Barracks noun \ˈber-ək, -ik; ˈba-rək, -rik\
a : a structure resembling a shed or barn that provides temporary housing
b : housing characterized by extreme plainness or dreary uniformity —usually used in plural in all senses
No one took it away from her. Magda was mute. She never cried. Rosa hid her in the barracks, under the shawl, but she knew that one day someone would inform; or one day someone, not even Stella, would steal Magda to eat her.
The Shawl paragraph 6
She hid Magda in a shed like structure. I thought barracks meant something like a cellar but it turned out to be a shed/barn.
