View of the American Embassy in Tehran during its occupation by student revolutionaries
Locks on the gates of the American Embassy in Tehran during its occupation by student revolutionaries
An American hostage is bound and blindfolded as he is led outside during the Hostage Crisis in Tehran
Kathryn Koob during captivity in the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran, 1979-1981.
“I understand from looking at headlines and articles that were written during the time of our captivity that the going was rough here in the United States. The time inside the compound was tough, too, but often in a way that was much different from the picture the American public carried in its mind’s eye.” – Guest of the Revolution, p8
In her autobiography, Kathryn recounts her fear of being overrun during the first few months of captivity due to the near constant noise of hate and anger from the chanting crowds outside the Embassy. She also describes an environment of uncertainty, where she was moved suddenly and often, and forbidden from talking to the others, so that she did not even know for sure who else was being held hostage.
Other hostages told of the mental anguish and psychological torture they endured, such as being threatened with clubs or forced to play Russian roulette. Some of the men were kept in the basement or “solitary” confinement for extended periods of time, or beaten severely for attempted escapes.
