Name: And the Show Went on
ISBN: 9780307268976

Alan Riding

An evocative account of artistic life in Nazi-occupied Paris traces how cultural centers were reopened in the weeks after Germany captured the city, describing the circumstances of artists who fled, collaborated with or resisted German forces.

Cultural Life in Nazi-occcupied Paris

And the Show Went on

Jeni Enjaian

I had high hopes for this book, finding the concept elaborated upon in the subtitle incredibly intriguing. Unfortunately, Riding packed this book so densely with names and titles of artistic works that if I had attempted to try to catalogue all of these and keep them straight throughout the book, I would have given myself a headache or needed a spreadsheet to keep up with them all. This density of information would likely put off most readers. It also took me longer to get through than I expected. I still found myself intrigued by the concept even though the subtitle hypes it up a little too much. A little less density and a little more creativity in the narrative would go a long way.

How the City of Light survived the war. In June 1940, Paris fell to the Nazis who made the world's cultural capital their favourite entertainment ground. Music halls and cabarets thrived during the occupation, providing plenty of work for actors, singers and musicians - except for Jews. The likes of Maurice Chevalier and Edith Piaf, who had entertained the French troops, now unabashedly provided amusement to the Germans. After the invasion of France, those artists still in Paris had to find ways to survive. Although Matisse and others kept out of view, Picasso could not avoid Nazi visitors. A few, like Beckett, joined the Resistance. Some were arrested and died in German hands. Others entertained the enemy. The theatres reopened, the movie cameras rolled, galleries sold paintings looted from Jewish families, pro-German writers and their rivals fought in print. Told through the experiences of renowned creative figures and witnesses of the times, And the Show Went On is an authoritative account of how Paris's artistic world lived through the Occupation, both of those who suffered Nazi oppression and those who prospered through collaboration.

And the Show Went on Cultural Life in Nazi-occcupied Paris

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