Zoo Station Quotes

“the remark of a Middlesex Regiment officer in 1918. “Intelligence services,” the man had said, “are prone to looking up their own arses and wondering why it’s dark.”
― David Downing, Zoo Station

“All the governments were telling their soldiers that they had God and right on their side, and that dying for their country was the least they could do, but – well, think about it – what does it mean, dying for your country? What exactly is your country? The buildings and the grass and the trees? The people? The way of life? People say you should love your country, and be proud of it, and there are usually things to love and be proud of. But there are usually things to dislike as well, and every country has things to be ashamed of. So what does dying for your country achieve? Nothing, as far as I could see. Living for your country, you get the chance to make it better.”
― David Downing, Zoo Station

“A woman in a fur coat emerged from the shop with two pedigree schausers in tow. Both had enamel swastikas fastened to their collars, and Russell wondered if they had pictures of the Fuehrer pinned up in their kennels.”
― David Downing, Zoo Station

“This was what Russell was afraid of. How could you protect children from the general idiocy without putting them at risk? ‘It can be,’ he said carefully, ‘but there’s not much point picking a fight if you know you’re bound to lose. Better to wait until you have some chance of winning. The important thing is not to lose sight of what is right and what is wrong. You may not be able to do anything about it at the time, but nothing lasts for ever. You’ll get a chance eventually.”
― David Downing, Zoo Station

“Ordinary Germans” felt utterly powerless, and resigned to feeling so for the foreseeable future. The government would doubtless translate that resignation as passive support, and to some extent they were right. There was certainly no sense that anyone had a practical alternative to offer.”
― David Downing, Zoo Station