“Red Book Without a Title” was initially published by De Bezige Bij in 1956 to raise funds for Hungarian refugee children. The Nederlands fotomuseum and Veenman Publishers reprinted this book in 2006 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution.
The only text in the book, printed in many languages, is a folk-song from the time of Rakoczi (18th century). The flower being addressed is the stock.
The Hungarian name for the flower is used in their language to denote something fragile and precious.
Flower of my country,
your stem has been crushed
and my sorrow finds no relief.
A storm has swept over my
village’s home.
Land that I love,
Farewell!
“I wanted to capture the plight of those who had suffered the 1956 Hungarian revolution, especially the children. I felt an affinity with people who had lost their country, since I myself had been a refugee. My husband and I were in the communist resistance during the second world war, but when the Russians took over Hungary we did not agree with their approach. When the Red Army liberated us from the Nazis, the Hungarian people said : “We are going from one trash can into another.”
The Guardian interview, 12 January 2017.