47. Revolution in Hungary: the 1956 Budapest Uprising by Erich Lessing

Photographer Erich Lessing has always been interested in politics, and is often referred to as a Cold War photographer. Lessing proposed that Life magazine do a series of articles on Communist countries, including Hungary, when Eastern European politics started to heat up in 1956. When a mass rally in Budapest on October 23, 1956 quickly escalated into the Hungarian Revolution, Lessing was able to enter Hungary by car from the Austrian border the following day and become the first photographer to arrive in Hungary to document the Revolution. Within days, millions of Hungarians were supporting the rallies, until it was stopped on November 4th by Soviet tanks and Hungarian police. In total, thousands of Hungarians and Soviets died, and close to 250,000 people fled the country.

This photography book is filled with 190 duotone photographs captured during those few days by Lessing. Filled in with text from Lessing, and Hungarian authors George Konrad and Francois Fetjo, readers get a sense what those days were like for normal Hungarians trying to protest in Budapest. Konrad’s essay, “A stroll in Budapest 1956” is especially well-written, and begins with the line: “On 23 October, I had never held a weapon; on 4 November, on the other hand, I had.” The book is separated into three parts, with photographs capturing Communist Hungary, the actual Revolution, and the failure of the Revolution. I was in Hungary last summer, shortly before the September 2006 protests, when anti-government protests erupted because of the Prime Minister’s leaked speech revealing that the Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the election, so I am interested in learning more about Hungary. This is a truly stunning photography book that also has excellent historical writing included.