During World War II, he remained in Brussels, even with the German Occupation there. Breton was furious, and severed ties with him. From 1943-1944, his art work changed, and showed influence from Auguste Renoir, an impressionist painter. To survive though, he forged copies of Picasso’s, Braque’s, and Chirico’s to sell to the Germans, which got him through the war. He regretted this later, but he did what he needed to survive at the time. He also made counterfeit banknotes to use.