Adolf Hitler wavered about his country’s commitment to the exhibition. He was convinced by Albert Speer, his favored architect, who had gotten an advance look at what the Soviets were planning.
Atop Speers’ pavilion was a tower with an eagle and a swastika. Soviet architect Boris Iofan had placed an enormous statue on his: a shirtless male worker and a peasant woman with skirt blowing holding up a hammer and sickle.
A somewhat homoerotic sculpture stood outside the Nazi showcase: two huge male nudes clasping hands. The sculptor Josef Thorak said it was about mutual defense and racial camaraderie. Right.
Speer was awarded a Grand Prix and a gold medal for his designs, to the great delight of his patron. Three years later in 1940 Hitler would occupy Paris on June 14. A single German soldier walked into the city, not a shot was fired. Paris fell without resistance.
“Well, there are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn’t advise you to try and invade.”
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With Special Thanks to Paul Hutchence!
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