Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum - History

Upon arrival at the prison, prisoners were photographed and required to give detailed autobiographies, beginning with their childhood and ending with their arrest. After that, they were forced to strip to their underwear, and their possessions were confiscated. The prisoners were then taken to their cells. Those taken to the smaller cells were shackled to the walls or the concrete floor. Those who were held in the large mass cells were collectively shackled to long pieces of iron bar. The shackles were fixed to alternating bars; the prisoners slept with their heads in opposite directions. They slept on the floor without mats, mosquito nets, or blankets. They were forbidden to talk to each other.

Fieldworks: Temporary fortifications put up by an army in the field.

Redoubt: (pronounced rih-dowt) An enclosed field work - without redans - which had several sides and was used to protect a garrison from attacks from several directions. While redoubts could be very useful, one key weakness was that each protruding angle was a salient. This meant that the redoubt would be susceptible to enfilading fire. A redoubt could also extend from a permanent fortress.

Abolitionist: Someone who wishes to abolish or get rid of slavery.

Brevet: (pronounced brehv-it) An honorary promotion in rank, usually for merit. Officers did not usually function at or receive pay for their brevet rank.

Infantry: A branch of the military in which soldiers traveled and fought on foot.