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The organization of the 1937
world exhibition in Paris had placed the German and the Soviet pavilions
directly across each other. Hitler wanted to withdraw
from participation, but Speer, who had by coincidence seen the Soviet
pavilion plans while visiting Paris, convinced him to participate after all,
after he had shown Hitler his design for the pavilion.
By the opening day of the
exhibition, only the German and the Soviet pavilions were finished. Plagued
by delay, the 1937 world exhibition was to be dedicated to art and
technology in modern life. The exhibition,
however, was dominated by the political pavilions of Germany and Soviet
Russia.
Five
hundred feet high, Speer's pavilion was completed by a tall tower crowned
with the symbols of the Nazi state: an eagle and the
swastika. The pavilion was conceived as a monument, a symbol of German pride
and achievement. It was to broadcast to the world that a new powerful
Germany and its technical achievements were the result of a mass will and
restored national pride. At night, the pavilion was illuminated by
floodlights.
Boris Iofan, who designed the
Palace of Soviets which was planned to be constructed in Moscow, designed
the Soviet pavilion for the exhibition. The grand building had two large
statues on top of it, symbolizing the Bolshevist victory over
national-socialism. However, Speer had by coincidence seen the Soviet plans
in Paris, and designed an even larger pavilion, which seemd to form a
bulwark against the Soviet assault.
At the presentation, Speer was
awarded a golden medal for his design. It was probably a political
concession that the Russian architect was granted the same price. For his
model of the Nuremberg party rally grounds, the jury granted him, to his and
Hitler's surprise, a Grand Prix.
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