While Koudelka took a number of iconic images of Soviet tanks marching through Prague’s streets amidst protestors, there was one image of the invasion that stood out above all.
It’s a man’s outstretched forearm with a watch face displaying a midday time. In the background, the streets of Wenceslas Square are completely barren.
Koudelka’s images were smuggled out of the country and published throughout international media the following year. They would paint the definitive portrait of the 1968 invasion.
More of Koudelka’s Invasion 68 photography can be seen in the video below: