Baptist Coelho – Tracing the Experiences of Indian Prisoners of War in Germany during WWI

Film

Baptist Coelho is a visual artist from India who articulates unspoken stories and conjures meaning from the psychological and physical disruptions caused by war and conflict.

After fighting for the British army in the First World War, approximately 1.000 soldiers from the Indian Army were captured and taken to the prisoner-of-war camps in Zossen (“Weinberglager”) and Wünsdorf (“Halbmondlager”or Halfmoon Camp), south of Berlin. These camps held thousands of African, Arab, and Indian colonial soldiers from the British and French armies who were imprisoned from 1915 to mid 1917. During his CoMuse Fellowship, Baptist explored the experiences and the everyday life of these Indian Prisoners of War.