Eastern Europe

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Starting in the '60s, when the Berlin wall still straddled Eastern Europe, I started making trips to the countries of that region I could gain admittance to. Later, although in many cases the men in power remained from the older regimes,under  different names but still making travel difficult when they chose, I visited Romania, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, and Bulgaria,  Over a fairly short period, change was rapid, in some countries more than others. Although I experienced problems, I always found that photographically I had an affinity for those countries--the people, the crumbling but magnificent buildings, the ancient infrastructure, even on occasion, the Soviet-style apartment complexes and factories on the outskirts of cities. Much as I love Western Europe, the atmosphere of Eastern Europe resonated with me in a way other places don't. From the main medieval square (Rynek Glowny) of Krakow, to the gates of Auschwitz, the cemetery of Prague to the gypsies of Transylvania, It was moving, fascinating, and reverberating always with the history of the Jews, and the ghosts of the millions that had resided in these towns.