13. “Tank Man” not only became heroic icon for activists, it gives a very interesting backstory about the dangers of being in Tiananmen Square that fateful day.
One of the most iconic images of the twentieth century, taken by Associated Press photographer Jeff Widener the day after the Tiananmen Square massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators by Chinese government forces. Widener’s photo, known simply as “Tank Man,” shows one man’s courageous and defiant stance in the face of violent government suppression. The man who has never been identified stands his ground as a line of tanks approaches. Facing potentially being crushed to death, the man holds his ground, forcing the tanks to come to a stop.
The video footage of the incident shows that the driver of the first tank attempts to go around the man but he steps to the side and once more into the line of the tank’s path. The man then climbs on top of the tank and attempts to open the hatch. This anonymous man became a symbol of heroism, defiance, and opposition. His courageous stand, immortalised in Widener’s photograph makes it one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century.
An interesting aside to this story is that the photo was made possible by a man named Kirk Martsen. Widener recalls how dangerous it was for journalists trying to cover the occupation of Tiananmen Square that day. Widener says that government forces were using electric cattle prods to force journalists to give up their equipment. Martsen allowed Widener to use his hotel room to photograph the occupation. Widener says that there was a bullet hole in the wall behind the window of the hotel room he was taking photos from. When Widener ran out of film he asked Martsen to go out and get more film for him as it was too dangerous for him as a journalist to go out on the streets. A couple of hours later, Martsen returned with a single roll of film, and it was with this film that Widener captured the iconic “Tank Man” photo.