Grand Illusion: The Third Reich, the Paris Exposition, and the Cultural Seduction of France
University of Chicago Press, 2010
Hardcover/paperback, 296 pages, $99/$37.50

Grand Illusion examines the relationships between Nazi elites and French intellectuals that laid the groundwork for France's eventual collaboration with its German occupiers. Tracing related developments across fine arts, film, architecture, and mass pageantry, Karen Fiss (Visual and Critical Studies and Design faculty) illuminates the ways in which cultural exchange shifted toward political collaboration, casting new light on the power of art to influence history. Completion of this project was supported by a 2008–9 CCA faculty development grant.