German POWs, Biopolitics, & the Piney Woods: Using Foucault to Analyze Resistance at Camp Shelby's POW Camp During World War II

<p>Few people realize that during World War II, Camp Shelby in south Mississippi was a detention site for German prisoners of war (POWs) where the United States government engaged in reeducation efforts to de-Nazify soldiers in order to create a democratic Germany after the war. The U.S. War Department hoped the success of this program would create allies and prevent another war in the future. Despite the reeducation program being in all POW camps in the U. S., Camp Shelby was distinctive due to the racial politics of Mississippi during the height of the Jim Crow era. It is also unique because there is evidence of resistance despite claims that the POWs were submissive to American domination during their captivity. This research seeks to further knowledge of Mississippi history with an anthropological interpretation drawing on Foucault's studies ofbiopolitics and the role of the prisoner of war camp within the "carceral archipelago" (Foucault, 1995).</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Anthropology and Sociology

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Miller-Beech, Patricia Lynn

Contributors dc:contributor

• Bridget Hayden
• James Flanagan
• Jeffrey Kaufmann

• Anthropology
• Social and Behavioral Sciences

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/438

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1517