The Amazing Story of Rudolf Brazda

I’d never heard of Rudolf Brazda, until I saw his obituary today, but it gives deep insight into how the Nazis just didn’t persecute Jews, but a lot of others as well. Brazda was gay and somehow kept himself alive amongst the horrors of Buchenwald.

Mietek Pemper

I had not heard of Mietek Pemper until I read his obituary in The Times today.  Here is the one from The Telegraph.

Most have heard the story of Oskar Schindler and how he saved hundreds of Jews from the Nazis, but here was the man, who did all of the paperwork.

It is a fascinating tale and in a way shows that amongst all the evil of the Second World War, there were some good men and women, making a real difference.

If You Think There Are Cheats in Sport, Remember the Nazis

There is a wonderfully inspiring interview with a lady of 90 called Dorothy Tyler in The Times today.  She would have won the gold medal in the high jump in the Berlin Olympics, but for the count-back rule at the time.  And that despite the Germans entering a man, Dora Ratjen, to replace their best female high-jumper, who was Jewish. She then went on to win another silver at the London Olympics of 1948. This time it was all fair and square and she was beaten by the first black female Olympic gold medallist, Alice Coachman. She said this of her defeat.

“She was from a very poor family,” Tyler says. “She used to have to pick corn and walk through the fields to school. We exchanged addresses after the competition and I kissed her when she won, which seemed to amaze everyone. One of the reporters asked: ‘How did I like being beaten by a black woman?’ I said: ‘As far as I was concerned, she was a competitor representing her country.’ ”

She eventually competed in the 1956 Games in Melbourne, but she never got the gold she deserved and would have certainly got under modern rules.

Now come 2012, she is an obvious candidate to present the medals in the women’s high jump in London.  But I doubt she’ll be asked to do it, as someone from the the so-called great and good, will be called upon, because it is his turn.

This article alone made the purchase of The Times worthwhile.