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7  Between Remagen and the Prague Spring  Hilmar Pabel documents War

Hilmar Pabel – one of the most important photographers and war reporters of the 20^th century – repeatedly emphasized the connection of  his occupation as photographer for a propaganda company stationed in Remagen to the historical events of the Bridge at Remagen.

Pabel (1910-2000) documented the bombings attacks on Remagen during the winter of 1944/45.  After the war, he visited time and again the people who lived through those war years, always taking along his Leica-camera.  What resulted was a human interest report about a Remagen family over the course of decades.
In 1968, Pabel was sent by “Stern” magazine to Czechoslovakia to cover the filming of the American movie “The Bridge at Remagen”.  This filming came to an abrupt end when, on August 20^th, 1968, Soviet troops marched into Prague (and put a violent end to the reform process known to history as the “Prague Spring”).  There was military action again.  Hilmar Pabel – who had come to Prague to watch the filming of a movie about war – was once more at the scene to report conflict.