Bruno Barbey is a French and Swiss photographer born in Morocco. He has been a photographer for over 50 years and covered many wars and conflicts all over the world, published over 30 books and continues to hold exhibitions to this day. In the early 1980’s the photographer traveled to Poland to document the socio-political changes happening in the country.

At the time, the country was divided between Communism and Christianity. Barbey and his family had traveled over 40,000 kilometers during an 8-month period while living in a camper. Despite strict surveillance at the time, the photographer managed to avoid it and was able to take photographs of the people amidst this intense political change. “Poland was the page in history that was being written and it was the memory of an ancestral society on the verge of disappearing,” said Barbey.

Check out the photographs of Poland in the early 1980’s in the gallery below!

More info: Bruno Barbey | Magnum Photo | h/t