Undisclosed Photographs 1968–1969

Owing to the “alertness” of the State Security (StB), interesting and yet unknown photographs of the occupying Polish troops in Zdar nad Sazavou, dated August 1968, have been preserved in file no. KR-4201 BN, along with photographs from the burial of Jan Palach, dated January 1969. The photographer’s brother was under surveillance of the StB that strove to document his alleged hostile stance towards the communist regime.

The file contains a total of 19 photographs from 1968 and 12 photographs from 1969. The first group captures an armoured vehicle and the light vehicles of the Polish People’s Army driving down streets of Zdar nad Sazavou, a military convoy and the soldiers getting off in front of the District Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. An inscription subsequently appears on the building façade, saying “Truth will prevail – in your place, too”. Other photographs capture the Polish army’s commandment seated in the Sokol gym hall in Zdar. Many inscriptions and slogans against the occupation then appear on the stairway and in the street where the gym hall is located, all in Polish, for instance, “Do not meddle in our affairs!”, “He who has sent you here should take care of you!”, “What was 1 September 1939 for you, it is 15 March 1938 and 21 August 1968 for us!”, or “Polish tourists welcome – invaders to be banished!” An inscription in Polish in one of the shop windows says, “Polish soldiers! Occupying our land? God, it feels so sad. But time will tell!” Another photograph shows an inscription in the Cyrillic alphabet, saying “Go home!”, and adds the names of the leading figures of the so-called Prague Spring, including Alexandr Dubcek, Ludvik Svoboda, Cestmir Cisar and Oldrich Cernik. There is also a photograph capturing a big map of Czechoslovakia drawn on the street in front of the Zdar nad Sazavou hospital, with arrows pointing to the countries from which the occupying troops have come.

The photographs taken on 25 January 1969 show the Prague burial procession for the student Jan Palach who had immolated himself, and the masses of people that joined the procession. They are mostly taken in the Old Town Square in the centre of Prague. There are also pictures of many wreaths laid in front of Charles University. Three photographs capture people reading small posters on lamp posts and in shop windows, with slogans such as “Do not let them abuse Jan Palach’s funeral!” and “People always die like heroes only for freedom, then they believe they won’t die”. Another text invites people to attend a service in the memory of Jan Palach’s sacrifice.