IT’S MIDWAY THROUGH the week and you want to get up to speed on the latest news topics and catch up on opinions and insights.
We’re here to help you do just that, with our three midweek longreads:
1. The Nazi slave ranch in Brazil
This shocking story by Gibby Zobel looks at a ranch in Brazil where it was discovered that the Nazis kept slaves – and even the cows were branded with swastikas.
(BBC – 5 minutes reading time, 1069 words)
“One day the pigs broke a wall and escaped into the field,” he says. “I noticed the bricks that had fallen. I thought I was hallucinating.” The underside of each brick was stamped with the swastika. It’s well known that pre-war Brazil had strong links with Nazi Germany – the two were economic partners and Brazil had the biggest fascist party outside Europe, with more than 40,000 members.
2. Doctor, I’ve broken my neck
Arnold Renman was a doctor for many years, and had tended to patients with a range of ailments. But one day, he became the patient – due to a broken neck.
(New York Review of Books – 20 minutes reading time, 4023 words)
Neglecting to use the stair lift, I lost my balance and pitched forward, landing hard on my head on the slate floor of the hall. I heard a loud crack as my head hit the floor, and although I did not lose consciousness and felt very little pain, I knew at once that I must have sustained severe injuries.
Every expectant parent has a list of things they swear they will never do when it comes to their offspring. But as Andrea Mara writes, sometimes things just don’t go as you’ve planned.
(TheJournal.ie – 5 minutes reading time, 1015 words)
I lasted seven long weeks before caving – seven weeks of walking the floors with my firstborn; rocking and feeding and wondering what the hell I was doing wrong and walking some more. Then I popped a soother in her mouth – it was magical.
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