Friedmann, a first-prize winner in the World Press Photo contest and the holder of many other prestigious awards, was the only Hungarian press photographer to document the Prague Spring and its aftermath. He brought back to Budapest some 500 images, but as soon as they were enlarged in the news agency's darkrooms, officials from the Defense Ministry took them away. An inventory of MTI's photo archives in 1970 show they were never returned.
Friedmann primarily documented the activities of Hungarian soldiers, not political events, though Czech political leaders did visit the troops. He stayed with the Hungarian troops in their encampments, but he also visited Prague.
"We didn't know at the time that we were participants in a big historical event," says Friedmann. "I didn't receive any orders as to what or what not to photograph. There was no need because of the strict censorship afterward."
MTI has tried to track down the missing photographs, but the search has yielded nothing. The agency has, however, digitalized reproductions of copies of the 42 images that remain. These will be available to subscribers from Saturday - around the 40th anniversary of the invasion.
Source: Múlt-kor / Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
