Testimony from 1989 through the eyes of a photographer
Rudolf Pokorný was born June 15, 1966 in Hradec Králové. He studied chemistry and photography processing. The State Security Police became interested in him already when he was fifteen years old due to an innocent remark about wars in the period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the regime regarded him as a troublemaker since then. Rudolf was assigned to do his military service in Martin in Slovakia. From 1988 he was coming to Prague to protest rallies against the communist regime. He experienced a physical attack as well as short-term custody. During these events he captured a unique series of photographs that closely document the crucial events of the revolutionary year 1989.