J.F.W Schulz was an Australian of German heritage who was born north of the Barossa Valley in Robertstown. He was the owner of Auricht’s Printing Office, he had a keen interest in film, and was an aspiring politician. He was also a prisoner. ...
On 13 December 1940, Schulz was arrested and transported to the Wayville Army Barracks. No accusations were made at that time, but Schulz knew what the arrest meant; someone, somewhere, considered him a threat.
Despite an absence of evidence of his disloyalty to Australia, his country of birth, and without a fair trial, Schulz was detained for more than three years. Prisoner Diaries is a record of Schulz’s internment during World War II and his relentless search for answers.
Prisoner Diaries by Elizabeth M. Schulz, eBOOK
The history of the internment of J F W Schulz during World War II is a story that needs to be told; it is an example of how misguided patriotism caused Australians of German descent to be treated as “enemy aliens” during two World Wars despite the fact that they were responsible citizens who had through their industry contributed a lot to the development of their Australian home. The comment has been made that only a small portion of these people were interned; however, those who were not interned also suffered discrimination in various ways, including losing the right to vote during the First World War.
Elizabeth (Liz) Schulz was fortunate to have available diaries and correspondence kept by her grandfather, J F W Schulz, documenting his internment during World War II, thus making this publication possible.
I have pleasant memories as a schoolboy in the late 1940s attending movie film shows of various scenes filmed by Mr. Schulz. These film shows were fundraisers for useful purposes. At the time of World War I, Mr Schulz was the head teacher of the bilingual German/English Langmeil Lutheran School at Tanunda, S A, (one of his pupils was my late father Laurence Ross). By Government decree, all Lutheran primary schools in South Australia were closed in 1917, and thus he lost his job.
Donald A. Ross, Secretary, Barossa Valley Archives & Historical Trust Inc.