AUGUST 1968

Title: AUGUST 1968

Photographer(s): Ladislav Bielik

Writer(s): Eugen Gindl

Designer(s): Boris Meluš

Publisher(s): Vydavatelstvo O.k.o.Bratislave, Slovakia

Year: 2008

Print run:

Language(s): Czech, English

Pages: 72

Size: 22,5 x 48,5 cm

Binding: Hardcover

Edition:

Print: TLAČIARNE BB spol. s r.o., Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

Nation(s) and year(s) of Protest: Czech Republic,1968

ISBN:9788080856045

The Soviet Union had tolerated the liberalizing policies of Czechoslovakia long enough. On August 21, 1968, armed troops and tanks rolled into Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Shots were fired on the Safarikovo Square near where the old bridge crosses the Danube. A 17-year-old girl died. Citizens screamed, cried, fainted. Socialism with a human face was over. A young photographer, Ladislav (Laco) Bielik, did what came naturally. He raised his camera and shot back.

One of his pictures, The Bare-chested Man in Front of the Occupiers Tank, became the shot heard round the world–the most renowned of the 187 photos Bielik took that day. The Soviets had tolerated verbal stories of their bullying. Word of mouth traveled slowly and could be denied. But within days, Bielik’s photo splashed across the front page of major newspapers globally. This iconic photo produced indisputable evidence of the iron-fisted response to any challenge of Soviet control.

Four days earlier, within sight of the square and at the famous Blue Church, Laco Bielik had married Alica Mala. Both were journalists at the popular youth daily newspaper, Smena. Laco, with his think black hair and sideburns and Alica with her blond good looks were nicknamed “Tom Jones and Brigitte Bardot” by friends.