Picasso’s old friend, the poet Max Jacob, was taken to a concentration camp, where he died within months. His body was returned to Paris, and Picasso attended the funeral. He was risking censure by the occupying Nazi forces but didn’t care. Many others in the artistic community kept away, but as one of the best-known artists in Europe, Picasso could get away with such a stance. The Nazis knew his value and offered him special concessions for his cooperation. Picasso refused. He dealt with the food shortages and lack of heat himself rather than dealing with the Nazis. When Germany’s ambassador
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