Author Archives: kurtmacmillan

I spent my last full day in Poland on an excursion from Lublin to the former site of the Bełżec extermination camp, eighty-five miles southeast near the Ukrainian border. The journey began with a cab ride from Jacek’s apartment to … Continue reading →

I began my last full day in Poland sitting on the floor of Jacek’s apartment. A sheepskin mat cushioned me on the parquet wood—a fleecy comfort I brought from California whose snowy whiskers were forever entangling themselves in my suitcase … Continue reading →

During my long weekend in Warsaw, I often lingered at dusk looking out the window. Leaning on the sill of my third-story perch at the corner of Nowolipki and Karmelicka streets, I studied the tree-lined sidewalks and drew imaginary constellations … Continue reading →

At the end of the platform, at right-angles to the tracks, nailed to two posts set in concrete, was a signpost bearing the name Treblinka on either side so travelers could see it from either direction. Treblinka was nothing but … Continue reading →

“Why are you going to Małkinia? It’s a village with nothing.” His weary tone tugged at me like the hand of a skeptical navigator attempting to rouse sense before the final lurch toward some forsaken shoreline. “Come to Białystok, instead,” … Continue reading →

The Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary in Chełmno nad Nerem, Poland I hovered the key chain around the dashboard but the car wouldn’t start.   It seemed an inauspicious beginning to my first international car rental and … Continue reading →

Bike riding in Brooklyn, New York Walking down Bedford Avenue with eyes trained to a digital map and a steeply declining phone battery charge, I breezed right passed the Apple Store. My gently respiring, blue-dotted avatar had become misaligned with … Continue reading →

The interior gate of Łódź’s Jewish Cemetery (above) and a restaurant near Piotrkowska Street (below). On the morning of my fourth day in Kraków, I shared an unexpectedly convivial breakfast with my final set of roommates at the hostel—a pair … Continue reading →

Broken tombstones in the Jewish Cemetery of Oswieçim, Poland Note: In this post, I am returning to June 17, 2018 to complete my account of the day I spent in Oswieçim, Poland. *                … Continue reading →

            Working with the Archives of the Holocaust at Cal State Fullerton. Hello again…Happy New Year…Where did the time go? The short answer is teaching…lots and lots of teaching. Although the past few months have … Continue reading →