September 11, 1973, a date that will forever be engraved in Chilean history. That day, a military coup overthrew elected President Salvador Allende and installed General Augusto Pinochet in his place, marking the start of a dictatorship that would last 17 years.
Among the direct witnesses of this tragic event is the Dutch photographer Chas Gerretsen. Working for the Gamma press agency, he was on site to document the demonstrations and social tensions that had shaken the country for several months.
On the same day of the coup, a call from his French colleague Sylvain Julienne alerted him to the situation underway at La Moneda, the presidential palace. Without wasting time, Gerretsen headed to the location, walking through the deserted streets of Santiago on foot.
Arriving at La Moneda, he was able to grasp the tense atmosphere that reigned. President Allende was on the balcony, greeting students, but everything changed in an instant. Tanks took up positions and began machine-gunning the building. Gerretsen managed to capture these dramatic moments, his photos bearing witness to the appalling violence of the situation.
After that fateful day, Gerretsen continued to document the Pinochet dictatorship. His images immortalized the arrests, book burnings and corpses littering the streets. But one of his most striking photos is undoubtedly the portrait of General Pinochet himself.
On September 18, 1973, during a religious ceremony in the Santiago Cathedral, Gerretsen had the opportunity to photograph the dictator. The other members of the junta were present, but it was Pinochet who caught his attention. With his dark glasses and his fixed gaze, the general seemed to embody all the power and ruthlessness of the regime.
This iconic image of Pinochet became a symbol of the Chilean dictatorship, and Gerretsen became aware of its impact when protesters began holding up signs emblazoned with his photo. A powerful testimony to the importance of photography in the transmission of history.
Today, Gerretsen returns to these traumatic events in his book “Chile, el archivo photographo. 1973-1974”, which brings together his photos taken in Chile during this dark period in history. His work is also exhibited at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago, paying tribute to the victims of the dictatorship.
The rediscovery of these photos reminds us of the importance of press freedom and the crucial role of photojournalists in documenting historical events. They are the ones who capture the essence of crucial moments in our history, thus keeping memory alive and preventing the abuses of power.