Black Diggers

by

Tom Wright

Zössen POW Camp Term Analysis

A German prisoner of war camp near Berlin, Zössen was especially designated for non-Europeans, including large numbers of soldiers from British colonies. When he is imprisoned there, Nigel is forced to listen to a German soldier give a (remarkably astute) speech about the injustice of colonized peoples fighting on behalf of their oppressors.

Zössen POW Camp Quotes in Black Diggers

The Black Diggers quotes below are all either spoken by Zössen POW Camp or refer to Zössen POW Camp. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Australian Nationhood and Indigenous Dispossession Theme Icon
).
Act One Quotes

You must all see now, having been captured, that you have been used and abused. You are victims of your oppressive masters, who brutally seized your lands and took from you your birthrights. You are little more than slaves until you rise up and throw off the shackles of your British masters. The time for being lickspittles has ended, this war and the inevitable defeat of Great Britain has washed it all away. The question is, who will acknowledge they have been made fools, have been kept children, have accepted their own slavery? It is Time to fight, to fight against your oppressors, for a free India, for free Africa…

Related Characters: German Prison Guard (speaker), Nigel
Page Number: 55
Explanation and Analysis:
Act Two Quotes

Tarzan. At the Empire. Tarzan, man of the apes. The ape man. Tarzan. Ape. Man. Lowland Gorilla. From Zanzibar. Ape. Man.

He stops, has a surreptitious swig from a bottle. Stands still, watching people rush past him.

Sorry Dad.

Related Characters: Nigel (speaker), Taxidermist
Page Number: 90
Explanation and Analysis:
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Zössen POW Camp Term Timeline in Black Diggers

The timeline below shows where the term Zössen POW Camp appears in Black Diggers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act One
Australian Nationhood and Indigenous Dispossession Theme Icon
Racism Theme Icon
In Germany’s Zössen POW Camp in 1917, Nigel is imprisoned alongside three Indians and forced to listen to a German... (full context)
Racism Theme Icon
Back at the Zössen POW Camp in 1917, a German Professor approaches Nigel and explains he is collecting “anthropological specimens” for... (full context)