Auschwitz II-Birkenau

This is also a postcard pack I got at the bookstore/gift shop from Auschwitz II. This is the part of Auschwitz that you think of when you think of it. It is the part that is usually featured in movies, and in most pictures. This first picture is of the postcard pack.

The railroad spur where the SS carried out the selection of deported Jews. In the background, the entrance gate.

The remains of gas chamber and crematorium II.

In the foreground, the remains of one of the first gas chambers, known as the "Little White Cottage". The place where the bodies of the victims were burned is visible in the background.

Part of the camp fence and a guard tower.

Pond near gas chambers and crematoria IV and V, where the human remains were dumped. 

The remains of gas chamber and crematorium V. 

On the left, the remains of gas chamber and crematorium IV, in the background the main camp bathhouse, where the procedures for receiving incoming prisoners were carried out.

The remains of gas chamber and crematorium III.

The railroad spur where the SS carried out the selection of deported Jews.

Part of the women's camp

This last card here was given to me by the leader of the tour that I was on. She also happened to be a former teacher of mine when I was in college. I had taken social work classes and holocaust study classes with her. The back of this card say the same thing in 3 different languages: "... In Auschwitz-Birkenau... on such a small area and in such a short time, the biggest cemetery in the world's history, a scene of wanton destruction was created..." 

Kazimierz Smolen

Auschwitz Inmate

No. 1327

Auschwitz I

I got this pack of postcards at the bookstore/gift shop at Auschwitz I. I found it quite strange that they have a gift shop at a concentration camp. This first picture is of the outside of the pack of postcards. I have never been to a place that has touched me more in my travels.

A lamp at the entrance to one of the blocks of prisoners.

The camp security system-a double row of electrified barbed wire and a guard tower.

A notice outside the camp fence warning against electrified barbed wire.

The main camp gate with the inscription "Albeit macht frei" (Work will set you free)

The interior of the gas chamber

The camp crematorium

Blocks for prisoners, with a fire-control reservoir in the foreground.

The entrance to the yard of the camp jail, where the SS carried out the executions by shooting.

A warning notice inside the camp. Beyond this point, the SS opened fire without warning.

The camp security system-a double row of electrified barb wire and a guard tower.

Warsaw

Warsaw- Downtown - Palace of Culture and Science

Church of the Holy Cross, Old Town Market Square, Freta Street, Barbican, Bristol Hotel, Old Town Mermaid, Carmelite Church, Old Town Market Square, Starszic Palace, Presidential Palace, Castle Square

Old Town Mermaid, Castle Square, Old Town Market Square, City walls of the Old Town, Mickiewicz monument and Carmelite Church, Castle Square, Church of St. Anne, Barbican, Old Town Market Square, Freta Street, Kanonia Street, Old Town Market Square 

Holocaust memorial sites in Germany

Here are a few postcards of various Holocaust memorial sites in Germany that we visited. I visited many more than this but these are the cards I was able to obtain and bring home. I definitely took more pictures on this trip than I did buy postcards. I also bought many more Starbucks mugs than I did postcards (which is usually the other way around).

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe with Potsdamer Platz in the background

Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe Murdered under the National Socialist Regime

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe with the Reichstag in the background

Jebenhausen and Kippenheim

I visited both of these villages when I was in Germany last year. This first postcard depicts various places around Germany (I cannot quite understand what it says as I do not speak German). The bottom left picture is of the Synagogue in Kippenheim that I was able to visit. This is the rebuilt one as it was destroyed during Kristallnact (night of broken glass) back during WWII.

The rest of these postcards depict the region of Goppingen, which also houses the village of Jebenhausen. While in this town, we went Birkenstock shopping. Let's just say I should have bought more when we were there. They were cheaper in price and so comfortable!

Various places in San Diego

All of these postcards are ones that I got while I was in San Diego last August.

Mission Beach is one of San Diego's more popular beaches. Located across from Mission Bay and Mission Bay Park, the area offers beach shopping and Belmont Park, a historic oceanfront amusement park featuring games, rides and a wooden roller coaster name The Giant Dipper. Be sure to check out the giant FlowBarrel and FlowRider at the Wavehouse!

The San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum is the flagship of the naval aviation museums. It is located aboard the USS Midway, the longest-serving carrier in the history of the Navy.

Of all the beauty that San Diego has to offer, Coronado has become the locals hometown escape. Full of character and history, Coronado Island stands alone in comparison of ambiance and quaint, village-type atmospheres. Perfectly places, The Hotel del Coronado sits proudly on 18 miles of white sandy beaches and is one of the world's top ten resorts and the #1 rated wedding destination in America!

Petco Park

Crystal Pier-Pacific Beach, or "P.B.", as it is called by local residents, is home to one of San Diego's most popular beaches and also, one of the larger nightlife scenes in San Diego. Consisting of bars, restaurants, and boutique stores, PB is worth a visit. While there, be sure to visit the beach itself, walk the boardwalk, touch the Pacific and, stroll to the end of the historic Crystal Pier.

Cabrillo National Monument-San Diego

Old Point Loma Lighthouse

 

Tidepool Area- The tidepool area consists of four zones. The first zone is called the splash zone because there is only an occasional splash from a wave. The second zone is the high tide zone. Sea snails and red-clawed crabs are found here. In the third zone, middle tide zone, there are mussel beds and patches of surf grass. This is also the habitat of the seastar, inset. The last zone is the low tide zone where rocks are encrusted with sponges and green surf grass thrives.

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse stood watch over the entrance to San Diego Bay for 36 years. At dusk on November 15, 1855, the light keeper climbed the winding stairs and lit the light for the first time. What seemed to be a good location 422 feet above sea level, however, had a serious flaw. Fog and low clouds often obscured the light. On March 23, 1891, the light was extinguished and the keeper moved to a new lighthouse location closer to the water at the tip of the Point.

This statue of Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo commemorates his 1542 exploration of the west coast and landing of Ballast Point. On September 28, 1542, he sailed into a harbor which he names San Miguel-now known as San Diego. His expedition explored more than 800 miles of coastline.

La Jolla

Known for its beautiful scenery, incredible surf breaks, world class art galleries, upscale shopping and endless fine dining, La Jolla is deemed "the Jewel" of Southern California.

La Jolla Caves- After descending 133 steps through a lighted, man-made tunnel, visitors traverse a walkway to a platform near the ocean entrance of Sunny Jim Cave. This fascinating cavern in La Jolla's sandstone cliffs was carved by approximately 200,000 years of wave action.

Harbor Seals- Harbor seals are a nearshore pinniped species that need a protected area to rest and warm up. They haul out year-round at beautiful La Casa Beach (Children's Pool Beach) in La Jolla, California. The sea wall was built in 1931 at "Seal Rock Point".

Bubba Gumps Restuarant

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., the restaurant fashioned after the heartwarming film "Forrest Gump", opened at the nations largest retail and entertainment complex, Mall of America in August 2003. The restaurant combines great food in a casual family atmosphere just the way Forrest and his "best good friend" Bubba would have done it!