Ladislav Bielik’s iconic photo of a man standing facing a tank will be published on a stamp for the 50th anniversary of the Czechoslovak anti-communist revolution.
The photo became the symbol of the revolution and the resistance. The Prague Spring began on January 5th, 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and continued until August 21st, 1968 when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country to halt the reforms.
It was taken in Bratislava in front of Comenius University, during the invasion of the city, with the forces of the Warsaw pact. Bielik was never credited for the picture during his life.
The picture captured the moment when Emil Gallo was facing one of the tanks. The photograph appeared in 1998 as one of The Photos of the Century by the French agency Capa, while Life magazine included it in its book of 100 Photographs that Changed the World.
The stamp will be published by the Slovak Post on August 21st, it will have a nominal value of 1.80 euros.
