Although many Chicagoans know about the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, author David Hanna wants to make sure Chicagoans don’t forget about the 1933 World’s Fair.
Hanna’s new book is “Broken Icarus: The 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, the Golden Age of Aviation, and the Rise of Fascism.”
“That period, just before fascism and all the brutality and nastiness [were] really on the march, it was sort of that last moment before things inexorably went off the deep end,” Hanna said.
Hanna said no technology loomed larger at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair than aviation, and the triumph of the skies was compromised by dictators.
“That was pretty common, this idea of aviation being [for the] elite,” Hanna said, “And that they were going to bring us into a new, modern future — that they were above the masses.”
Soon after the 1933 World’s Fair, they took the masses into the worst war in human history.
“World War II was so horrible,” Hanna said. “Things that were done in the name of fascism were inexcusable.”
Hanna said part of his inspiration for writing this book was watching what he called the “creep of authoritarianism” that he’s seen in the United States and across the world.
On June 25, Hanna will give a presentation at the Museum of Science and Industry focused on the people behind the rise of aviation during the 1933 World’s Fair. Following the lecture, Hanna will sign copies of his new book.
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