Back in the country, whose birth she documented, after half a century – Anne de Henning effortlessly recalls those tumultuous times. The veteran photographer met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the other surviving family members of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhaka’s Dhanmondi 32 Memorial Museum on December 19, 2022 – an event she described as “an emotional family reunion”. Henning photographed Bangabandhu giving a speech at the first Council Meeting of Awami League in independent Bangladesh, in 1972. After Bangabandhu and most of his family members were brutally assassinated in 1975, his images were routinely destroyed. Henning’s colour photos of the Father of the Nation are among the few known to still exist. During the Liberation War in 1971, when Pakistan army was not allowing foreign photographers to come here, what compelled her to undertake a perilous journey to Bangladesh? Read more: Anne de Henning’s rare photos of Bangladesh’s birth, Bangabandhu to have Dhaka exhibit Dec 15-24 “I was in Kathmandu at the time, and I saw a dispatch in the local English paper… that trouble had erupted in (then) East Pakistan and that Pakistani authorities had closed the country to the foreign press. And I thought, well, I’m going to go there. As journalists and photographers, when you are told you can’t go somewhere, you know something is going on. So that’s where you want to go,” Henning said.

When French photographer Anne de Henning was visually documenting wartime stories of Bangladesh in 1971, a youth urged her to let the world know about the atrocities committed by the Pakistan army. The acclaimed photographer, now 76, went back to her 25-year-old self while talking to journalists at the exhibition “Witnessing History in the Making: Photographs by Anne de Henning”. Samdani Art Foundation and Centre for Research and Information (CRI) jointly organized the event at Liberation War Museum. The exhibition opened on Friday. "Back in 1971, when I was capturing the stories of Bangladesh, a youth narrated how innocent people were being murdered and requested me to let the world hear about it," she told journalists as she was revisiting Bangladesh after 50 long years. Read: Anne de Henning’s rare photos of Bangladesh’s birth, Bangabandhu to have Dhaka exhibit Dec 15-24

On the eve of Bangladesh’s Victory Day, the exhibition titled ‘Witnessing History in the Making: Photographs by Anne de Henning’ was inaugurated at the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka. The exhibition, curated by Ruxmini Reckvana Q Choudhury, showcases some rare and iconic photographs that celebrate Bangladesh’s indomitable courage during the 1971 Liberation War against Pakistani military and the man who led the nation during its most trying and finest hour, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On Thursday, the exhibition was inaugurated with the presence of State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources and Trustee of Center for Research and Information (CRI) Nasrul Hamid, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Director of Samdani Art Foundation Nadia Samdani, State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak and others. Renowned French photographer Anne de Henning was supposed to attend the opening of the exhibit, however, she was unable to join due to a flight delay. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said: "Henning was a fearless young woman. She traveled across Bangladesh to take photos; fear could not stand in her way." "I told Henning that you only had your camera to accompany you. And then I asked if she was concerned about her safety," Nasrul said. "She said she knew nothing called fear at that time and was full of courage, and the photos that she took are a testament to that. Only one name – 'Mujib' – inspired her in her journey. She came to Bangladesh again in 1972 to discover more about her source of inspiration." "As Henning came here, she found Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sitting on the stage. The colourful photos of that time can be seen at this exhibition," Nasrul said.

To showcase rare and never before seen images by veteran French photographer Anne de Henning — shot during her visits to Bangladesh in 1971 to 1972 — Samdani Art Foundation and Centre for Research and Information (CRI) have arranged an exhibition in Dhaka. The exhibition titled ‘Witnessing History in the Making: Photographs by Anne de Henning’ will celebrate the photographer’s visit to Bangladesh after 50 years. The exhibition at Dhaka’s Liberation War Museum will be held from December 15 to December 24. Anne de Henning will be present at the opening ceremony and give a special tour through her exhibition. She will also revisit some of the places she had been in during her 1971 and 1972 visits. Between 1971 and 1972, the photojournalist captured the birth of the nation and her remarkable private archive of unseen photographs is a unique record of the pivotal years which saw East Pakistan transformed into Bangladesh. The earliest set of photographs from 1971 cover Anne’s first visit to the country at the age of 25. During  the early days of conflict in April, the Pakistani authorities were obstructing foreign journalists to keep them from reporting on the atrocities on the civilian population after Operation Searchlight on March 26, 1971. This encouraged Anne to secretly travel to East Pakistan along with her colleagues. Also read: 55 Bangladeshi self-taught artists to join Victory Day art exhibition in Dubai Recalling her first encounter with the Mukti Bahini, she said, “I saw a handful of young Mukti Bahinis stepping out of their makeshift observation post flanked by a tall bamboo pole flying the green, red and yellow Bangladesh flag. They greeted me by saying with broad smiles: ‘You are now in free Bangladesh!’” Traveling through the country during the Liberation War, her photographs captured life in the war zone – from freedom fighters to men, women and children boarding refugee trains and fleeing from their villages. On her second visit to the country, Anne’s photographs from 1972 feature Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who, all his life, worked to decolonise the nation from British and Pakistani rule and move towards democracy and freedom. “There's a leader from the subcontinent who led his country to independence based on very progressive ideals of a secular, equal country for all,” said Radwan Mujib Siddiq, grandson of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and trustee of CRI, expressing his views about the photographs. “The whole of Bangladesh got behind him, they fought a war against all odds, and Bangladesh emerged independent,” he said. Anne captured Bangabandhu giving a speech at the first Council Meeting of Awami League after the independence of Bangladesh. “I came specifically from Calcutta to photograph the event,” she said. Although at the time Anne favoured shooting in black and white, she chose to capture this event in colour because of the vibrant blue, white and red stripes of the shamiyana — ceremonial tent — that housed the event.  Images of Bangabandhu were systematically destroyed after the coup of 1975 and Anne’s surviving colour photographs are among the few known to still exist.

Lauding French photographer Anne de Henning’s rare, historical and monumental photographs captured during the 1971 Liberation War and her unique, colourful and never seen before photographs of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, speakers on Friday said that the photographer is a true friend of Bangladesh and her courageous efforts behind capturing the history must be gloriously recognized. The speakers shared these remarks at the inauguration ceremony of French photographer Anne de Henning’s unique solo photographic exhibition titled 'Witnessing History in the Making: Photographs by Anne de Henning', a focused presentation of rare, never before exhibited images, organized by the Samdani Art Foundation and Centre for Research and Information (CRI) at the National Art Gallery, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) in the capital. Also read: Samdani Art Foundation, CRI to exhibit unseen photographs of 1971-72 Curated by Ruxmini Reckvana Q Choudhury, the exhibition is showcasing Henning's historical photographs which she captured between the 1971 Liberation War, witnessing the freedom of the then East Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh - and during her second visit in 1972 where she photographed Bangabandhu giving a speech at the first Council Meeting of Awami League after the independence of Bangladesh.