Hungary

Charlie and the War

Lajos Somogyvári

In 1945, the Second World War ended in Europe, and in Hungary, too. This photo, titled Charlie (in Hungarian: Karcsi), was taken in either 1944 or 1945 when many children lost their families and the country’s schools were temporarily closed. Charlie was one of these children and was left with some serious injuries caused by the war. We do not know what happened to him, but he became a symbolic figure: the figure of a new start which was to begin after years of struggling and demolition. This photograph was published in 1965 to contrast war with peace; however, now it is very hard to imagine what happened in Europe just a few decades before and what continues to happen every day in conflict zones. Schools in Hungary were closed for most of the academic years of 1944 and 1945, because of the risk of bombings and the fighting between the Soviet and the allied German and Hungarian armies. Considering this, many teachers had to go fight in the war for Hungary with every student over the age of 16 forced to become a soldier. For example, in 1945, my grandfather, whilst he was still a student, was sent to the western border of Hungary to work on the defensive line and had to dig trenches, instead of continuing his learning in high school. He would be able to sit his exams and go to university, but this would have to wait until after the war, which was the same for many students in Hungary.

But what about Charlie’s life story? Well, nothing was recorded; we know him only through the lens of the photographer, Klára Langer. Claire (Klára) was a communist woman, famous since the 1930’s for her child-portraits. Her series, The Persecute People documented orphans and children in need from 1938 to 1945, to support and help them. In 1944, she used her explicit knowledge and skills to produce false documents to rescue victimised Jews and other groups of people who were being hunted by the Nazis. During her work, she met this little boy who had travelled across the country without his parents, home, safety and with an uncertain future – this was not an uncommon situation for children in Hungary, during this time. Charlie was blinded with one eye but still smiled with his other at the photographer.

The original title of the photo was the following: Háború (Karcsi). War (Charlie) in English. First the War, then as an afterthought, Charlie. Yet the image has become famously known as only Charlie. Why is this? Why are we only remembering the child and forgetting the war? Maybe this represents leaving the bad aspects of history behind us. Instead, now we see only a child, who smiles, despite his poor conditions: his face is dirty, he only has one eye, but he is happy. We cannot see his friend, but one hand lies on the shoulder, so Charlie was not alone. After the war, normal life could begin, and we can only imagine, how this started. As with other photographs, we are able to complete the story using what we can see in the photo to recreate the past and try to figure out their everyday life experiences. By doing this, we can complete the missing story of Charlie, and bring him to life again. We can imagine what could have happened after 1945; maybe, hopefully, he returned and finished his education.

As I mentioned before, whilst normal life began, it did so in abnormal conditions. Another photograph showing a demolished building, was published in the same journal, and like Charlie’s photo was stamped 1945. Charlie and his schoolmates will have had to learn in bombed and ruined buildings, without heating and in some cases with no walls or roof. By looking back, we can see students who had to fight to learn following the end of the Second World War and in the wintertime of 1945, education and learning will have been more been more difficult as, students will have had to be taught in the freezing cold. Considering this, education is not always an accessible luxury. Both children and teachers had to fight against post-war circumstances in order to create a better future for themselves and Hungary. That is why Charlie was smiling: he could learn again in a school, whatever the state of the school, despite the horrible years of war he had experienced. However, we should not forget, that the hard times were not over. Just three years later, the Communists took power in Hungary with many businesses and properties being nationalised – including Langer’s photo studio. Charlie and his friends will have had to learn the obligatory Russian language, but his smile will always be remembered as the hope and promise of a fresh start and re-building of a country.

During 2004 and 2005, the great Hungarian writer, Péter Nádas organised an exhibition of different photographs in Fotomuseum Den Haag, the Netherlands. He chose this picture of Charlie too, and said: “It shows a blind child, a certainly poor, abandoned one. He smiled beautifully. This smile was especially to Klára Langer.”

I think we can say that, now, this smile is for everyone. That is the beauty of photographs.

Word: Charlie

Number: 1945