of China's
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
Uyghur minority were held in mass-detention camps, termed by Chinese authorities " re-education camps", which aim to change the political thinking of detainees, their identities and religious beliefs. According to
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
and
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, as many as 1 million people have been detained in these camps, which are located in the
Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
region. International reports state that as many as 3 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities may have been detained China's re-education camps in the Xinjiang region.


Croatia


World War II (Croatia)

An estimated 320,000–340,000
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
, 30,000
Croatian Jews The history of the Jews in Croatia dates back to at least the 3rd century, although little is known of the community until the 10th and 15th centuries. According to the 1931 census, the community numbered 21,505 members, and it is estimated t ...
and 30,000
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
were killed during the
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
, including between 77,000–99,000 Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats, Jews and Roma killed in the
Jasenovac concentration camp Jasenovac () was a concentration camp, concentration and extermination camps, extermination camp established in the Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in I ...
.


Yugoslav wars

*
Kerestinec prison Kerestinec camp was a prison that served as a concentration camp in Kerestinec, Croatia. It was located in the castle overlooking the village. Early 20th century Before the outbreak of World War II, the government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia buil ...
* Lora prison camp, Split


Cuba


Cuban War of Independence

After Marshal Campos had failed to pacify the Cuban rebellion, the Conservative government of
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Prime Minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the regime that ensued with the 1874 restor ...
sent out
Valeriano Weyler Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, 1st Duke of Rubí, 1st Marquess of Tenerife (17 September 1838 – 20 October 1930) was a Spanish general and colonial administrator who served as the Governor-General of the Philippines and Cuba, and later as S ...
. This selection met the approval of most Spaniards, who thought him the proper man to crush the rebellion. While serving as a Spanish general, he was called "Butcher Weyler" because hundreds of thousands of people died in his
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
s. He was made
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of Cuba with full powers to suppress the insurgency (rebellion was widespread in Cuba) and restore the island to political order and its sugar production to greater profitability. Initially, Weyler was greatly frustrated by the same factors that had made victory difficult for all generals of traditional standing armies fighting against an insurgency. While the Spanish troops marched in regulation and required substantial supplies, their opponents practiced hit-and-run tactics and lived off the land, blending in with the non-combatant population. He came to the same conclusions as his predecessors as well—that to win Cuba back for Spain, he would have to separate the rebels from the civilians by putting the latter in safe havens, protected by loyal Spanish troops. By the end of 1897, General Weyler had relocated more than 300,000 into such "reconcentration camps." Weyler learned this tactic from the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
campaign of
General Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
while assigned to the post of military attaché in the Spanish Embassy in Washington D.C.. However, many mistakenly believe him to be to the origin of such tactics after it was later used by the British in the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
and later evolved into a designation to describe the
concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
of the 20th century regimes of Hitler and Stalin. Although he was successful moving vast numbers of people, he failed to provide for them adequately. Consequently, these areas became cesspools of hunger and disease, where many hundreds of thousands died. Weyler's "reconcentration" policy had another important effect. Although it made Weyler's military objectives easier to accomplish, it had devastating political consequences. Although the Spanish Conservative government supported Weyler's tactics wholeheartedly, the Liberals denounced them vigorously for their toll on the Cuban civilian population. In the propaganda war waged in the United States, Cuban émigrés made much of Weyler's inhumanity to their countrymen and won the sympathy of broad groups of the U.S. population to their cause. He was nicknamed "the Butcher" Weyler by journalists like
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
. Weyler's strategy also backfired militarily due to the rebellion in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
that required the redeployment by 1897 of some troops already in Cuba. When Prime Minister
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Prime Minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the regime that ensued with the 1874 restor ...
was assassinated in June, Weyler lost his principal supporter in Spain. He resigned his post in late 1897 and returned to Europe. He was replaced in Cuba by the more conciliatory
Ramón Blanco y Erenas Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...
.


Rule of Fidel Castro

Military Units to Aid Production Military Units to Aid Production or UMAPs (Unidades Militares de Ayuda a la Producción) were agricultural forced labor camps operated by the Cuban government from November 1965 to July 1968 in the province of Camagüey.Guerra, Lillian. ""Gender ...
were
forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
s which were established by
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
's
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
government, from November 1965 to July 1968. They were used to brainwash the Cuban population and force it to renounce alleged "
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
" and "
counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...
" values. First, people were thrown into overcrowded prison cells which were located in police stations and later they were taken to secret police facilities, cinemas, stadiums, warehouses, and similar locations. They were photographed, fingerprinted and forced to sign confessions which declared that they were the "scum of society" in exchange for their temporary release until they were summoned to the concentration camps. Those who refused to sign the confessions were physically and psychologically tortured. Beginning in November 1965, people who were already classified as the "scum of society" started to arrive in the concentration camps by train, bus, truck and other police and military vehicles. "Social deviants" such as
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
s, vagrants,
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
and other religious missionaries were imprisoned in these concentration camps, where they would be " reeducated".


Denmark


Before and during World War II

*
Horserød camp Horserød Camp (also Horserød State Prison, Danish: ''Horserødlejren'' or ''Horserød Statsfængsel'') is an open state prison at Horserød, Denmark located in North Zealand, approximately seven kilometers from Helsingør. Built in 1917, Hor ...
– established during World War I as a camp for war prisoners in need of treatment, it was used during World War II as an internment camp. It is now an open prison. * Frøslev Prison Camp – established during World War II as an internment camp by the Danish government in order to avoid deportation of Danish citizens to Germany. Used after the war to house Nazi collaborators and later students of a continuation high school located inside the camp.


After World War II

Denmark received about 240,000 refugees from Germany and other countries after the war. They were put into camps guarded by the reestablished army. Contact between Danes and the refugees were very limited and strictly enforced. About 17,000 died in the camps caused either by injuries and illness as a result of their escape from Germany or the poor conditions in the camps. Known camps were * Dragsbæklejren – a base for seaplanes, later converted into an internment camp for refugees. It is now used by the army * Gedhus – located on an area which now is home to Karup Airport * Grove – located on an area which now is home to Karup Airport * Rye Flyveplads – a small airfield in Jutland * Kløvermarken – is now a park in Copenhagen * Oksbøl Refugee Camp – now belongs to the Danish Army * Skallerup Klit – was developed into an area for Summer houses


Finland


Finnish Civil War

In the Finnish Civil War, the victorious White Army and German troops captured about 80,000 Red prisoners by the end of the war on 5 May 1918. Once the White terror subsided, a few thousand including mainly small children and women, were set free, leaving 74,000–76,000 prisoners. The largest List of concentration and internment camps#Finland, prison camps were Suomenlinna, an island facing Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Lahti, Vyborg, Viipuri, Ekenäs, Finland, Ekenäs, Riihimäki and Tampere. The Senate made the decision to keep these prisoners detained until each person's guilt could be examined. A law for a ''Tribunal of Treason'' was enacted on 29 May after a long dispute between the White army and the Senate of the proper trial method to adopt. The start of the heavy and slow process of trials was delayed further until 18 June 1918. The Tribunal did not meet all the standards of neutral justice, due to the mental atmosphere of White Finland after the war. Approximately 70,000 Reds were convicted, mainly for complicity to treason. Most of the sentences were lenient, however, and many got out on parole. 555 persons were sentenced to death, of whom 113 were executed. The trials revealed also that some innocent persons had been imprisoned. Combined with the severe food shortage, the mass imprisonment led to high mortality rates in the camps, and the catastrophe was compounded by a mentality of punishment, anger and indifference on the part of the victors. Many prisoners felt that they were abandoned also by their own leaders, who had fled to Russia. The condition of the prisoners had weakened rapidly during May, after food supplies had been disrupted during the Red Guards' retreat in April, and a high number of prisoners had been captured already during the first half of April in Tampere and Helsinki. As a consequence, 2,900 starved to death or died in June as a result of diseases caused by malnutrition and Spanish flu, 5,000 in July, 2,200 in August, and 1,000 in September. The mortality rate was highest in the Ekenäs, Finland, Ekenäs camp at 34%, while in the others the rate varied between 5% and 20%. In total, between 11,000 and 13,500 Finns perished. The dead were buried in mass graves near the camps. The majority of the prisoners were paroled or pardoned by the end of 1918 after the victory of the Western powers in World War I also caused a major change in the Finnish domestic political situation. There were 6,100 Red prisoners left at the end of the year, 100 in 1921 (at the same time civil rights were given back to 40,000 prisoners) and in 1927 the last 50 prisoners were pardoned by the social democratic government led by Väinö Tanner. In 1973, the Finnish government paid reparations to 11,600 persons imprisoned in the camps after the civil war.


World War II (Continuation War)

When the Army of Finland, Finnish Army during the Second World War occupied East Karelia from Continuation War, 1941–1944, which was inhabited by ethnically related Finnic Karelians (although it never had been a part of Finland—or before 1809 of Sweden–Finland, Swedish Finland), several concentration camps were set up for ethnically Russians, Russian civilians. The first camp was set up on 24 October 1941, in Petrozavodsk. The two largest groups were 6,000 Russian refugees and 3,000 inhabitants from the southern bank of River Svir forcibly evacuated because of the closeness of the front line. Around 4,000 of the prisoners perished due to malnourishment, 90% of them during the spring and summer 1942.Laine, Antti, ''Suur-Suomen kahdet kasvot'', 1982, , Otava The ultimate goal was to move the Russian speaking population to German-occupied Russia in exchange for any Finnish population from these areas, and also help to watch civilians. Population in the Finnish camps: * 13,400 – 31 December 1941 * 21,984 – 1 July 1942 * 15,241 – 1 January 1943 * 14,917 – 1 January 1944


France


Devil's Island

The Devil's Island was a network of prisons in French Guiana that ran from 1852–1953 used to intern petty criminals and political prisoners in which up to 75% of the 80,000 interned perished.


Algeria

During the French conquest of Algeria, which began in 1830 was and fully Pacification of Algeria, completed by 1903, the French used the camps to hold Arabs, Berbers and Turks they had forcibly removed from fertile areas of land, in order to replace them by primarily French, Spanish, and Maltese settlers. The conquest led to the deaths of between 500,000 and 1 million of an estimated 3 million Algerians from famine, disease, and war. Historian Ben Kiernan wrote on the conquest of Algeria: "By 1875, the French conquest was complete. The war killed approximately 825,000 indigenous Algerians since 1830," During the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), the French military created (regrouping centres), which were built settlements for forcibly displaced civilian populations, in order to separate them from National Liberation Front (Algeria), National Liberation Front (FLN) guerilla combatants. According to civil servant Michel Rocard, 1,000,000 Algerians were sent to regrouping camps (including children). In 1959, Michel Rocard denounced the appalling conditions of many of those camps in a report, leaked and published in Le Monde. As a consequence the camps were modernized and became part of a large rural renovation program called (One Thousand Villages).


Spanish Republicans

After the end of Spanish Civil War, there were harsh reprisals against Franco's former enemies. Hundreds of thousands of Republicans fled abroad, Immigration in France, especially to France and Mexico. On the other side of the Pyrenees, refugees were confined in Concentration camps in France, internment camps of the French Third Republic, such as the Rieucros Camp, Camp de Rivesaltes, Camp Gurs or Camp Vernet, where 12,000 Republicans were housed in squalid conditions (mostly soldiers from the Durruti Division''Camp Vernet'' Website
). The 17,000 refugees housed in Gurs were divided into four categories (Brigadists, pilots, ''Euzko Gudarostea, Gudaris'' and ordinary Spaniards). The ''Gudaris'' (Basques) and the pilots easily found local backers and jobs, and were allowed to quit the camp, but the farmers and ordinary people, who could not find relations in France, were encouraged by the Third Republic, in agreement with the Francoist government, to return to Spain. The great majority did so and were turned over to the Francoist authorities in Irún. From there they were transferred to the Miranda de Ebro camp for "purification". After the proclamation by Marshal Philippe Pétain of the Vichy regime, the refugees became political prisoners, and the French police attempted to round-up those who had been liberated from the camp. Along with other "undesirables", they were sent to the Drancy internment camp before being deported to Nazi Germany. About 5,000 Spaniards thus died in Mauthausen concentration campFilm documentary
on the website of the ''Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration''


Vichy France

During World War II, The French Vichy France, Vichy government ran what were called "detention camps" such as the one at Drancy deportation camp, Drancy. Camps also existed in the Pyrenees on the border with pro-Nazi Spain, among them Camp de Rivesaltes, Camp du Récébédou, Camp Gurs and Camp Vernet. From these, the French cooperated in deporting about 73,000 Jews to Nazi Germany. In addition, in areas which Germany formally annexed from France, such as Alsace-Lorraine, concentration camps were built, the largest being Natzweiler-Struthof. The Vichy French also ran camps in North and West Africa, and possibly French Somaliland and Madagascar. The following are the locations of concentration camps, POW camps, and internment camps in (Vichy) West and (Vichy) North Africa: The camps were located at: West Africa: * Conakry * Timbuktu, Timbuctoo * Kankan * Mali, Koulikoro, Mali * Dakar North Africa: * Sfax * El Kef * Laghouat prison camp, Laghouat * Geryville. Also camps connected to the Laconia incident: * Mediouna, Morocco, Mediouna (near Casablanca) * Morocco, Qued-Zen, Morocco (near Casablanca) * Morocco, Sidi-el-Avachi, Morocco (near Azemmour) The following camps which are under investigation: * Taza * Fes * Oujda * Sidi-bel-Abbes * Berguent * Settat * Sidi-el-Ayachi * Qued Zem * Mecheria The camps at Conakry, Timbuktu, Timbuctoo, and Kankan had no running water, no electricity, no gas, no electric light, no sewers, no toilets and no baths. The prisoners (mainly British and Norway, Norwegian) were housed in native accommodation—mud huts and houses, and a tractor shed. The Vichy French authorities in West Africa called these camps "concentration camps".


Germany


German South West Africa, 1904–1908

Between 1904 and 1908, following the German suppression of the Herero people, Herero and Nama people, Nama in the Herero and Namaqua genocide, survivors were interned at the following locations in German South-West Africa (now Namibia): * Shark Island Concentration Camp * Windhoek Concentration Camp * Okahandja Concentration Camp * Karibib * Swakopmund Concentration Camp * Omaruru


World War I (Germany)

In World War I male (and some female) civilian nationals of the Allies of World War I, Allies caught by the outbreak of war on the territory of the Germany were interned. The camps (''Internierungslager'') included those at: * Ruhleben internment camp, Ruhleben, for up to 4,500 internees, on a horse race-track near Berlin. * Holzminden internment camp, Holzminden in Lower Saxony, for up to 10,000 internees. * Havelberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, for 4,500 internees, including nearly 400 British Indians. * Celle Castle in Lower Saxony. * Rastatt Camp, for French civilians.


Nazi era

On 30 January 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of the Weimar Republic's weak coalition government. Although the Nazi party (''NSDAP'') was in a minority, Hitler and his associates quickly took control of the country. Within days the first concentration camp (''Konzentrationslager''), at Dachau concentration camp, Dachau, Nazi Germany, was built to hold persons considered dangerous by the Nazi administration—these included suspected communists, labor union activists, liberal politicians and even pastors. This camp became the model for all later Nazi concentration camps. It was quickly followed by Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Oranienburg-Sachsenhausen which became a facility for the training of SS-Totenkopfverbände, SS-Death's Head officers in the operation of concentration camps. Theodor Eicke, commandant of the Dachau camp, was appointed Inspector of Concentration Camps by Heinrich Himmler on 4 July 1934. By 1934 there were eight major institutions. This started the second phase of development. All smaller detention camps were consolidated into six major camps: Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald, Flossenbürg concentration camp, Flossenburg, and after the Anschluss, annexation of Austria in 1938, Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, Mauthausen; finally in 1939 Ravensbrück (for women). The pajama type blue-striped uniforms were introduced for inmates as well as the practice of tattooing the prisoner's number on his fore-arm. Eicke started the practice of farming out prisoners as slave-labor in German industry, with sub-camps or ''Arbeitskommandos'' to house them. The use of common criminals as Kapo (concentration camp), Kapo, to brutalize and assist in the handling of prisoners, was instituted at this time. In November 1938 the massive arrests of German Jews started, with most of them being immediately sent to the concentration camps, where they were separated from other prisoners and subjected to even harsher treatment. The third phase started after the occupation of Poland in 1939. In the first few months Polish intellectuals were detained, including nearly the entire staff of Cracow University arrested in November 1939. Auschwitz concentration camp, Auschwitz-I and Stutthof concentration camp were built to house them and other political prisoners. Large numbers were executed or died from the brutal treatment and disease. After the occupation of Belgium, France and Netherlands in 1940, Natzweiler-Struthof, Gross Rosen and Fort Breendonk, in addition to a number of smaller camps, were set up to house intellectuals and political prisoners from those countries who had not already been executed. Many of these intellectuals were held first in Gestapo prisons, and those who were not executed immediately after interrogation were sent on to the concentration camps. Initially, Jews in the occupied countries were interned either in other KZ, but predominantly in Ghettos in occupied Europe 1939-1944, Ghettos that were walled off parts of cities. All the Jews in western Poland (annexed into the Reich) were transported to ghettos in the General Government. Jews were used for labour in industries, but usually transported to work then returned to the KZ or the ghetto at night. Although these ghettoes were not intended to be extermination camps, and there was no official policy to kill people, thousands died due to hunger, disease and extreme conditions. In occupied Czechoslovakia, Lety concentration camp was constructed to hold Romani people from Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, Bohemia and Moravia. Following the Nazi advance into the Soviet Union in 1941 and 1942, camps were set up in Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, which consisted of Janowska concentration camp, Salaspils camp, Ninth Fort and Vaivara concentration camp. During this period, Jewish soldiers and civilians were systematically executed by the ''Einsatzgruppen'' of the S.S. that followed the front-line troops. At the Wannsee Conference on 20 January 1942 the "Final Solution" was decreed to exterminate all of the remaining Jews in Europe, Heydrich stated that there were still 11 million to be eliminated. To accomplish this special ''Vernichtungslager'' (extermination camps) were organized. The first was Chełmno extermination camp, Chełmno in which 152,000, mainly from the Łódź ghetto, were killed. The method for carrying out mass murder was tested and perfected here. During 1942 and 1943 further camps Auschwitz concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau II, part of Majdanek, Treblinka, Bełżec extermination camp, Bełżec and Sobibor extermination camp, Sobibor were built for this purpose. Jews from other concentration camps, and from the ghettos, were transported to them from all over occupied Europe. In these six camps alone, an estimated 3.1 million Jews were killed in gas chambers and the bodies burned in massive crematoria. The Nazis realized that this was a criminal act and the action was shrouded in secrecy. The extermination camps were destroyed in 1944 and early 1945 and buried. However the Soviet armies overran Auschwitz and Majdanek before the evidence could be totally destroyed. Another category of internment camp in Nazi Germany was the Labor camp (''Arbeitslager''). They housed civilians from the occupied countries that were being used to work in industry, on the farms, in quarries, in mines and on the railroads. Approximately 12,000,000 forced laborers, most of whom were Eastern Europeans, were enslaved in the German war economy inside the Nazi Germany. The workers were mostly young and taken from the occupied countries, predominantly eastern Europe, but also many French and Italian. They were sometimes taken willingly, more frequently as a result of ''lapanka'' in Polish, or ''rafle'' in French language, in which people were collected on the street or in their home by police drives. However, for often very minor infractions of the rules, workers were imprisoned in special ''Arbeitserziehungslager'', German language, German for worker re-education camp (abbreviated to AEL and sometimes referred to as ''Straflager''). These punishment camps were operated by the Gestapo and many of the inmates were executed or died from the brutal treatment. Finally there was one category of internment camp, called Ilag in which Allied (mainly British and American) civilians were held. These civilians had been caught behind front lines by the rapid advance of the German armies, or the sudden entry of the United States into the war. In these camps the Germans abided by the rules of the Third Geneva Convention. Deaths resulted from sickness or simply old age. After World War II, internment camps were used by the Allied occupying forces to hold suspected Nazis, usually using the facilities of previous Nazi camps. They were all closed down by 1949. In German Democratic Republic, East Germany the communist government used prison camps to hold political prisoners, opponents of the communist regime or suspected Nazi collaborators. * Bad Nenndorf interrogation centre


Hong Kong


World War II (Japanese)

During the Second World War the Japanese, during their occupation of Hong Kong, interned enemy nationals (mostly British, Canadian, American and Dutch), in several internment camps in Hong Kong. Camps existed at: * Sham Shui Po – A concentration camp was maintained here for most of the duration of the Second World War. * Stanley Internment Camp – Located primarily on the grounds of St. Stephen's College, Hong Kong, St. Stephen's College. Shortly after surrendering, the Imperial Japanese Army broke into the St. Stephen's (which had served as a military hospital during the battle) and murdered the wounded soldiers of the Allied forces. The Japanese later merged the College with part of Stanley Prison to form the full Stanley Internment Camp. * Stanley Prison – Located primarily in the Officer's housing blocks at the prison. During the Japanese occupation, the grounds of the prison were used as part of Stanley Internment Camp. Nearly 600 prisoners of war and civilians, killed by the Japanese during the occupation, are buried in the nearby Stanley War Cemetery (which is NOT part of the prison itself but adjacent to it).


India

During both World Wars the British interned enemy nationals (mostly Germans). In 1939 this also included refugees from the Nazis as well as Germans who had acquired British citizenship, in India. Camps existed at:


World War I (India)

* Ahmednagar, also for internees from German East Africa; Sections A abysmally overcrowded with more than 1000 inmates in "medically condemned" old barracks and B for privileged (read: monied) prisoners and officers. In 1915 a ''parole camp'' was set up. * Diyatalawa (Sri Lanka, Ceylon) * Belgaum for women; set up late 1915; March 1917: 214 inmates * Kataphar for families


World War II (India)

* Ahmednagar (''Central Internment Camp'') inmates transferred to Dehradun February 1941. * Diyatalawa (Ceylon). Aliens from Ceylon, Hong Kong and Singapore. Many German sailors, 756 of them sent to Canada in June 1941 (''Camp 33''); other males to Dehradun, females to ''parole camps'', when camp was closed 23. February 1942 * Deolali from February 1941, later also transferred to Dehradun. 11 August 1941: 604 Germans. * Dehradun main camp for males from September 1941. Sensibly separated in ''Wings'' 1: pro-Nazi, 2: anti-Nazi, 3: Italians. From this camp the SS mountaineer Heinrich Harrer escaped to Tibet. * Yercaud for females from Madras Presidency. Summer 1941: 98 inmates, closed late 1942. * Fort William (India), Ft. Williams (Calcutta), army camp, closed early 1940, males were sent to Ahmednagar, females to Katapahar parole camp. * ''Camp 17'' initially in Ramgarh, Bihar, Ramgarh (Bihar), from July 1942 at Deoli, Rajasthan, Deoli (Rajputana). For the surviving internees from the Dutch Indies. * Hazaribagh: in then Bihar; now in Jharkhand * Smaller ''Parole Camps'' at Naini Tal, Kodaikanal and Katapahar (near Darjeeling), were all closed by late 1942. Inmates transferred to (family reunions) to the camps near Poona: ** Satara (city), Satara from May 1940 ** Purandar fort, Purandhar (lower Fort), initially for Jewish refugees, later also other Germans, many missionaries with families. In August 1945 116 Germans (45 children, 19 missionaries), 26 Italians (5 children), 68 other nationals (11 children) Most internees were deported late 1946. Germans shipped to Hamburg were sent to the former Neuengamme concentration camp for de-Nazification.Auswärtiges Amt; ... Merkblatt über die Lage der Deutschen in Britisch-Indien; die Internierungslager auf Ceylon und Jamaica; Berlin 1941. Series: 3.: January 1941, 4.: September 1941, 5.: Dez. 1941, 6.: Dez. 1942


Sino-Indian War

During the Sino-Indian War in 1962, the Indian government Internment of Chinese-Indians, interned and incarcerated 3000 Chinese-Indian civilians in the desert internment camp in Deoli, Rajasthan, Deoli, Rajasthan, built by the colonial authorities in 1942 as a Prisoner-of-war camp, POW camp for Japanese, German, and Italian Prisoner of war, prisoners of war during the Second World War. The Indian government has not apologised or offered compensation to the internees as of 2020.


Ireland

, during the 1920s, was a vessel used by the British government as a military base and prison ship to hold Irish Republicans as part of their internment strategy. By February 1923, under the Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act (Northern Ireland) 1922, 1922 Special Powers Act the British were detaining 263 men on ''Argenta'', which was moored in Belfast Lough. This was supplemented with internment at other land-based sites such as Larne workhouse, Crumlin Road (HM Prison), Belfast Prison and Derry Gaol. Together, both the ship and the workhouse held 542 men without trial at the highest internment population level, during June 1923. Conditions on the prison ship ''Argenta'' were "unbelievable", says author Denise Kleinrichert who penned the hidden history of the 1920s "floating gulag". Cloistered below decks in cages which held 50 internees each, the prisoners were forced to use broken toilets which overflowed frequently into their communal area. Deprived of tables, the already weakened men ate off the contaminated floor, frequently succumbing to disease as a result. Courtesy of author Denise Kleinrichert's lobbying efforts, the files of all the internees—most of them named in an appendix to her book—are now available for viewing at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.


World War II (Ireland)

During World War II, known in Republic of Ireland, Ireland as The Emergency (Ireland), the "Emergency", "K-Lines" was the part of the Curragh Camp used as an internment camp. It was used to house German soldiers, mainly navy personnel stranded in neutral Ireland. A separate section was created for Allied military, mostly British soldiers, who entered Irish territory in violation of the neutrality policy. Curragh Camp#Internment of belligerents, No.1 Internment camp, that had been built by the British pre-1922, held Irish republicanism, republicans who had a suspected link to the IRA. Later in the war, Gormanston Camp, near Balbriggan, was used to house eleven Allied airmen from operational flights, but eight were released in June 1944; three Germans were kept there for a short period in 1945.


Isle of Man


World War I (Isle of Man)

During World War I the United Kingdom government internment, interned male citizens of the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
, principally Germany, Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Turkey in this Crown Dependencies, crown dependency. They were held mainly in internment camps at Knockaloe internment camp, Knockaloe, close to Peel, Isle of Man, Peel, and a smaller one near Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas.


World War II (Isle of Man)

During World War II the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
was used as the primary site for the internment of civilian enemy aliens, both male and female. The camps were predominantly in commandeering, commandeered hotels and boarding houses in seaside towns on the island. Around the camps for males, barbed wire fences were erected and military guard was brought over from England. The low-risk internees were, however, allowed to work on farms on the island and to go on excursions such as for walks or to swim in the sea. The camps were in operation from 27 May 1940 to 5 September 1945. The largest recorded number of internees on the island was roughly 14,000, reached in August 1940. There were ten camps on the island: * Mooragh Internment Camp, Mooragh Camp, Ramsey, Isle of Man, Ramsey * Peveril Camp, Peel, Isle of Man, Peel * Onchan Camp, Onchan * Rushen Camp, Port St Mary and Port Erin (for female and family internees only) * Central Camp, Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas * Palace Camp, Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas * Metropole Internment Camp, Metropole Camp, Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas * Hutchinson Internment Camp, Hutchinson Camp, Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas * Granville Camp, Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas * Sefton Internment Camp, Sefton Camp, Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas


Italy


Japan


World War II (Japan)

Japan conquered south-east Asia in a series of victorious campaigns over a few months from December 1941. By March 1942 many civilians, particularly westerners in the region's European colonies, found themselves behind enemy lines and were subsequently interned by the Japanese. The nature of civilian internment varied from region to region. Some civilians were interned soon after invasion; in other areas the process occurred over many months. In total, approximately 130,000 Allied civilians were interned by the Japanese during this period of occupation. The exact number of internees will never be known as records were often lost, destroyed, or simply not kept. The backgrounds of the internees were diverse. There was a large proportion of Dutch from the Dutch East Indies, but they also included Americans, British, and Australians. They included missionaries and their families, colonial administrators, and business people. Many had been living in the colonies for decades. Single women had often been nuns, missionaries, doctors, teachers and nurses. Civilians interned by the Japanese were treated marginally better than the prisoners of war, but their death rates were the same. Although they had to work to run their own camps, few were made to labour on construction projects. The Japanese devised no consistent policies or guidelines to regulate the treatment of the civilians. Camp conditions and the treatment of internees varied from camp to camp. The general experience, however, was one of malnutrition, disease, and varying degrees of harsh discipline and brutality from the Japanese guards. Some Dutch people, Dutch women were forced into sexual slavery. The camps varied in size from four people held at Pangkalpinang in Sumatra to the 14,000 held in Tjihapit in Java. Some were segregated according to gender or race, there were also many camps of mixed gender. Some internees were held at the same camp for the duration of the war, and others were moved about. The buildings used to house internees were generally whatever was available, including schools, warehouses, universities, hospitals, and prisons. Organisation of the internment camps varied by location. The Japanese administered some camps directly; others were administered by local authorities under Japanese control. Korean POWs of the Japanese were also used as camp guards. Some of the camps were left for the internees to self-govern. In the mixed and male camps, management often fell to the men who were experienced in administration before their internment. In the women's camps the leaders tended to be the women who had held a profession prior to internment. Boys over the age of ten were generally considered to be men by the Japanese and were often separated from their mothers to live and work in male camps. One of the most famous concentration camps operated by the Japanese during World War II was at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, the Philippines, the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. The Dominican Order, Dominican university was expropriated by the Japanese at the beginning of the occupation, and was used to house mostly American civilians, but also British subjects, for the duration of the war. There, men, women and children suffered from malnutrition and poor sanitation. The camp was liberated in 1945. The liberation of the camps was not a uniform process. Many camps were liberated as the forces were recapturing territory. For other internees, freedom occurred many months after the surrender of the Japanese, and in the Dutch East Indies, liberated internees faced the uncertainty of the Indonesian War of Independence. Civilian internees were generally disregarded in official histories, and few received formal recognition. Ironically, however, civilian internees have become the subject of several influential books and films. Agnes Newton Keith's account of internment on Berhala Island, Sabah, Berhala Island in Sandakan, Sandakan Harbour and Batu Lintang camp, Kuching, ''Three Came Home'' (1947), was one of the first of the memoirs. More recent publications include Jeanne Tuttle and Jolanthe Zelling's "Mammie's Journal of My Childhood" (2005); (Shirley Fenton-Huie's ''The Forgotten Ones'' (1992) and Jan Ruff O'Herne's ''Fifty Years of Silence'' (1997). Nevil Shute's novel ''A Town Like Alice'' was filmed in 1956, and J. G. Ballard's ''Empire of the Sun'' in 1987. Other films and television dramas have included ''Tenko (TV series), Tenko'' and ''Paradise Road (1997 film), Paradise Road''.


Korea, Republic of

During the 1980s, South Korea had multiple internment camps, including the Brothers Home, which housed thousands of prisoners in Busan.


Libya

The history of Italian Libya, Libya as an Italian colony started in the 1910s and it lasted until February 1947, when Italy officially lost all of the colonies of the former Italian Empire. Fighting intensified after the accession to power in Italy of the dictator Benito Mussolini and King Idris fled Libya for the safety of Egypt in 1922. From 1922 to 1928, Italian forces under General Pietro Badoglio waged a punitive pacification campaign. Badoglio's successor in the field, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani (known as 'The Butcher of Fezzan'), accepted the commission from Mussolini on the condition that he be allowed to crush the Libyan resistance unencumbered by the restraints of either Italian or international law. Reportedly, Mussolini immediately agreed and Graziani intensified the oppression. The Libyans continued to defend themselves, with the strongest voices of dissent coming from the Cyrenaica. Omar Mukhtar, a Senussi sheikh, became the leader of the uprising. Soon afterwards, the colonial administration began the wholesale deportation of the people of Cyrenaica to deny the rebels the support of the local population. The forced migration of more than 100,000 people ended in concentration camps in Suluq- ALa byer and El Agheila, Al Agheila where tens of thousands died in squalid conditions. It is estimated (by Arab historians) that the number of Libyans who died – killed either through combat or mainly through starvation, execution and disease – is at a minimum of 80,000 or even up to one third of the Cyrenaican population.


Mexico

During WW2 the US pressured Mexico to deport Japanese Mexicans to the US for internment and when Mexico refused, pressured Mexico to displace and intern them.


Montenegro

The fort on the island of Mamula (island), Mamula was converted into a
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
by the Italian fascism, fascist forces of Benito Mussolini, Benito Mussolini's Kingdom of Italy. During the 1991 to 1995 Croatian War of Independence, the Yugoslav People's Army organized the Morinj camp near Kotor, Montenegro.


Netherlands


World War I (Netherlands)

During World War I, all foreign soldiers and ship crews that illegally entered the neutral Netherlands were interned in a specific camp based on their nationality (to avoid conflict). By far the largest camp was the one for British sailors and soldiers in Groningen (city), Groningen. Unlike the Prisoners of War in the neighbouring countries at the time, Dutch prisoners had plenty of food, and tradesmen often came to the camp with a wide range of goods. The interned were paid a certain amount of compensation money by the Dutch authorities on top of any British aid that was channeled to them through the Dutch government. One prisoner later commented: "... we were quite well off, and the local people were very good to us." After a revolt in 1926 in the Dutch East Indies, a concentration camp for political prisoners was set up in what then was called Netherlands New Guinea, in the very remote jungle at Boven-Digoel concentration camp, Boven-Digoel (Upper Digul).Dr L. de Jong, ''Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog'' ('' The Kingdom of the Netherlands during WWII''), Amsterdam, RIOD, 1966 More camps were established for supposed German sympathizers at the start of World War II, including one at Onrust Island and one in Ngawi Regency. In Surinam (Dutch colony), Surinam, they also built camps for German nationals and German sympathizers, including one at Jodensavanne internment camp, Jodensavanne and one at Copieweg internment camp, Copieweg.


World War II (Netherlands)

Just before World War II engulfed the Netherlands, a camp was built in 1939 at Westerbork (village), Westerbork by the Netherlands, Dutch government for interning Jewish refugees who had fled Nazi Germany. During the German occupation Westerbork transit camp, this camp was used as a transit camp for Dutch Jews eventually deported to extermination camps in the East. Amersfoort concentration camp, Amersfoort (1941–1945) (in German: ''Polizeiliches Durchgangslager'') was also a transit camp. The Herzogenbusch concentration camp, Herzogenbusch camp (1943–1944, known as ''Kamp Vught'' because of its location in that town) was a concentration camp, the only one in Western Europe outside Germany set up as well as run by the SS. Other camps were Kamp Schoorl, Camp Schoorl near Schoorl and Kamp Erika, Camp Erika near Ommen. Before the Shoah began, some two dozen labor camps for Jewish men were operated fulfilling an order of the German occupiers. In the Dutch East Indies, after the occupation of the Netherlands by the Germans in Europe started on 15 May 1940, Germans living in the Indies were rounded up and interned there. Almost all camps also had field offices for forced labor. In the cases of Vught as well as Amersfoort, there were work details for Philips factories, often under relatively favourable circumstances. Also, the huge construction activities for the 30 German airfields in the Netherlands relied partly upon labour from camps. After the war, the Dutch government launched Operation Black Tulip and started to gather the civil population of German background in concentration camps near the German border, especially Nijmegen, in order to deport them from the country. In total around 15% of the German population in the Netherlands was deported. Numerous improvised and official camps were set up after the war, to keep Dutch who were suspected of collaboration with the Germans. Kamp Westerbork at one point housed some Jews as well as suspected collaborators and Germans. In these camps, a history of maltreatment by the guards, sometimes leading to death, has been collected.


Indonesian National Revolution

During the Indonesian National Revolution, the war between the Netherland and Indonesia after World War II, the Dutch once again set up internment camps on territory they controlled in Indonesia, to detain Indonesian nationalists and captured members of the Indonesian armed forces.


New Zealand

In World War I German civilians living in New Zealand were interned in camps on Motuihe Island, Motuihe and Somes Island, Somes Islands. German, Italian and Japanese civilians were interned in World War II.


Norway

During World War II, the Beisfjord massacre took place at the "No. 1 camp Beisfjord" (''Lager I Beisfjord '').


Korea, Democratic People's Republic of

Concentration camps came into being in North Korea in the wake of the country's liberation from Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II. Those persons considered "adversary class forces", such as landholders, Japanese collaborators, religious devotees and the families of people who migrated to the South Korea, South, were rounded up and detained in large facilities. Additional camps were later established in the late 1950s and 1960s in order to incarcerate the political victims of power struggles along with their families as well as overseas Koreans who migrated to the North. Later, the number of camps saw a marked increase with the cementing of the Kim Il-sung dictatorship and the Kim Jong-il succession. About a dozen concentration camps were in operation until the early 1990s, but some of them were closed and merged into the remaining six camps for the purpose of maintaining better secrecy and control. North Korea is known to operate six concentration camps, currently accommodating around 200,000 prisoners. These camps, officially called Kwalliso, Kwan-li-so (Korean for "control and management center"), are large political penal-labor colonies in secluded mountain valleys of central and northeastern North Korea. Once condemned as political criminals in North Korea, the defendants and three generations of their families (including children and old people) are incarcerated in one of the camps without trial and cut off from all outside contact. Prisoners reportedly work 14-hour days at hard labor and they are also forced to undergo ideological re-education. Starvation, torture and disease are commonplace. Political criminals invariably receive life sentences. Kang Chol-hwan is a former prisoner of Yodok concentration camp and has written a book (''The Aquariums of Pyongyang'') about his time in the camp. Shin Dong-hyuk is the only person known to have escaped from Kaechon internment camp and gave an account of his time in the camp.


Ottoman Empire and Turkey

Concentration camps known as Deir ez-Zor camps operated in the heart of the Syrian desert during 1915–1916, where many thousands of Armenian refugees were forced into death marches during the Armenian genocide. The United States vice-consul in Aleppo, Jesse B. Jackson, estimated that Armenian refugees, as far east as Deir ez-Zor and south of Damascus, numbered 150,000, all of whom were virtually destitute.


Paraguay

Shortly before his absolute 26-year rule of Paraguay, in 1813 Dr. José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, then vice-consul of Paraguay, ordered the construction of the concentration camp of Tevego, situated on the Bolivian frontier bordering the Gran Chaco, Chaco to the west, and a marsh to the east. It was guarded by a squadron of mulatto lancers, but was unable to fend off constant attacks from Indians, leading to its eventual abandonment in 1823.


Poland

Camps for Russian prisoners and internees in Poland (1919–24), Camps for Russian prisoners and internees in Poland existed during 1919–1924. It is estimated between 16,000 and 20,000 Soviet soldiers held in the Polish POW camps died, out of the total of 80,000 to 85,000 prisoners. From 1934 to 1939 the government of Second Polish Republic, Poland established Bereza Kartuska Prison for the internment of political opponents, Ukrainian nationalism, Ukrainian nationalists and Communism, Communists in Bereza Kartuzka, Bereza Kartuska (now in Belarus). During World War II, Nazi Germany established many of its Nazi concentration camps, concentration camps in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), Occupied Poland. After World War II, the Soviet Army and the Polish People's Republic, Communist government of Poland used some of the former German concentration camps as POW camps and they were later used as internment camps where Polish opponents of the Communists and the Soviets, as well as Ukrainians and ethnic Germans or their sympathizers, were imprisoned. * Central Labour Camp Potulice * Central Labour Camp Jaworzno * Zgoda labour camp * Łambinowice Attempts were later made to bring two of the camp commandants to justice; Salomon Morel and Czesław Gęborski. Gęborski spent 22 months in prison and died during his judicial process.


Romania

The Kingdom of Romania established the Bogdanovka, Bogdanovka concentration camp for Jews in Transnistria Governorate.


Russia and the Soviet Union

In Imperial Russia, penal
labor camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...
s were known by the name ''katorga''. The first Soviet camps were organized in June 1918 for the detention of Czechoslovak soldiers. The Solovki prison camp existed since 1923. In the Soviet Union, labour penitentiary camps were simply called ''camps'', almost always plural ("lagerya"). These were used as forced
labor camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...
s, and they had small percentages of political prisoners. After Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's book titled The Gulag Archipelago was published, they became known to the rest of the world as Gulag, ''Gulags'', after the branch of the NKVD (state security service) that managed them. (In the Russian language, the term is used to denote the whole system, rather than individual camps.) In addition to what is sometimes referred to as the ''Gulag'' proper (consisting of the "corrective labor camps") there were "corrective labor colonies", originally intended for prisoners with short sentences, and "special resettlements" of deported peasants. At its peak, the system held a combined total of 2,750,000 prisoners. In all, perhaps more than 18,000,000 people passed through the ''Gulag'' system in 1929–1953, and millions more were Population transfer in the Soviet Union#Timeline, deported and exiled to remote areas of the Soviet Union. Of the 5.7 million Extermination of Soviet prisoners of war by Nazi Germany, Soviet prisoners of war who were captured by the Germans, 3.5 million of them had died in German captivity by the end of the war. The survivors were treated as traitors upon their return to the USSR (see Order No. 270). Over 1.5 million surviving Red Army soldiers who had been imprisoned by the Germans were sent to the Gulag. After World War II, some 3,000,000 Forced labor of Germans in the Soviet Union, German POWs and civilians were sent to Soviet labor camps, as part of war reparations by forced labor.


After the 1990s

During the Second Chechen War, the Russian forces used the Chernokozovo detention center, Chernokozovo internment camp as the main center of their filtration camp system in Chechnya from 1999 to 2003 to suppress Chechnya's independence movement. Tens of thousands of Chechens were arrested and detained in these camps. According to Chechen witnesses, the inmates were beaten while girls as young as 13 were raped by Russian soldiers. Since early 2017, there have been reports of gay concentration camps in Chechnya, gay concentration camps in Ramzan Kadyrov's Chechnya, which are allegedly being used for the extrajudicial detention and torture of men who are suspected of being gay or bisexual. Around 100 men have been imprisoned and at least three people have already died. Chechnya is a predominantly Muslim, ultra-conservative society in which homophobia is widespread and homosexuality is taboo, and where having a gay relative is seen as a "stain on the entire extended family". An extensive list of Gulag camps is being compiled based on official sources.


Serbia

During World War II (operated by German Gestapo): * Banjica concentration camp (near Belgrade) * Sajmište concentration camp (near Belgrade) * Topovske Šupe (in Belgrade) * Milišić's brickyard (in Belgrade) * Crveni krst concentration camp, Crveni krst (in Niš) * Svilara concentration camp, Svilara (Pančevo) * Paraćin concentration camp, Paraćin During the Yugoslav Wars: * Aleksinac camp * Begejci camp * Beograd VIZ * Niš camp * Novi Sad camp * Sombor camp * Sremska Mitrovica prison (in Sremska Mitrovica) * Stajićevo camp * Šid camp During the Kosovo War (operated by Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA): * Lapušnik prison camp, (near Glogovac)


Slovakia

During the Second World War, the Slovak government made a small number (Nováky, Sereď) of transit camps for Jewish citizens. They were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and Ravensbrück concentration camp, Ravensbrück concentration camps. For German help with Aryanization (Nazism), Aryanization of Slovakia, the Slovak government paid a fee of 500 Reichsmark for each Jew.


South Africa


Spain

Although the first modern concentration camps used to systematically dissuade rebels from fighting are usually attributed to the British during the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
, in the Spanish–American War, forts and camps were used by the Spanish in Cuba to separate rebels from their agricultural support bases. Upwards of 200,000 Cubans died by disease and famine in these environments. There were also Francoist concentration camps. During the 21st century, Immigration detention, immigration detention centers known as CIEs (Centro de Internamiento de Extranjeros) are run by the Ministry of the Interior (Spain), Spanish Ministry of the Interior. Various civil organizations, such as (APDHA, SOS Racismo and Andalucía Acoge) have appealed to the Spanish Supreme Court to declare the regulations behind the CIEs null and void for violating eight aspects of human rights.


Sri Lanka

In 1900, the United Kingdom, British War Office constructed a concentration camp in Diyatalawa to house Boer prisoners captured in the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
. Initially constructed to house 2,500 prisoners and 1,000 guards and staff, the number of prisoners increased to 5,000. In late 2008, as the Sri Lankan civil war drew to a close, the Sri Lankan Government established a number of camps to hold displaced people who managed to escape the war zone. Between October 2008 and May 2009 290,000 displaced people were moved into the camps in government controlled territory. These camps were guarded by the Sri Lankan military and surrounded by barbed wire. The displaced people were not allowed to leave the camps and aid agencies were not allowed inside the camps. The camps were described as internment camps by some NGO's, journalists and aid workers. The conditions in the camps were below minimum humanitarian standards. There were reports of rape, torture, disappearances and arbitrary detention within the camps. In early May 2009, days before the civil war ended, the government gave assurances that over 80% of the displaced people would be resettled by the end of 2009. As the government failed to honour this commitment international concern grew over the slow pace of resettlement. The resettlement process accelerated in late 2009 but it was not until September 2012, four years after they were established, the camps were officially closed.


Sweden

During the Second World War, the Swedish government operated eight internment camps. * The most famous is probably Storsien outside Kalix in Norrbotten where about 300–370 communism, communists, syndicalism, syndicalists and Pacifism, pacifists were kept during the winter 1939–1940. * Naartijärvi east of Luleå * Öxnered at Vänersborg * Grytan outside Östersund * Bercut, a boat for sailors outside Dalarö * Vindeln: constructed in Västerbotten in 1943 * Stensele: constructed in Västerbotten in 1943 * Lövnäsvallen outside Sveg In May 1941 a total of ten camps for 3,000–3,500 were planned, but towards the end of 1941 the plans were put on ice and in 1943 the last camp was closed down. All the records were burned. After the war many of those who had been put in the camps had trouble finding work as few wanted to hire "subversive elements". The Swedish Navy, Navy had at least one special detainment ship for communists and "troublemakers". Most of the camps were not labour camps with the exception of Vindeln and Stensele where the internees were used to build a secret airbase. Foreign soldiers were put in camps in Långmora and Smedsbo, German refugees and deserters in Rinkaby. After the Second World War three camps were used for Baltic refugees from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (including 150 Baltic soldiers) at Ränneslätt, Rinkaby and Gälltofta.


Switzerland

During World War II more than 100,000 mainly Allies of World War II, Allied soldiers were interned in Switzerland. Internees from the UK, France, Poland and Russia, and Italians and Germans who fled combat, the Swiss government had to – unlike Civilian Internee, civilians, for instance Jews refugees, who usually were sent back to the territories occupied by the Nazi regime – keep these soldiers interned until the end of the hostilities, in line to the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War (1929), Geneva Convention of 1929. The soldiers were held in barracks, and they were used as workers for agriculture and industry, except the officers who not were compelled to forced labour and stayed in unoccupied mountain hotels, mainly in Davos. The Swiss government operated during Switzerland during the World Wars, World War II in Switzerland at least three internment camps: * Wauwilermoos internment camp was an internment respectively a Prisoner-of-war camp, situated in the municipalities of Wauwil and Egolzwil in the Canton of Luzern. Established in 1940, Wauwilermoos was a penal camp for internees, priorly for Allied soldiers, among them members of the United States Army Air Forces, who were sentenced for attempting to escape from other Swiss camps for interned soldiers, or other offenses. The intolerable conditions at the Wauwilermoos prison camp were later described by numerous former inmates, by various contemporary reports and studies. especially the imposed extremely harsh detention conditions. * Hünenberg; * Les Diablerets. In addition, there was as number of regularly internment camps.


United Kingdom


Bermuda

During the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
, several small islands in Bermuda's Great Sound, Bermuda, Great Sound were used as natural concentration camps, despite protests by the local government. 4,619 Boers were interned on these islands, compared to Bermuda's total population of around 17,000; at least 34 Boers died in transit to Bermuda.


Cyprus

After World War II, British efforts to prevent aliyah, Jewish emigration into their Mandatory Palestine, Palestine Mandate led to the construction of internment camps in Cyprus where up to 30,000 Holocaust survivors were held at any one time to prevent their entry into the country. They were released in February 1949 after the Declaration of Independence (Israel), founding of Israel.


England

During World War I Irish republicanism, Irish republicans were imprisoned in camps in Shrewsbury and Bromyard. During World War II, initially, refugees who had fled from Germany were also included, as were suspected British Nazism, Nazi sympathisers such as British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley. The British government rounded up 74,000 German, Austrian and Italian aliens. Within 6 months the 112 alien tribunals had individually summoned and examined 64,000 aliens, and the vast majority were released, having been found to be "friendly aliens" (mostly Jews); examples include Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold and later members of the Amadeus Quartet. British nationals were detained under Defence Regulation 18B. Eventually only 2,000 of the remainder were interned. Initially they were shipped overseas, but that was halted when a German U-boat sank the SS ''Arandora Star'' in July 1940 with the loss of 800 internees, though this was not the first loss that had occurred. The last internees were released late in 1945, though many were released in 1942. In Britain, internees were housed in camps and prisons. Some camps had tents rather than buildings with internees sleeping directly on the ground. Men and women were separated and most contact with the outside world was denied. A number of prominent Britons including writer H. G. Wells campaigned against the internment of refugees.


Ireland: pre-1922

During the Irish war of independence of 1919 to 1921, 12,000 Irish people were held without trial.


Kenya

During the 1954–60 Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, camps were established to hold suspected rebels. It is unclear how many were held, but estimates range from 80,000 to 160,000 of the Kikuyu people, Kikuyu population, with 1,090 Mau Mau detainees sentenced to death and executed by hanging. Maltreatment is said to have included torture and summary executions.


Malaya

Beginning in 1950, under the Briggs Plan (a response to the Malayan Emergency) Chinese squatters were relocated to hundreds of internment camps in various areas of the Malay Peninsula. Known as New Villages, these camps were intended to become permanent settlements. As attacks by the Malayan Communist Party declined, the curfews were lifted, fences removed, and the camps gradually ceased to be internment camps. To this day many villages founded in this way are known as New Villages and remain ethnically Chinese.


Northern Ireland

One of the most famous example of modern ''internment'' (and one which made world headlines) occurred in Northern Ireland in 1971, when hundreds of Irish nationalism, nationalists and Irish republicanism, Irish Republicans were arrested by the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary on the orders of then Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Brian Faulkner, with the backing of the British government. Historians generally view that period of internment as inflaming sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland while failing in its stated aim of arresting members of the paramilitary Provisional IRA. Many of the people arrested were completely unconnected with the Provisional IRA but, through bungling and incompetence, had their names appear on the list of those to be interned, while over 100 IRA men escaped arrest. The backlash against internment and its bungled application contributed to the decision of the British government under Prime Minister Edward Heath to suspend the Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland, Stormont governmental system in Northern Ireland and replace it with ''Direct rule over Northern Ireland, Direct rule'' from London, under the authority of a British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. From 1971 internment began, beginning with the arrest of 342 suspected republican guerrillas and paramilitary members on 9 August. They were held at Her Majesty's Prison Service, HM Prison Maze (HM Prison), Maze then called Long Kesh Detention Centre. By 1972, 924 men were interned. Serious rioting ensued, and 23 people died in three days. The British government attempted to show some balance by arresting some loyalist paramilitaries later, but out of the 1,981 men interned, only 107 were loyalists. Internment was ended in 1975, but had resulted in increased support for the IRA and created political tensions which culminated in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike and the death of Bobby Sands, member of British Parliament (Anti H-Block, Anti H-Block/Armagh Political Prisoner Party.) His death resulted in a new surge of IRA recruitment and activity. The imprisonment of people under anti-terrorism laws specific to Northern Ireland continued until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, but these laws required the right to a fair trial be respected. However non-jury Diplock courts tried paramilitary-related trials, to prevent Perverting the course of justice, jury intimidation. Many of those interned were held in a detention facility located at RAF Long Kesh military base, later known as RAF Long Kesh, Long Kesh Detention Centre and eventually becoming HM Prison Maze, Her Majesty's Prison Maze, outside Belfast. Internment had previously been used as a means of repressing the Irish Republican Army. It was used between 1939–1945 and 1956–1962. On all these occasions, internment has had a somewhat limited success.


Scotland

During the Second World War the British government allowed the Polish Government in Exile to establish and run its own internment camps in Scotland. Locations as identified by the historian Simon Webb include Rothesay, Bute, Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, and Tighnabruaich on the Scottish mainland. Rothesay was used to house the political enemies of the leader of the Polish Government in Exile, Władysław Sikorski, as well as Poles considered by Sikorski's Government in Exile of being morally dubious. Tighnabruaich held criminals under the jurisdiction of the Polish Government in Exile. Webb claims the Poles were later allowed to open further camps at Kingledoors, Auchterarder and Inverkeithing near Edinburgh. Although deaths, and claims of torture and privations were made by numerous British Members of Parliament against the internment camps, the camps treated as sovereign Polish territory and local Scottish police forces were unable to investigate what happened in them. Webb also suggests that being Jewish or a suspected
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
was often enough to lead to Polish citizens under the jurisdiction of the Polish Government in Exile being sent to one of the internment camps.


South Africa

The term concentration camp was first used by the British military during the Second Boer War, Boer War (1899–1902). Facing attack by Boer guerrilla warfare, guerrillas, British forces rounded up the Boer women and children as well as black people living on Boer land, and sent them to 34 tented camps scattered around South Africa. Altogether, 116,572 Boers were interned, roughly a quarter of the population. This was done as part of a scorched earth policy to deny the Boer guerrillas access to the supplies of food and clothing they needed to continue the war. One such camp was situated at East London, South Africa. Though they were not extermination camps, the women and children of Boer men who were still fighting were given smaller rations. The poor diet and inadequate hygiene led to contagious diseases such as measles, typhoid and dysentery. Coupled with a shortage of medical facilities, this led to large numbers of deaths—a report after the war concluded that 27,927 Boer (of whom 22,074 were children under 16) and 14,154 black Africans had died of starvation, disease and exposure in the camps. In contrast to these figures, during the war the British, Colonial and South African forces' casualties included 5,774 killed in action and 13,250 deaths from disease, while the Boers' casualties in the Transvaal and Orange Free State up to December 1901, included 2640 killed in action and 945 deaths from disease. During World War I, South African troops invaded neighboring German South-West Africa. German settlers were rounded up and sent to concentration camps in Pretoria and later in Pietermaritzburg.


Soviet Russia

During its 1918 invasion of Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia, the UK built two concentration camps: Mudyuga, Mudyug island and Iukang on Ostrovnoy, Murmansk Oblast, Ostrovnoy island.


Wales

During World War I, there was a concentration camp in Frongoch, Merionethshire. First German POWs were held here until 1916, then 1,800 Ireland, Irish political prisoners were held there following the Easter Rising, including Michael Collins (Irish leader), Michael Collins. The prisoners were very poorly treated and Frongoch became a breeding ground for Irish revolutionaries.


United States


Indigenous people


Cherokee

The first large-scale confinement of a specific ethnic group in detention centers began in the summer of 1838, when President Martin Van Buren ordered the U.S. Army to enforce the Treaty of New Echota (a Native American removal treaty) by rounding up the Cherokee into prison camps before relocating them. Called "emigration depots", the three main ones were located at Ross's Landing (Chattanooga, Tennessee), Fort Payne, Alabama, and Fort Cass (Charleston, Tennessee). Fort Cass was the largest, with over 4,800 Cherokee prisoners held over the summer of 1838. Many died in these camps due to disease, which spread rapidly because of the close quarters and bad sanitary conditions:


Dakota

The Dakota War of 1862, United States – Dakota Indian War of 1862 resulted in the loss of life, fear, suffering and hardship for early Minnesotan citizens while disproportionately harming the Eastern Dakota, Dakota and other indigenous people who found themselves on either side of the conflict, much like the concurrent American Civil War, Civil War. Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey decreed on 9 September 1862 that "the Sioux Indians of Minnesota must be exterminated or driven forever beyond the borders of the state" leading to the forced removal and banishment of the indigenous people who would surrender and to the government-sanctioned bounties that would be awarded for the scalps of any fleeing or resisting indigenous person. On 26 December 1862 thirty eight Dakota warriors, including We-Chank-Wash-ta-don-pee (often called Chaska), who was pardoned, were hanged with the label of murderers and rapists of civilians rather than ‘war criminals’ in the largest mass execution in United States history at the order of President Abraham Lincoln, with the remaining 361 prisoners being sent to segregated prison camps in other states just days before the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. During the winter of 1862-63 more than 1600 Dakota non-combatants, including women, children and the elderly, as well as "mixed-blood" families and Christian and farmer Dakota who had opposed the war, were force-marched to a fenced concentration camp near the base of Fort Snelling which was built on the Dakota sacred area called 'Bdote' where the Mississippi River and Minnesota Rivers meet. Living conditions and sanitation were poor, and infectious diseases such as measles struck the camp, killing between an estimated 102 and 300 Dakota. Here the women were separated from the men before being exiled to reservations in neighboring states and Canada. These reservations tended to disregard Native American culture and traditions and their children were placed in boarding schools, which focused on European-based culture and religions.


Navajo

By 1862, the scorched earth tactics employed by General James Henry Carleton and his subordinate, Colonel Kit Carson against the Navajo had pushed many to the brink of starvation. Carleton then ordered some 10,000 Navajo on a forced march known as the Long Walk of the Navajo, Long Walk of 1864, from their homeland in the Four Corners region, to the area of Bosque Redondo in the New Mexico Territory, where they remained interned for the next four years. Conditions in the camp proved deplorable, and many died from starvation and disease, until by December 1865, their numbers had been reduced to around 6,000. The Navajo were allowed to return home in 1868, with the signing of the Treaty of Bosque Redondo, after negotiations with William Tecumseh Sherman and Samuel F. Tappan of the Indian Peace Commission.


Philippines

On 7 December 1901, during the Philippine–American War, General J. Franklin Bell began a
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
policy in Batangas—everything outside the "dead lines" was systematically destroyed: humans, crops, domestic animals, houses, and boats. A similar policy had been quietly initiated on the island of Marinduque some months before.


World War I (United States)

At the height of the First World War, many of German descent became the target of two regulations passed by President Woodrow Wilson. Two of the four main World War I-era internment camps were located in Hot Springs, N.C., and Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer wrote that "All aliens interned by the government are regarded as enemies, and their property is treated accordingly."


World War II (United States)

In reaction to the Attack on Pearl Harbor, bombing of Pearl Harbor by Empire of Japan, Japan in 1941, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on 19 February 1942, which allowed military commanders to designate areas "from which any or all persons may be excluded." Under this order all Japanese people, Japanese and Japanese Americans, Americans of Japanese ancestry were removed from Western coastal regions to concentration camps in Arkansas, California, Oregon, Washington (U.S. state), Washington, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Idaho; German American, German and Italian American, Italian citizens, permanent residents, and American citizens of those respective ancestries (and American citizen family members) were removed from (among other places) the West and East Coast of the United States, East Coast and relocated or interned, and roughly one-third of the US was declared an exclusionary zone. The Fort Lincoln Internment Camp, Fort Lincoln, North Dakota internment camp opened in April 1941 and closed in 1945. It had a peak population of 650. Today (2014) it houses the United Tribes Technical College. Some CCC barracks buildings and two brick army barracks were fenced and used to house the internees. The first internees were Italians, Italian, Israelis, Israeli and Germans, German seamen. 800 Italians arrived, but they were soon sent to Fort Missoula in Montana. The first Japanese American Issei arrived in 1942, but they were also transferred to other camps. The Germans were the only internees left at the camp until February 1945, when 650 more Japanese Americans were brought in. These Japanese Americans had previously renounced their U.S. citizenship and were left waiting to be deported to Japan. The brick buildings remain, but others are gone. A newspaper article from ''The Bismarck Tribune'', 2 March 1946, stated that 200 Japanese were still being held at Fort Lincoln. Oklahoma housed German and Italian POW's at Fort Reno, Oklahoma, Fort Reno, located near El Reno, and Camp Gruber, near Braggs, Oklahoma. Almost 120,000 Japanese Americans and resident Japanese aliens would eventually be removed from their homes and relocated. About 2,200 Japanese living in South America (mostly in Peru) were transported to the United States and placed in internment camps. Approximately 5,000 Germans living in several Latin American republics were also removed and transported to the United States and placed in internment camps. In addition, at least 10,905 German Americans were held in more than 50 internment sites throughout the United States and Hawaii. Alaska Natives living on the Aleutian Islands were also interned during the war; Funter Bay was one such camp.


Political dissidents

Per the Emergency Detention Act (Title II of the McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950), six concentration camps were constructed in 1952 with the expectation that they would need to be used to detain political dissidents in the event that the U.S. government was forced to declare a state of emergency. They were originally intended to hold alleged communists, anti-war activists, civil rights ‘militants,’ and other dissidents. They were maintained from the 1950s to the 1960s, but they were never used for their intended purpose.


Afghan War and the occupation of Iraq

In 2002, the United States opened the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba and the Parwan Detention Facility in Afghanistan. Both facilities were established in order to detain people captured during the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), Afghan War. In 2003, in order to detain people captured during the Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011), Occupation of Iraq, the United States transformed an Iraqi prison into an internment and detention camp commonly referred to as Baghdad Central Prison or Abu Ghraib Prison. Guantanamo Bay has been called an "Internment Camp" by ''The Intercept'' and a "Concentration Camp" by the ''Los Angeles Times''. Due to the American government's policy of holding detainees indefinitely, a number of captives have been held for extended periods without being legally charged, including Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi who was captured in 2001 and released from the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in 2009. A document leaked from the International Committee of the Red Cross was published by ''The New York Times'' in November 2004, which accused the U.S. military of cruelty "tantamount to torture" against detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay facility. In May 2005, the
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
group
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
referred to the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp as "the Gulag of our times." In September 2006, after a Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse, series of abuses including the rape and murder of prisoners was reported to the public, control of the Baghdad Central Prison was transferred to the Iraqis. Subsequent investigative reports suggest that the United States continued to directly influence and oversee a campaign of torture carried out inside Iraqi facilities even after the handover of Iraq and related facilities was finalized. In March 2013 it was revealed that American officials, under pressure from Afghan officials, reached an agreement after more than a year of negotiations to hand over control of Bagram Theater Internment Facility to the Afghan government. In the deal, Bagram Theater Internment Facility, called "the other Guantanamo," "Guantanamo's evil twin" or "Obama's Gitmo" by human rights groups after reports of systematic abuse, was renamed the Afghan National Detention Facility at Parwan. Additionally, the agreement extended authority for American officials to have say over which detainees could be released from the facility, containing guarantees from the Afghan government that certain detainees would not be released regardless of whether or not they could be tried for circumstances related to their individual detentions. The Afghans formally took over control of other day-to-day operations. Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp remains open and fully operated by Americans.


Migrants at the Mexico–United States border

In 2018, Donald Trump instituted a "zero tolerance" policy mandating the criminal prosecution of all adults who were referred by immigration authorities for violating immigration laws. This policy directly led to the large-scale, forcible Trump administration family separation policy, separation of children and parents arriving at the United States-Mexico border, including those seeking asylum from violence in their home countries. Parents were arrested and put into criminal detention, while their children were taken away, classified as unaccompanied alien minors, to be put into child immigrant detention centers. Even though, Trump signed an executive order in June 2018 ostensibly ending the family separation component of Trump administration migrant detentions, his administration's migrant detentions, it continued under alternative justifications into 2019. By the end of 2018 the number of children being held had swelled to a high of nearly 15,000, which by August 2019 had been reduced to less than 9,000. In 2019, many experts, including Andrea Pitzer, the author of ''One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps'', have acknowledged the designation of the detention centers as "concentration camps" particularly given that the centers, previously cited by Texas officials for more than 150 health violations and reported deaths in custody, reflect a record typical of the history of deliberate substandard healthcare and nutrition in concentration camps. Though some organizations have tried to resist the "concentration camp" label for these facilities, hundreds of Holocaust and genocide scholars rejected this resistance via an open letter addressed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.


South and North Vietnam

In South Vietnam, the government of Ngo Dinh Diem countered North Vietnamese subversion (including the assassination of over 450 South Vietnamese officials in 1956) by detaining tens of thousands of suspected communists in "political re-education centers." This was a ruthless program that incarcerated many non-communists, although it was also successful at curtailing communist activity in the country, if only for a time. The North Vietnamese government claimed that over 65,000 individuals were incarcerated and 2,148 killed in the process by November 1957, although these figures may be exaggerated. The Strategic Hamlet Program was a plan between 1961 and 1963 by the government of South Vietnam and US advisors during the Vietnam War to combat the communist insurgency by isolating and pacifying the influence of the communists on the rural population with the creation of thousands of new, tightly controlled protected villages or Strategic Hamlet Program, "strategic hamlets". While in some cases these settlements were voluntary, they often involved forced relocation so they have been described as internment camps. The rural peasants would be provided protection, economic support, and aid by the government, thereby strengthening ties with the South Vietnamese government (GVN). It was hoped this would lead to increased loyalty by the peasantry towards the government however the Strategic Hamlet Program was a failure, alienating many and contributing to the growth in influence of the Viet Cong. After the program was cancelled, rural peasants moved back to their old homes or to larger cities.Tucker, Spencer, ''The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History'', ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. 1070. In the years following the Fall of Saigon, North Vietnamese conquest of South Vietnam, up to 300,000 South Vietnamese were sent to Re-education camp (Vietnam), re-education camps, where many endured torture, starvation, and disease while being forced to perform hard labor.


Yugoslavia


Nazi camps

During the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia (1941–1944), as many as 70
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
concentration camps were formed in Yugoslavia.Istorijski atlas, Geokarta, Beograd, 1999, p. 98. The main victims in these camps were ethnic
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
, Jews and Romani people, Roma. It is estimated that between 1 million and 1.7 million people perished as victims of the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia. List of the camps: * Sajmište concentration camp, Sajmište * Sremska Mitrovica * Đakovo * Vinkovci * Osijek * Tenjski Antunovac * Slavonska Požega * Stara Gradiška * Jablanac * Mlaka, Croatia, Mlaka * Jasenovac concentration camp, Jasenovac * Bodegraj * Lađevac * Rajići * Paklenica * Stari Grabovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, Grabovac * Garešnica * Sisak * Caprag (camp for children) * Gospić * Jadovo * Slana, Croatia, Slana (camp for women) * Slana, Croatia, Slana (camp for men) * Ogulin * Cerovljani * Prijedor * Kruščica (Jajce), KruščicaThis Kruscica, seemingly, based on commons map "Fascist_concentration_camps_in_yugoslavia.png". * Zenica * Sarajevo * Vlasenica – Han Pijesak * Podromanija – Kasarna * Rogatica * Višegrad * Pale, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pale * Modriča *
Doboj Doboj ( sr-cyrl, Добој, ) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Bosna river, in the northern region of the Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 ...
* Maglaj * Šekovići * Jastrebarsko * Gacko * Belgrade – Banjica *
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
– Crveni Krst, Niš, Crveni Krst * Trepča Mines, Trepča * Šabac * Bor, Serbia, Bor * Petrovgrad (Zrenjanin) * Skopje * Bačka Palanka * Sombor * Bečej * Novi Sad * Bačka Topola * Subotica * Rab * Molat * Kraljevica * Bakar * Činglinj * Bar, Montenegro, Bar * Mamula (island), Mamula * Prevlaka * Zabjelo * Maribor * Ljubljana * Begunjski Dvor – Bled * Celje * Kruševac * Smederevska Palanka * Petrovac na Mlavi * Žagubica


Communist camps

In 1931, 499,969 citizens of Yugoslavia listed their native language as German and they comprised 3.6% of population of the country.Nenad Stefanović, Jedan svet na Dunavu, Beograd, 2003, p. 125. In 1944, an unknown and disputed number of the Danube Swabians left the country, together with the defeated German army. As a result of the decisions of the Anti-fascist Council of national liberation of Yugoslavia ("Antifašističko veće narodnog oslobođenja Jugoslavije" – AVNOJ) in Jajce on 21 November 1943 and on 21 November 1944 in Belgrade all legal rights and citizenship were collectively canceled for about 168,000 civilian members of the Danube Swabians, Danube Swabian minority who remained in Yugoslavia (mostly in the Bačka and Banat regions) after military defeat of the German army. Furthermore, they were fully dispossessed of all property. About 7,000 German-speaking citizens were killed by the local Yugoslav partisans in the autumn of 1944. Most of the other Danube Swabian civilians were interned and driven into numerous labor camps and at least eight additional prison camps were built for those who were unable to work: the old, the sick, and children under the age of 14 and mothers with small children under the age of 2 or 3. These camps for the sick, the elderly, children, and those who were unable to work were: In the Bačka: * Bački Jarak with 7,000 deaths * Gakovo with 8,500 deaths * Kruševlje with 3,000 to 3,500 deaths In the Banat: * Molin, Serbia, Molin with 3,000 deaths * Knićanin with 11,000 deaths In Syrmia: * "Svilara", silk factory in Sremska Mitrovica with 2,000 deaths In Slavonia: * Valpovo with 1,000 to 2,000 deaths * Krndija with 500 to 1,500 deaths Over a three-year period, 48,447 of the interned Danube Swabians died in the labor and prison camps from starvation, cold, and disease. Nearly 35,000 of them succeeded in crossing the escape routes from the camps into nearby Hungary and
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. Beginning in the summer of 1946, thousands of orphaned children were forcibly taken from the camps and placed in children's homes. Over the next decade, most of them were returned to their families by the International Red Cross ICRC. Additionally, more than 8,000 women between the ages of 18 and 35 and over 4,000 men between the ages of 16 and 45 were deported from the Bačka and Banat regions of Yugoslavia to forced labor camps in the USSR from the end of 1944 through the beginning of 1945. The camps were disbanded in 1948 and the Yugoslav government recognized the citizenship of the remaining Danube Swabians. In 1948, 57,180 Germans lived in Yugoslavia. In the following decades, most of them emigrated to Germany.Nenad Stefanović, Jedan svet na Dunavu, Beograd, 2003, p. 185.


See also

* Enemy alien * ''Habeas corpus'' * House arrest * Reconcentration policy


References

{{Reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite news , url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a7ee0.html , title = "A Dark and Closed Place": Past & Present H. R. Abuses in Foca , work =
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, date = 1998-07-01 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190404160914/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a7ee0.html , archive-date = 2019-04-04 , access-date = 2019-04-03 , url-status = dead
Internment camps, Lists of prisoner of war camps