When current images of a war-torn Afghanistan are burned into memory, its easy to forget how radically different the country looked in the 1960s, before the revolution.
Dr. Bill Podlich captured the images below on a trip to Afghanistan in 1967. They show a peaceful and westernized country, where children appear to be safe and happy, women sit in classrooms wearing shorter skirts with their hair uncovered, and families enjoy the good weather by walking around outside.
“When I look at my dad’s photos, I remember Afghanistan as a country with thousands of years of history and culture,” Peg Podlich, the photographers daughter, who attended the American International School of Kabul while in Afghanistan.
“It has been a gut-wrenching experience to watch and hear about the profound suffering which has occurred in Afghanistan during the battles of war for nearly 40 years. Fierce and proud yet fun loving people have been beaten down by terrible forces.”
[Bored Panda, My Modern Met] Images via Dr. Bill Podlich’s collection, courtesy of Clayton Esterson
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