Oświęcim, Poland

The placid landscape and blue skies do not capture the horrors that took place here during World War II. This was Auschwitz, established by the Nazis for the purpose of vesting a Holocaust on Europe's Jews. Over one million were murdered here. [2004]

Nidzica, Poland

Nidzica is one of hundreds of castles that still dot the Polish landscape. Don't we all wish we lived in a castle right now? Self-sufficient and cut off from the outside world. Just like it was in the 14th century when this castle was built. Or, maybe not. [2004]

Kraków, Poland

Landscapes, still lifes, and portraits: all on the wall. To which one are your eyes drawn? Probably, the portrait. And, you are probably asking yourself: "Is that Gandalf?" It could be, since the Lord of the Rings movies were released in 2001, 2002, and 2003. BTW: The years in brackets throughout this blog are when the pictures were taken. [2004]

Treblinka, Poland

Janusz Korczak and his orphaned children met their deaths in the gas chambers at Treblinka in 1942. From the Warsaw ghetto, they were herded into boxcars and taken east by train to the extermination camp where they (and almost a million other Jews) succumbed to genocide. The memorial at Treblinka II today includes this symbolic headstone. [2003]

Warsaw, Poland

Pediatrician and children's author Janusz Korczak ran an orphanage in Warsaw's Jewish ghetto during World War II. In 1942, he refused to let his children be deported without him, so he went along, with them in tow. Little did they know the fate that awaited. [2003]

Warsaw, Poland

Caryatids: three of them. They are wearing the prescribed vestments for their ilk. As the bronze personifications of faith, hope, and love, they set the tone for a new era of Polish independence when institutions like the Supreme Court (seen here) were being rebuilt in the 1990s. [2003]

Warsaw, Poland

How could a palm tree be growing in the center of Warsaw? Totally ageographical. Upon inspection, however, you will discover nothing more than a plastic perpendicular meant to be read as a metaphor: Post-Communist Poland has more in common with western Europe, where palm trees grow on Atlantic shores, than with the fur hats to the east. [2003]

Warsaw, Poland

Copernicus: He's Poland's heliocentric hero. The uplifted armillary sphere symbolizes his seminal contribution to our scientific understanding of Earth. 'Revolutionary' it was:  Because he told us that the earth 'revolves' around the sun, rather than vice-versa. The statue is in Warsaw, but Copernicus belongs to all humanity. Thank you, Poland. [2003]