In 1940, Australian born, J.F.W. Schulz, a respected member of the community in Tanunda, South Australia was arrested and put into detention.
He was accused of being a Nazi and of keeping Nazi propaganda in his home.
Although he maintained his innocence and made a number of appeals against his detention, he remained in detention, far from his family, for another three years and for a further year he was under government direction regarding his occupation and his place of residence.
In this meticulously researched history, his grand-daughter, Liz Schulz explores the reasons given for and the circumstances of his arrest. She had access to the security files of the Australian government: files which her grandfather was never able to examine. She was also able to draw upon her grandfather's own diary and correspondence held in private hands. In mapping his own quest for justice she seeks to get justice for her late grandfather.
While this thesis concerns one individual's struggle it also relates to wider issues about the rights of British subjects of German origin in war-time Australia. Furthermore it illuminates contemporary discussions about civil rights and the power of the state.
Guilty Untill Proven Innocent by Elizabeth M. Schulz eBOOK
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Last updated: 1 July 2025
Liz Schulz is an artist, educator, and author. The catalyst for the research that would become Prisoner Diaries and Guilty Till Proven Innocent was a request from Liz’s mother more than 50 years ago. In 1970, on returning from living overseas for 10 years, her mother asked her to help research the Schulz family history. After she died 7 years later, the job of gathering together all the family documents fell to Liz. When she found the diaries, she knew they were an important part of not only her family, but Australia's social and wartime history.
As part of Liz’s Bachelor of Education, she was encouraged by her professor, Margaret Allen, to research her grandfather’s detention story. She researched the papers at the Australian Archives, and used content from her grandfather’s diaries, family letters, and military documentation. After successful presentation and positive feedback, Liz sent copies to family members. Typed and bound, her copy languished on a bookshelf for decades.
When Liz retired in the mid-2000s, she chose the tranquillity of Andamooka in a semi-underground home built of local stone. She started sorting books and papers and came across the notebook where she had transcribed, in pencil, all his diary entries. Re-reading the papers provided her with the understanding that there was much more to tell.
Liz has wonderful memories of her grandfather and it feels like she is honouring him to tell his story and to share it as an example of detention, especially given Australia’s current legislation.
Prisoner Diaries and Guilty Until Proven Innocent are dedicated to the memory of J.F.W. Schulz and Liz’s twin sisters, Josie and Helen.