Vietnam War: The line between past and present
The fall of Saigon 40 years ago marked the end of the US' decade-long war in Vietnam, with the North Vietnamese army capturing the South's capital, Saigon. The Southeast Asian country has come a long way since then.
US failure
Panicked, the US embassy's employees in Vietnam tried to reach the roof of the consulate building to get into the last helicopter. They were later moved to US ships waiting off the country's coast. Over a period of time, this famous picture has come to symbolize the US failure in Vietnam.
Memories of war
Very close to the site of the former US embassy is now a Vietnam War museum. This popular tourist spot offers a large collection of images by Vietnamese and international photographers.
The horror of Cu Chi
Also on display in the musuem is a photograph capturing a war scene in Cu Chi, a town 20 kilometers away from Saigon. During the war, the Vietnamese military created a huge underground facility with command centers, hospitals and field kitchens in Cu Chi. Despite years of bombing, the US could never expel the enemy.
A tourist attraction
Today, thousands of tourists crawl through the Cu Chi tunnels, which have been enlarged for Western tourists. Nevertheless, this attraction is not for claustrophobic people.
Resting in the presidential park
A day after the last US troops left the country, the North Vietnamese soldiers rested in the park of South Vietnam's presidential palace. After decades of war and millions of deaths, it was not only an occasion of independence but also of reunion.
'Reunification Palace'
Today, a popular destination in Ho Chi Minh city is the site of the "Reunification Palace." The building is now a museum which represents more of the political dimension of the Vietnam War than its military aspects. This, of course, from the perspective of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
My Lai
Years before the fall of Saigon, the US had lost its legitimacy in the eyes of many. The Americans killed some 504 people in a hour-long operation, notoriously known as the 1968 My Lai massacre. Old men, women, children and infants were among the dead. This massacre, however, was not the only one that took place during the war.
Monument to the dead
At the former entrance to the village stands a socialist-style memorial to the My Lai victims. Behind the monument lies a ghost town. The cabins have been rebuilt, but they remain uninhabited. On the roads there are footprints symbolizing the dead.
Hanoi Hilton
Tran Trong Duyet (shown in the black and white photo) was the warden of the notorious Hoa Lo prison, which was used by the North Vietnamese army to house, torture and interrogate captured troops - mostly American pilots shot down during the war. It was sarcastically known to American prisoners of war as "Hanoi Hilton."
From prisoner to US senator
The most famous former prisoner of Hanoi Hilton is US Senator John McCain. He visited the former prison in 2009 and was received cordially by the Vietnamese.
Seeking legitimacy
The authoritarian Communist Party of Vietnam still seeks legitimacy from the Vietnam War. Old propaganda posters remind people of the Saigon victory in 1975. What is never mentioned is that it was also a civil war.
Bestselling propaganda
The war posters still sell very well in Vietnam. There are dozens of shops in Hanoi and Saigon that have special items about the war. Most customers are tourists from the West.
The 'Communist' Café
Around two-thirds of Vietnam's 90 million inhabitants are below the age of 35. They know about the Vietnam War only through literature. Anyone traveling through the country realizes rather quickly that the war now means more to the tourists than to the Vietnamese. And the locals have capitalized on this. The Cong Caphee (Communist Café) in Hanoi attracts tourists with Vietnam War decor.