The purpose of this trip was to impress Russia’s allies prior to the war.
Fireworks in honor of Catherine the Great on the Dnieper River.
Once the barge left, the village was disassembled, then rebuilt downstream overnight.
Modern historians agree that these accounts are mostly exaggerated, at best, or completely fictionalized, at worst.
Still, the legend stuck.
Time and again various regimes and government have used such fakery with varying degree of success.
Prior to the visit, the Nazis deported many Jews to Auschwitz to minimize overcrowding.
They built fake shops and cafes to imply that the Jews lived in relative comfort.
Take a close look at the windows of this house.
The flowers are painted on wooden boards to fool passersby into believing that the house is sound and occupied.
Sailer photographed faithful replicas of European cities in China to mock towns built for vehicle testing or combat training.
The following images are from the book.
Photo credit: Gregor Sailer
