Defending the Czechoslovak Radio Building, Prague, August 1968
- Artist: Josef Koudelka
- Date: 1968, printed 1970s
- Medium: Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper
- Dimensions: image: 538 × 346 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the "Defending the Czechoslovak Radio Building, Prague, August 1968" by Josef Koudelka. The black‑and‑white image shows two young protestors waving the Czechoslovak flag on Vinohradská Avenue as Soviet troops occupied the Radio Building. Koudelka was not a reporter – he was a photographer who decided to document the invasion for his own record, shooting from close quarters and risking his safety. His negatives were later smuggled out to Magnum, printed in the 1970s, but the events captured happened in August 1968 during the crushing of the Prague Spring. The photograph highlights everyday courage: civilians defying tanks, chanting, holding up the flag. It is part of Koudelka’s larger series “Invasion 68: Prague,” which chronicles the seven days of the Warsaw Pact occupation. This work reminds us that ordinary people stood up when the odds were against them, and that photography can bear witness to history.
See it in person
Defending the Czechoslovak Radio Building, Prague, August 1968 is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
