标签： Europe

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — As the world prepares for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, a largely erased chapter of sports history resurfaces from the very grounds where Olympic events will unfold. The current curling arena and mobile-home Athletes’ Village stand precisely where fascist imagery once dominated during the 1941 World Ski Championships—an event orchestrated by Mussolini’s Italy and Nazi Germany as a propaganda spectacle.

While Cortina’s 1956 Winter Games are well documented, the 1941 championships remain conspicuously absent from official records. The International Skiing Federation (FIS) expunged all results after World War II, effectively erasing the event from historical memory. Recently discovered archival materials and amateur films reveal athletes performing Nazi salutes on podiums, swastika flags throughout the resort town, and a substantial military presence.

According to University of Bologna sports historian Nicola Sbetti, “The Italian republic has never been interested in taking responsibility for the championships.” He characterizes the event as part of an Axis powers strategy “to create a new world order” through sports, maintaining normalcy while war ravaged Europe.

The competition excluded Allied nations while featuring Axis countries and puppet states. Germany—bolstered by annexed Austria’s skiers—and Italy dominated the Alpine events, claiming all 18 medals between them. Austrian-born Josef Jennewein and German skier Christl Cranz achieved multiple gold medals, with Cranz’s record-equaling performances only recently matched by American Mikaela Shiffrin.

Communications director Max Vergani, author of “Cortina41: The Phantom World Championship,” describes how Mussolini transformed the event into a “mini-Olympics” after the cancellation of the 1944 Winter Games. The championships served as a demonstration of fascist power similar to Hitler’s 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Tragically, many 1941 medalists perished in subsequent war operations, including Jennewein shot down over the Soviet Union and Cranz’s brother killed on the Eastern Front. Italian slalom champion Celina Seghi continued competing after the war, eventually earning a bronze medal at the 1950 worlds before passing away in 2022 at age 102.

The FIS formally nullified the championships at its first postwar congress in 1946, with the motion passing unanimously. Today, few physical traces remain beyond souvenir shop items featuring the event’s official poster—a ghostly reminder of sports’ complex relationship with political propaganda.

Ukrainian authorities reported a devastating Russian drone assault on the southern port city of Odesa, leaving 23 civilians wounded—including two children and a pregnant woman. The attack, which utilized over 50 advanced drones, targeted critical infrastructure and residential areas, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis during an exceptionally harsh winter.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urgently appealed for accelerated U.S. diplomatic intervention to resolve the nearly four-year conflict, emphasizing that each Russian strike undermines ongoing peace negotiations. Despite reported progress in diplomatic channels, fundamental disagreements persist regarding the status of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

Military analysts suggest Russian President Vladimir Putin remains strategically patient, betting on waning Western support and Ukrainian fatigue. Meanwhile, Russia continues enhancing its drone capabilities, recently deploying the jet-powered ‘Geran-5’ model capable of carrying 90-kilogram warheads over 1,000 kilometers.

In response, Ukraine has significantly ramped up production of interceptor drones while developing long-range offensive capabilities. The overnight exchange saw Russian air defenses claim 19 Ukrainian drones destroyed across multiple regions.

Notably, Russia’s military recruitment strategies have expanded to include cash incentives, prisoner releases, and the exploitation of foreign laborers—with an Associated Press investigation revealing Bangladeshi workers being deceived into combat roles under false pretenses.

Communities across Europe and beyond gathered in solemn reflection on Tuesday to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, honoring the memory of the six million Jewish victims and countless others systematically murdered by Nazi Germany. The January 27th observance coincides with the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet forces, the most infamous complex within Germany’s network of extermination camps.

At the Auschwitz memorial site in German-occupied Poland, survivors placed floral tributes at the Execution Wall where thousands, predominantly Polish citizens, were murdered. Polish President Karol Nawrocki joined remembrance ceremonies at Birkenau, where European Jews were transported for mass extermination in gas chambers. The site witnessed the murder of approximately 1.1 million people, primarily Jews but also Poles, Roma, and other targeted groups.

In Berlin, flickering candles and white roses adorned the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, where 2,700 concrete slabs stand near Brandenburg Gate as a permanent testament to Germany’s remorse. National commemorations occurred simultaneously at the United Nations and across European nations, with Germany’s official parliamentary observance scheduled for Wednesday.

New data from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany reveals approximately 196,600 Holocaust survivors remain alive worldwide—a significant decrease from 220,000 just one year prior. Notably, 97% represent ‘child survivors’ born in 1928 or later. Despite the diminishing survivor community, many continue to share their testimonies for the first time after decades of silence.

The Netherlands conducted its annual memorial on Sunday with a silent procession through Amsterdam’s historic Jewish quarter. Mayor Femke Halsema addressed hundreds of attendees at Wertheim Park, characterizing Nazi camps as “unprecedented and still incomprehensible examples of what intolerance, hatred, and racism can lead to.”

In an unprecedented security arrangement for the Olympic stage, the United States will deploy agents from its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games. According to authoritative sources within the U.S. embassy in Rome, this deployment was formally confirmed this Tuesday. The initiative, however, comes with a clearly defined and limited operational scope. The primary mandate for these federal agents will be to provide robust support and reinforcement to existing U.S. diplomatic security contingents. Embassy officials were explicit in clarifying that the personnel will have no role in, nor will they conduct, any form of immigration enforcement operations on Italian soil. Their presence is framed purely as a collaborative measure to ensure the safety and security of American diplomatic personnel and assets during the high-profile international event, which draws global attention and necessitates heightened security protocols.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Ilana Kantorowicz Shalem, among the youngest living Holocaust survivors at 81 years old, has chosen to break her lifelong silence by revealing an extraordinary story of survival that begins with her birth in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during the final days of World War II.

Her mother, Lola Kantorowicz, concealed her pregnancy amidst the horrific conditions of the camp, where widespread starvation made distended bellies commonplace. On March 19, 1945—just thirty days before British forces liberated the camp—Ilana was born as Russian troops advanced through Germany. Archivist Sima Velkovich of Yad Vashem described the circumstances as “unimaginable,” noting the camp was filled with “mountains of corpses” and thousands of desperately ill prisoners at the time.

Shalem’s survival represents a statistical miracle. Most infants born in concentration camps were immediately killed by Nazi authorities. Her existence only became possible because the Nazi leadership was in disarray during the war’s final weeks.

The backdrop to this revelation comes as the world prepares to observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. This year’s commemorations occur amidst rising global antisemitism following the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Shalem’s parents, Lola Rosenblum and Hersz (Zvi) Abraham Kantorowicz, first met as teenagers in the Tomaszow Ghetto in Poland. They maintained a clandestine relationship through multiple labor camps after being separated from their families. Though they married informally in the ghetto, they were ultimately separated in 1944. Hersz perished in a death march just days before the war’s end.

Lola survived Auschwitz, the Hindenburg labor camp, and a death march to Bergen-Belsen while pregnant. “If they discovered she was pregnant, they would have killed her,” Shalem explained. “She hid her pregnancy from everyone, including her friends, because she didn’t want the extra attention or anyone to give her their food.”

Following liberation, baby Ilana became a symbol of hope in the displaced persons camp. “Actually, I was everyone’s child,” Shalem recalled. “For them, it was some kind of sign of life.” Photographs from the period show a healthy infant surrounded by adoring adults who saw her as “a new seed” of hope.

Shalem noted that discussing Holocaust experiences was largely taboo in Israeli society during the 1960s when she first began asking her mother questions. “Now we know, in order to absorb trauma, we need to talk about it,” she said, contrasting this with the immediate public sharing by survivors of the October 7 Hamas attacks.

The decision to share her story comes as Holocaust survivors dwindle in number. According to the Claims Conference, approximately 196,600 survivors remain alive today, with nearly half residing in Israel. Nearly 25,000 survivors passed away last year alone, with the median age now 87.

Shalem, who has two daughters, reflects on her mother’s extraordinary strength: “It’s a situation that was very unusual, it probably required special strength to be able to believe. She said that one of the things was that if she had known my father was killed, she wouldn’t have tried so hard. She wanted him to know me.”

Russia has developed a multi-pronged recruitment strategy to sustain its military operations in Ukraine while avoiding another politically risky nationwide mobilization. The Kremlin’s approach leverages substantial financial incentives, immigration benefits, and questionable recruitment practices to maintain troop levels in the nearly four-year conflict.

For Russian citizens, military service offers unprecedented economic rewards. Regional authorities provide enlistment bonuses reaching approximately $50,000 in some areas—more than double the average annual income. Additional benefits include tax breaks, debt relief, and extensive perks. Despite claims of voluntary enlistment, reports indicate conscripts and prisoners face coercion to sign contracts that automatically extend indefinitely, contrary to initial fixed-term representations.

The recruitment net extends globally, targeting foreign nationals through accelerated citizenship programs and deceptive employment schemes. Citizens from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, South Africa, Iraq, Cuba, and Kenya have reported being misled into military service by traffickers promising legitimate jobs. North Korea contributed thousands of soldiers following a 2024 mutual defense treaty with Moscow, primarily deployed to defend Russia’s Kursk region.

President Vladimir Putin maintains that 700,000 troops are currently deployed in Ukraine, though independent verification remains impossible. British defense officials estimate over 1 million Russian casualties, while Mediazona and BBC researchers have documented more than 160,000 fatalities, including at least 550 foreigners from two dozen countries.

The strategy carries significant economic consequences. Analysts note that recruitment has become “extremely expensive” for Russia’s slowing economy, with foreign nationals particularly vulnerable due to language barriers, lack of military experience, and being considered “dispensable” by commanders. Despite these challenges, recruitment numbers reportedly remained strong throughout 2023-2024, with Putin claiming over 400,000 voluntary enlistments last year.

ROME — The newly appointed United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Salih, issued a stark warning Monday about the unprecedented challenges facing global refugee protection systems. Speaking in his first major interview since assuming office on January 1st, the former Iraqi president described the current situation as “a very difficult moment in history” that demands innovative solutions and international solidarity.

The UNHCR faces a catastrophic funding shortfall following a dramatic reduction in U.S. contributions, which have plummeted from $2.1 billion to approximately $800 million for 2024-2025. Despite this drastic cut, the United States remains the agency’s largest single donor. Salih emphasized that while resources are being “constrained and limited in very, very significant ways,” he maintains hope that global humanity will prevail in supporting the world’s displaced populations.

With 117.3 million forcibly displaced people from 194 countries worldwide—including approximately 30 million refugees requiring direct support—the funding crisis couldn’t come at a worse time. Salih stressed the urgent need to safeguard the 1951 Refugee Convention amid growing repression of immigrants and attempts to redefine international asylum protocols.

The High Commissioner, who himself fled Iraq twice during Saddam Hussein’s regime, brings personal experience to his role. His background informs his perspective that “refugees are not just numbers and victims” but individuals who can thrive given proper protection and opportunities.

Salih has already undertaken field visits to refugee camps in Chad and Kenya, witnessing firsthand the conditions of those displaced by conflicts in Sudan, Somalia, Congo, and Ethiopia. He has also secured support from Pope Leo XIV during a Vatican meeting, noting the crucial role of faith-based organizations in refugee advocacy.

Despite the overwhelming challenges, Salih described his new position as “a great honor” and remains committed to making UNHCR more cost-effective while maintaining essential services for those most in need.