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Exhibition: Prague 1968 with photographer Paul Goldsmith

(This article expired 05.04.2013.)

April 17, 2012, 6:30 pm - The Embassy of the Czech Republic opens the exhibition Prague 1968 with photographer Paul Goldsmith. In August 1968, Goldsmith dodged tanks, fires, and soldiers to photograph the conflict, recording the tragic events with remarkable artistry and bravery. More than four decades later, the photographs are still startlingly immediate, and they create a compelling portrait of an unforgettable moment in history.

Exhibition      
In late August 1968, nineteen-year-old Paul Goldsmith, nearing the end of a yearlong pre-college trip around the world, headed for Czechoslovakia, drawn by the excitement of the Prague Spring, a time of exhilarating freedom from Communist tyranny that arose from newly elected Alexander Dubček’s “socialism with a human face.” But late on the night that he arrived, August 20, hundreds of thousands of Soviet-led tanks and troops poured into the country to crush the liberalization movement. Prague’s citizens were bloodied and killed as they fought back with protests and barricades. Goldsmith dodged tanks, fires, and soldiers to photograph the conflict, recording the tragic events with remarkable artistry and bravery. More than four decades later, the photographs are still startlingly immediate, and they create a compelling portrait of an unforgettable moment in history. These recently discovered photographs have been acclaimed as “brilliant” and accepted in museums and published in the United States and the Czech Republic.

Freedom of Expression in the Contemporary World
The Embassy of the Czech Republic presents the project Freedom of Expression in the Contemporary World, which is dedicated to lifelong friends and symbols of the fight for democracy and freedom: the renowned Czech film director Miloš Forman and former Czech and Czechoslovak President Václav Havel. Running from February-May 2012, the project incorporates documentary screenings, panel discussions, exhibitions, and lectures focusing on freedom of expression particularly in Burma, Belarus, and Cuba.

The exhibition opens April 17 at 6:30 pm.
R.S.V.P. by April 16 
czech_events@yahoo.com
(Please put "Prague 1968" in the subject line.)

Location: Embassy of the Czech Republic
3900 Spring of Freedom Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008

Prague 1968