Content note: Press photograph of a woman carrying a naked infant and leading a child away from a burning house, with an armed soldier behind them. This object is shown as it was published. Why
Zentralbild "Terror in Südvietnam": woman and children before a burning house
A barefoot woman carries a naked infant and leads a second child across a yard; behind her a thatched house burns and a helmeted soldier with a rifle follows. The agency's release caption headed 'Terror in Südvietnam' labels the Diem government's 'terror' and its 'mercenaries' as the cause. The wording attaches the labels to the scene, which itself does not show who set the fire (name-calling).
- Date
- July 20, 1963
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- Zentralbild, East German state news agency (press photo and release caption); original photographer not recorded
- Country
- East Germany
- Medium
- Photograph
- Issuer type
- Mixed
- Leader
- Otto Grotewohl
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- Vietnam War
- Techniques
- Name-calling
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive), Bild 183-B0720-0046-001, via Wikimedia Commons, retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- CC BY-SA 3.0 DE (Commons template CC-BY-SA-3.0-DE; Bundesarchiv holding, photographer unknown)
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-B0720-0046-001 / photographer not recorded / CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
Text on the object
Vietnamkrieg, Flüchtende Mutter mit Kindern Zentralbild 20.7.1963 [Herausgabedatum] Terror in Südvietnam Der Terror des Ngo-Dinh-Diem-Regimes wütet - ungeachtet des Genfer Indochina-Abkommens, das heute vor neun Jahren vereinbart wurde - weiter. Unbeschreiblich ist das Leid des südvietnamesischen Volkes, doch ungebrochen der Heroismus der Mitglieder der Nationalen Befreiungsfront Südvietnams, die für Unabhängigkeit und Frieden kämpfen. UBz.: Südvietnamesische Mutter mit zwei kleinen Kindern auf der Flucht. Sie mußte ihr Haus in einem Dorf unweit des Saigon verlassen, das von Söldnern des Ngo-Dinh-Diem-Regimes in Brand gesteckt wurde (das brennende Haus im Hintergrund des Bildes). Flüchtende Mutter
Vietnam War, fleeing mother with children Zentralbild 20.7.1963 [release date] Terror in South Vietnam The terror of the Ngo Dinh Diem regime continues to rage - regardless of the Geneva Indochina Agreement, which was concluded nine years ago today. Indescribable is the suffering of the South Vietnamese people, but unbroken the heroism of the members of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, who fight for independence and peace. Photo caption: South Vietnamese mother with two small children fleeing. She had to leave her house in a village not far from Saigon, which was set on fire by mercenaries of the Ngo Dinh Diem regime (the burning house in the background of the picture). Fleeing mother
The caption is the Zentralbild release text retained by the German Federal Archive and quoted from the Commons file page; it is not printed on the committed photograph, which carries only the archive's own label (Bild number, 'Foto: o.Ang. | Juli 1963'). Quoted verbatim, including the archive's bracketed '[Herausgabedatum]'.
