The Morning
After – The Grey Clouds of Trouble
1956 was a
terrible year for Hungary. It was dreadful. It had had the taste of
pure freedom, a victory that wasn't a victory, and a revolution
that ended in brutal Soviet repression. And, Erich Lessing, the
brilliant Austrian photographer succeeded in capturing the
jubilations, hardships, sorrows, and bitter
defeat of this time. And, this collection of moving portraits
of life can be found in Erich Lessing's book, Budapest 1956. But,
there's one picture in this collection that says more than it shows!
It's a cold
damp Budapest morning. It's October. There's a greyness of
dreary depression, and the Szenater (a square near the main
railway station) is waiting to be cleared up. It's definitely a
“morning after” picture. There’s only a handful of
people, and the expressions they are wearing are those of
contented success. But, their smiles are thin, the night
before must have been violent.
There's the
usual litter of bricks and stones, and there's an overturned
armoured car. It must have been a very emotional and violent night.
But, it's the two railway carriages in the background that clearly
demonstrate the desperation and power of the crowd. The
railway carriages had been dragged and pushed there from the nearby
railway to stop advancing Soviet tanks. But, how was this
possible?
How
difficult must it have been to push the carriages through the
streets? How many people were involved? And, where did their
super-human- energy come from? And, who helped them? And, how much
time did they have? Railway carriages are very heavy things.
And, this
picture is also a study of suffering. Who looked after the injured?
And, how many perished? And, those left behind? And, when
will the next confrontation be?
1956 was a
terrible year for Hungary. But, this very simple picture of the
left-overs of battle provides just a very small glimpse of the
suffering of then. And, of course, no picture can tell the full
story, but, this picture of early morning grey says more than many
other photos. And, this is the greatness of Lessing! His photos are
amongst the best that there are! And, thanks to him, we have a very
clear picture of our own recent past!
Erich
Lessing has a small gallery in the centre of Vienna. The
address is 1010 Wien,
Weihburggasse
22.
Vocabulary
contended
– befriedigend
damp
– feucht
defeat
– Niederlage
desperation
– Verzweifeln
dreary –
trüb
expressions
– Gesichtsausdrücke
glimpse
– Blick
hardships
– Schwierigkeiten
has
succeeded – ist gelungen
jubilations
– Freude
morning
after – Tag der nach
perished
(perish/perished/perished) starb
sorrows
– Leiden
success
– Erfolg
tank
– Panzer
violent
– Gewaltsam
Erich
Lessing has a gallery in the centre of Vienna. The address is
1010 Wien,
Weihburggasse
22.
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