Choco Leibniz firm apologises as report reveals scale of forced labour under Nazis

Germany’s Bahlsen biscuit empire used workers from Nazi-occupied Poland and Ukraine from 1940 until 1945

Germany’s Bahlsen biscuit empire has apologised for the “painful” findings of a report showing that it used several times more forced labourers than previously thought during the Nazi period.

The report was commissioned after family heiress Verena Bahlsen caused outrage in 2019 by appearing to play down the hardship suffered by hundreds of people, many of them women from Nazi-occupied Ukraine, forced to work at the family business.

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Courgettes, tomatoes and amaretti: Yotam Ottolenghi’s taste of Italian summer – recipes

Slow-cooked courgettes with a toasty breadcrumb topping, a summery tomato and feta salad with lemon dressing and, to finish, a classic pick-me-up of soft amaretti with coffee sauce

Italian summer, anyone? I know! Me, too! This might not be a summer when we get to drink espresso with a little amaretti biscuit on the side in situ, but I fully intend to pretend for a good few meals. Amaretti biscuits, Italian extra-virgin olive oil, hard ricotta from Puglia, the sweetest tomatoes and most basil-y of basil leaves you can get your hands on: invest in the power of food to transport. Cin-cin!

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