Invasion Prague 68

Josef Koudelka
Invasion Prague 68

Photographs: Josef Koudelka

Publisher: Tana éditions

295 pages

Year: 2008

Comments: Softcover, 32,2 x 25 cm, First French edition, text in French. b&w photographs. in very good condition. Out of print.

In 1968, Josef Koudelka was thirty years old. He had just spent six years photographing Gypsies and the world of theater, but had never yet covered current events. The Prague Spring gave him the opportunity. On the night of August 21, Warsaw Pact tanks entered the Czechoslovak capital. Having returned the day before from Romania, where he had followed the Gypsies, Koudelka photographed the events and managed to get his images out of the country. They found refuge in New York, and a year later, Magnum Photo distributed his reportage. In order to prevent reprisals, the pictures were attributed to an anonymous Czech photographer, which did not prevent their author from receiving the Robert Capa prize. It was only after the threat to his family had passed and after his father's death that the photographer publicly acknowledged his authorship. Forty years later, Koudelka has unearthed from his archives nearly 25 poignant photographs, most of which are shown here for the first time.