Invasion by Warsaw Pact Troops in front of the Radio Headquarters, Prague, 1968

This arresting image by Josef Koudelka is brimming with chaotic energy. After just returning from Romania, Koudelka arrived in Prague August 1968, just one day before the invasion of the Warsaw Pact soldiers, orchestrated by the Soviet Union. The photographer wasted no time immersing himself directly in the middle of conflict, using an Exakta Varex loaded with Eastern German movie film to document the resistance to occupation from August 21st to 27th. In this stunning vintage print, a young man emerges from the deep dark shadows, bathed in high contrast tones he courageously challenges the seemingly calm soldiers. In this work, Koudelka masterfully captured the beginning of what was to become a new political epoch. Some of the images taken at this time were first published on the first anniversary of the invasion in a feature in the Sunday Times Magazine, London and Look magazine, New York. This was only made possible by secretly transferring the negatives out of Europe and into the trust of Magnum Photos. Out of fear, Koudelka did not identify himself as the photographer of these images until 1984.