Nazi Collaborator Deported to Germany
Jakiw Palij, the last known Nazi collaborator living in the US, was deported to Germany and arrived here on Tuesday morning earlier this week. He had lived in New York City these past decades until his past was revealed. Palij had worked as a guard in a Nazi forced labour camp during World War II. A court had ordered his deportation as early as 2004 but previous administrations were not able to remove Palij.
Palij immigrated to the US in 1949 and became a citizen in 1957 – in order to receive his visa he stated that he had spent the war working in a factory on a farm. He lived quietly in New York City with his wife until his name was recovered on an old Nazi roster and a former fellow guard gave away that he moved to the US. Frequent protests from the Jewish community in New York followed this revelation.
His citizenship was revoked in 2003 based on his war crimes, human rights abuse and immigration fraud. Trump praised the deportation of Jakiw Palij and said he was glad that the war criminal was finally “removed from American soil”.
Palij had attended Nazi SS training camp in Trawniki and later served as guard in the adjacent labour camp. The Trawniki camp was part of the project to murder the approximately 2 mio Jews living in German-occupied Poland. After extensive negotiations Germany decided to take him in. It is unknown where Palij was brought and what will happen to him.
to arrive (əˈraɪv) – ankommen, etw erreichen
past (pɑ:st) – vergangene, vorherige
decade (ˈdekeɪd) – das Jahrzehnt
guard (gɑ:d) – die Wache, Wachposten
forced labour camp (fɔ:st ˈleɪbəʳ kæmp) – das Zwangsarbeitslager
to remove (rɪˈmu:v) – etw entfernen, wegräumen
factory (ˈfæktəri) – die Fabrik, das Werk
quietly (ˈkwaɪətli) – ruhig, unauffällig
wife (waɪf) – die Ehefrau
roster (ˈrɒstəʳ) – die Liste, der Dienstplan
frequent (ˈfri:kwənt) – häufig
community (kəˈmju:nəti) – die Gemeinde
revelation (ˌrevəlˈeɪʃən) – die Enthüllung, Aufdeckung
to revoke (ɪˈvəʊk) – etw aufheben, widerrufen
human rights abuse (ˈhju:mən raɪt əˈbju:s) – die Verletzung der Menschenrechte
fraud (frɔ:d) – der Betrug, die Täuschung
glad (glæd) –– froh sein, glücklich
to attend (əˈtend) – etw besuchen, teilnehmen
adjacent (əˈʤeɪsənt) – angrenzend, benachbart
approximately (əˈprɒksɪmətli) – ungefähr, etwa
extensive (ɪkˈsten(t)sɪv) – weitreichend, ausgedehnt
Wildlife Reserve Scandal
A man-made wildlife reserve in the Netherlands is at the centre of a legal battle – national treasure or an experiment gone wrong? Oostvaardersplassen is an area of 14.800 acres of land where wild horses, deer and cattle live. The animals within the reserve fend for themselves, they live a wild life. They are not fed or medically treated to keep the population to a size that can be supported through the land itself. In the 1980s grazers were set free on the land in order to control the density of the grasses, reeds and shrubs growing there.
The area was drained in the 1960s for industrial purposes but was never really used and nature took back the land. The park now consists of forest, swamp and grassland.
Due to a harsh last winter and unfavourable weather conditions in spring grazers were not able to find enough food and many of them starved to death and as many as 1.155 were shot by rangers in order to not prolong their suffering. The park is watched by rangers to ensure the animals are not suffering but they won´t meddle with the wildlife otherwise.
A group of protesters filed a lawsuit to prevent a repeat of the carnage by allowing more human intervention. They want to change the way the park is managed – they demand the animals to be relocated to a more suitable environement. In a report issued this year it was proposed to limit the number of grazers in the reserve. This would allow the land to rejuvenate and would ensure that the animals living in the park could live off the land. Furthermore, changes to the landscape were suggested in order to provide more shelter for the animals.
wildlife reserve (waɪldlaɪf rɪˈzɜ:v) – das Reservat, das Naturschutzgebiet
treasure (ˈtreʒəʳ) – der Schatz
acre (ˈeɪkəʳ) – der Acker, Morgen
deer (dɪəʳ) – der Hirsch
cattle (ˈkætl̩) – das Rind
grazer (greɪzəʳ) – das Weidetier
density (ˈden(t)sɪti) – die Dichte
reed (ri:d) – das Schilfgras
shrub (ʃrʌb) – der Busch, Strauch
to drain (dreɪn) – etw trocken legen
purpose (ˈpɜ:pəs) – der Grund, Zweck
to consist (kənˈsɪst) – aus etw bestehen
swamp (swɒmp) – der Sumpf, Morast
unfavourable (ʌnˈfeɪvərəbl̩) – unvorteilhaft, ungünstig
to starve (stɑ:v) – verhungern
suffering (ˈsʌfərɪŋ) – das Leiden
to meddle (ˈmedl̩) – sich einmischen
to prevent (prɪˈvent) – etw verhindern, vorbeugen
carnage (ˈkɑ:nɪʤ) – das Blutbad, Gemetzel
to relocate (ˌri:lə(ʊ)ˈkeɪt) – etw/jdn umsiedeln
suitable (ˈsu:təbl̩) – geeignet, passend
to propose (prəˈpəʊz) – etw vorschlagen
to rejuvenate (rɪˈʤu:vəneɪt) – revitalisieren, regenerieren
Edible Water Bottles
A company named Skipping Rocks Lap, founded by three London-based design students, has the goal to make a series of sustainable projects and the edible water bottle is the first one. It is a blob-like water container made of biodegradable and natural membrane and can be fully swallowed. It could put an end to plastic packages.
The water ball is called “Ooho” and is created by dipping a frozen water ball in an algae mixture that forms a membrane around it, the water then melts inside. One can either swallow the whole ball or bite it and sip the water. The seaweed membrane is tasteless, flavours can be added though.
The idea is great but if the water ball is really an alternative to bottles time will show. One problem is that the membrane is rather delicate and one cannot just throw it in the backpack or bag like a bottle. However, they could become a great staple of sport events and venues.
to found (faʊnd) – etw gründen
sustainable (səˈsteɪnəbl̩) – nachhaltig, erneuerbar
edible ([ˈedɪbl̩) – essbar
container (kənˈteɪnəʳ) – das Gefäß, der Behälter
biodegradable (baɪoʊdɪɡreɪdəbl) – biologisch abbaubar
to swallow (ˈswɒləʊ) – etw runterschlucken
to melt (melt) – schmelzen
to bite (baɪt) – etw beißen
to sip (sɪp) – etw schlürfen, in kleinen Schlucken trinken
seaweed (si: wi:d) – die Algen
tasteless (ˈteɪstləs) – geschmacksneutral
flavor (ˈfleɪvəʳ) – der Geschmack, Aroma
staple (ˈsteɪpl̩) – das Grundnahrungsmittel, Grundausstattung
venue (ˈvenju:) – der Veranstaltungsort