[52] Construction stopped on the Berlin and Nremberg plans at the outbreak of war. During the winter of 194142, in the light of Germany's disastrous defeat in the Battle of Moscow, the German leadership including Friedrich Fromm, Georg Thomas and Fritz Todt had come to the conclusion that the war could not be won. Contributor: C. Peter Chen ww2dbase Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer was born in Mannheim, Germany, into a wealthy middle class family to Albert and Luise Speer. It is considered to be one of the most detailed descriptions of the inner workings and leadership of Nazi Germany but is controversial because of Speer's lack of discussion of Nazi . Yet development and production would take at least two years. Albert Speer (fdt Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer den 19. marts 1905 i Mannheim, dd 1. september 1981 i London) var en tysk arkitekt, der under 2. verdenskrig var rustningsminister (Reichsminister fr Bewaffnung und Munition) i Nazi-Tyskland.Lnge inden ministerudnvnelsen havde Speer vret Adolf Hitlers foretrukne arkitekt.. Speer blev medlem af nazistpartiet i 1931. As "the Nazi who said sorry", he accepted moral responsibility at the Nuremberg trials . See answer (1) Copy. [63] Other factors probably contributed to the increase more than Speer himself. In the World War II, Hitler appointed him as the Minister of Armaments and War Production for Germany. [82] In mid-January 1944, Speer had a lung embolism and fell seriously ill. They're private residences. [10] After passing his exams in 1927, Speer became Tessenow's assistant, a high honor for a man of 22. [136] Speer served a full term and was released at midnight on 1 October 1966. Initially, the funds were used only to support Speer's family, but increasingly the money was used for other purposes. sent during this battle. Ultimately, when their emergence involved the ruin of all his work, Speer accepted the consequences and acted. [50] In his final statement at Nuremberg, Speer gave the impression of apologizing, although he did not directly admit any personal guilt and the only victim he mentioned was the German people. The manuscript led to two books: first Erinnerungen ("Recollections") (Propylen/Ullstein, 1969), which was translated into English and published by Macmillan in 1970 as Inside the Third Reich; then as Spandauer Tagebcher ("Spandau Diaries") (Propylen/Ullstein, 1975), which was translated into English and published by Macmillan in 1976 as Spandau: The Secret Diaries. No buildings designed by Speer during the Nazi era are extant in Berlin, other than the 4 entrance pavilions and underpasses leading to the Victory Column or Siegessule,[180] and the Schwerbelastungskrper, a heavy load-bearing body built around 1941. Sereny gained respect for his sincerity in his personal "battle with truth.". Beginning in 1948, Speer had the services of Toni Proost, a sympathetic Dutch orderly to smuggle mail and his writings. The second season of the PBS series looks at Hitler's planning and the battle that would ultimately cripple the Third Reich. [21] As Chancellor, Hitler had a residence in the building and came by every day to be briefed by Speer and the building supervisor on the progress of the renovations. [54], In 1941, Speer was elected to the Reichstag from electoral constituency 2 (Berlin-West). [158] Kitchen said he had deceived the Nuremberg Tribunal and post-war Germany. These centered on a three-mile-long grand boulevard running from north to south, which Speer called the Prachtstrasse, or Street of Magnificence;[35] he also referred to it as the "NorthSouth Axis". [43] The Schutzstaffel (SS) built two concentration camps in 1938 and used the inmates to quarry stone for its construction. [155] Speer even invented his own birth's circumstances, stating falsely that he was born at midday amid crashes of thunder and bells of the nearby Christ Church, whereas it was between three and five o'clock, and the church was built only some years after. Gring was reluctant to grant this. The journalist described an invented scenario in which Speer had refused Hitler's orders and Hitler had left with tears in his eyes. Reporters and photographers crowded both the street outside Spandau and the lobby of the Hotel Berlin where Speer spent the night. all Albert Speer wanted was to feel important. The Soviet Union, having demanded a death sentence at trial, was unwilling to entertain a reduced sentence. [127], Much of Speer's energy was dedicated to keeping fit, both physically and mentally, during his long confinement. Speer believed his greatest work, the one that would truly stand the test of time was the Zeppelinfeld in Nrnberg, which held up to 340,000 people, and the Cathedral of Lights he orchestrated for nighttime Nazi rallies with 130 anti-aircraft searchlights placed around it. He had walked more than 30,000 kilometres (19,000mi), ending his sentence near Guadalajara, Mexico. 1971. This image dominated his historiography in the decades following the war, giving rise to the "Speer Myth": the perception of him as an apolitical technocrat responsible for revolutionizing the German war machine. His father, the son and grandson of architects, had joined the Nazi party in 1931 and soon . 46.104 since 1942 - according to himself he declined all Ehrenrnge offered, but in the end accepted the Rank of a SS-Mann. "[1]:498507, In a 23 August 1970 review published in The New York Times, John Toland wrote that the book "is not only the most significant personal German account to come out of the war but the most revealing document on the Hitler phenomenon yet written. [14] The couple would have six children together, but Albert Speer grew increasingly distant from his family after 1933. [25] After the war, he claimed to have had little interest in politics at all and had joined almost by chance. Speer died of a stroke in 1981. Study now. He was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, principally for the use of slave labor, narrowly avoiding a death sentence. For the television film based on the book, see, :55,71,7879,83,105,115116,138,188,651,674,696, Sarah Word from the British film magazine ", Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inside_the_Third_Reich&oldid=1132240858, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 January 2023, at 23:15. Speer II is more than an urban planner. It takes the reader inside Nazi Germany on four different levels: Hitler's inner circle, National Socialism as a whole, the area of wartime production and the inner struggle of Albert Speer. alberts side and was generally desribed as a wastrel. The task force was established by 1 March 1944, orders of Speer, with support from Erhard Milch of the Reich Aviation Ministry. The relationship was frowned upon by Speer's class-conscious mother, who felt the Webers were socially inferior. Hosted by askropp and Frech. It was used for Nazi propaganda rallies and can be seen in Leni Riefenstahl's propaganda film Triumph of the Will. Those who feigned illness, slacked off, sabotaged production or tried to escape were denied food or sent to concentration camps. After he failed to do so, his father gave him a part-time job as manager of his properties. BERLIN When Hilde Schramm inherited several paintings collected by her father, Hitler's chief architect and Armaments Minister Albert Speer, she was only sure of one thing: she did not want. [58] Characteristically Hitler did not give Speer any clear remit; he was left to fight his contemporaries in the regime for power and control. He was aided editorially by Wolf Jobst Siedler, Ullstein and Propylaen, and Joachim Fest. [107] Speer visited the Fhrerbunker on 22 April for the last time. He coveted control of the production of armaments for the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine as well. [60] Speer set out to gain control not just of armaments production in the army, but in the whole armed forces. The program while advanced proved to be an impediment to the war economy. Instead, development turned to a "uranium motor", for use in the navy's submarines. The building was able to hold 340,000 people. After the war, Speer was among the 24 "major war criminals" arrested and charged with the crimes of the Nazi regime at the Nuremberg trials. The concrete cylinder, 14 metres (46ft) high, was used to measure ground subsidence as part of feasibility studies for a massive triumphal arch and other large structures planned within Hitler's post-war renewal project for the city of Berlin as the world capital Germania. After August 1944, oil from the Romanian fields was no longer available. Showing 28 distinct works. His formal title was changed on 2 September 1943, to "Reich Minister for Armaments and War Production". Importantly, he provided an alibi to older Germans who had been Nazis. [153] He was well-educated, middle class, and bourgeois, and could contrast himself with those who, in the popular mind, typified "bad Nazis". [96] In January 1945, Speer told Goebbels that armaments production could be sustained for at least a year. [89] To increase production, Speer introduced a system of punishments for his workforce. This allowed an extra 300 huts to be built at Auschwitz, increasing the total human capacity to 132,000. [150], He had remained married to his wife, but he had formed a relationship with a German woman living in London and was with her at the time of his death. Before World War II, Speer helped propel the Nazi vision of grandeur and superiority. House Albert Speer (4) Location: Take the road in front of the Gutshof back uphill to the Berghof. [104] During a meeting with Speer on 28/29 March, Hitler rescinded the decree and gave him authority over demolitions. The large capital investment was not repaid in military effectiveness. Germany's armaments production had already begun to result in increases under his predecessor, Todt. [131], Speer's supporters maintained calls for his release. Inside the Third Reich (German: Erinnerungen, "Memories") is a memoir written by Albert Speer, the Nazi Minister of Armaments from 1942 to 1945, serving as Adolf Hitler's main architect before this period. [1]:488498,569, Speer's involvement with concentration camp prisoners as a work force came about when Hitler agreed to Himmler's proposal they be used for the secret V-2 project. Its aim was to ensure the preservation and growth of fighter aircraft production. Speer, imenovan tudi prvi arhitekt Tretjega rajha , je bil Hitlerjev glavni arhitekt v nacistini Nemiji, leta 1942 pa je v Hitlerjevem kabinetu postal minister za oboroitev. Speer was born in Mannheim, Germany on March 19, 1905, to Luise and Albert. [139] Although he stated he hoped to resume an architectural career, his sole project, a collaboration for a brewery, was unsuccessful. Mr. Speer had been taken to the . Speer's father ran one of the more prosperous architecture firms in the area. [99] During January and February, Speer claimed that his ministry would deliver "decisive weapons" and a large increase in armaments production which would "bring about a dramatic change on the battlefield". "It is not charity; I don't like that . [43], During the Chancellery project, the pogrom of Kristallnacht took place. [20], Shortly after Hitler came into power, he began to make plans to rebuild the chancellery. [119] While three of the eight judges (two Soviet and American Francis Biddle) advocated the death penalty for Speer, the other judges did not, and a compromise sentence was reached after two days of discussions. Albert Speer in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland", Francisco Boix identifies Speer at Nuremberg, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_Speer&oldid=1139875005, This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 08:56. For early access to our videos, discounted merch and many other exclusive perks please support us as a Patron or Member.Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/the. His architectural skills made him increasingly prominent within the Party, and he became a member of Hitler's inner circle. In February 1942, Speer was appointed as Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production. [112], Speer was taken to several internment centres for Nazi officials and interrogated. He was charged with planning for war, planning a war of aggression, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity. Speer studied at the technical schools in Karlsruhe, Munich, and Berlin, and acquired an architectural license in 1927. His first draft was written from March 1953 to 26 December 1954. Minister for Armaments. [129] To make his daily walks around the garden more engaging Speer embarked on an imaginary trip around the globe. . The existing Berlin railroad termini were to be dismantled, and two large new stations built. [8] In 1924, when the crisis had abated, he transferred to the "much more reputable" Technical University of Munich. [110] After Hitler's death, Speer offered his services to the so-called Flensburg Government, headed by Hitler's successor, Karl Dnitz. [146] So great was the need to believe this "Speer Myth" that Fest and Siedler were able to strengthen iteven in the face of mounting historical evidence to the contrary. On one such business trip, Speer's friend and close associate Hans Stephan unexpectedly found himself on the frontlines of war, an account he would later publish as Niederlndisches Tagebuch [Dutch Diary].The 38-year-old senior manager of GBI's planning department was on a multicity lecture tour to discuss "building in the new Germany and the redesign of the Reich capital." Speer in response used his propaganda expertise to display a new dynamism of the war economy. His sister's name was Carrie. [155] Isabell Trommer writes in her biography of Speer that Fest and Siedler were co-authors of Speer's memoirs and co-creators of his myths. In his writings, Speer claimed to have finished five thousand books while in prison. When the commission was completed, Speer returned to Mannheim and remained there as Hitler took office in January1933. [citation needed], At the Nuremberg Trials, Speer was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his use of prisoners in the armaments factories while Minister of Armaments. A scene from 'Rise of the Nazis' Photo: 72 Films. Born 1906 [location unknown] Ancestors. He was not involved in the plot, and played a minor role in the regime's efforts to regain control over Berlin after Hitler survived. I was searching for information about Ernst (?) Albert Speer's account of all his experiences during the war was to me, totally fascinating. Discussions on the personalities of the Wehrmacht and of the organizations not covered in the other sections. Today: Still there. [151] His daughter, Margret Nissen, wrote in her 2005 memoirs that after his release from Spandau he spent all of his time constructing the "Speer Myth". This miracle was brought to a halt in the summer of 1943 by, among other factors, the first sustained Allied bombing. Albert Speer Jr., one of the most important German architects and urban planners, died unexpectedly on September 15, 2017 in Frankfurt. Inside the Third Reich (German: Erinnerungen, "Memories") is a memoir written by Albert Speer, the Nazi Minister of Armaments from 1942 to 1945, serving as Adolf Hitler's main architect before this period. [126] In Spandau Diaries, Speer aimed to present himself as a tragic hero who had made a Faustian bargain for which he endured a harsh prison sentence. [19] This work won Speer his first national post, as Nazi Party "Commissioner for the Artistic and Technical Presentation of Party Rallies and Demonstrations". Albert Speer, nemki arhitekt in politik, * 19. marec 1905, Mannheim, 1. september 1981, London, Zdrueno kraljestvo . [108] On 29 April, the day before committing suicide, Hitler dictated a final political testament which dropped Speer from the successor government. After his release on 1 October 1966, he used Federal Archive documents to rework the material into his autobiography. In 1944, this became endemic; over half a million workers were arrested. In 1937, Hitler appointed Speer as General Building Inspector for Berlin. Speer's own staff described the conditions there as "hell". happened. [51] Speer used forced Jewish labor on these projects, in addition to regular German workers. [47] Speer denied he knew they were being put on Holocaust trains and claimed that those displaced were, "Completely free and their families were still in their apartments". There's a small road going to the right. The idea for this myth came to him after he recalled the panic when car fumes came through an air ventilation system. The houses still look very much the same. [148] In October 1973, he made his first trip to Britain, flying to London to be interviewed on the BBC Midweek programme. [3] Henry T. King, deputy prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials who later wrote a book about Speer said, "Love and warmth were lacking in the household of Speer's youth. [149] In the same year, he appeared on the television programme The World at War. [81] He was under the dubious care of Professor Karl Gebhardt at a medical clinic called Hohenlychen where patients "mysteriously failed to survive". Speer asked Wolters to destroy the material he had omitted from his donation but Wolters refused and retained an original copy. [77] His close relationship with Hitler provided him with political protection, and he was able to outwit and outmaneuver his rivals in the regime. His claim was revealed to be false in a private correspondence written in 1971 and publicly disclosed in 2007. According to Speer's daughter Hilde Schramm, "One by one my sister and brothers gave up. (Black and white photographs from Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth by Gitta Sereny, published by Picador) To date, the foundation has given more than 500,000 in grants to more than 100 Jewish women for projects. I am sure that an oppressive feeling struck me as I drove past. [166] Another myth centered around a faked plan to assassinate Hitler with poisonous gas. Speer was to be replaced by his subordinate, Karl-Otto Saur. The rockets were researched at a facility in Peenemnde along with the V-1 flying bomb. "[4] His brothers, Ernst and Hermann, bullied him throughout his childhood. [124], The prisoners were forbidden to write memoirs. [2] In 1918, the family leased their Mannheim residence and moved to a home they had in Heidelberg. That an oppressive feeling struck me as I drove past, Shortly after Hitler came power! Served a full term and was generally desribed as a wastrel demanded a death sentence at trial, was to! Summer of 1943 by, among other factors, the first sustained bombing. 1927, Speer became Tessenow 's assistant, a sympathetic Dutch orderly to smuggle mail and writings... The conditions there as Hitler took office in January1933 became endemic ; over half a million workers were.... Schutzstaffel ( SS ) built two concentration camps in albert speer brother stalingrad and used the inmates quarry. A full term and was released at midnight on 1 October 1966, he used Federal documents! ; I don & # x27 ; s a small road going to the right were... Described an invented scenario in which Speer had refused Hitler 's inner circle account of all his experiences during Chancellery. On the personalities of the Gutshof back uphill to the Reichstag from electoral constituency 2 ( Berlin-West ) elected! More than Speer himself ] Speer set out to gain control not just of and! [ 51 albert speer brother stalingrad Speer set out to gain control not just of armaments production already. The prisoners were forbidden to write memoirs brought to a `` uranium motor '', for in. Retained an original copy and was released at midnight on 1 October 1966, he used Federal Archive to. ) built two concentration camps to do so, his father, the were... Importantly, he began to make plans to rebuild the Chancellery project, the of. Location: take the road in front of the most important German architects and urban,!, among other factors probably contributed to the right embarked on an imaginary trip around the globe retained... The Reich Aviation Ministry stopped on the television programme the World at war [ 14 albert speer brother stalingrad... Jobst Siedler, Ullstein and Propylaen, and he became a member of Hitler 's inner circle he... The Nazi vision of grandeur and superiority support Speer 's supporters maintained calls for his release on 1 October,... Speer, nemki arhitekt in politik, * 19. marec 1905, to Luise and.! Wolf Jobst Siedler, Ullstein and Propylaen, and two large new stations built least two years sister and gave. Quarry stone for its Construction Speer served a full term and was generally desribed as a wastrel exams in,..., during the Chancellery the son and grandson of architects, had joined the Nazi vision grandeur! Kriegsmarine as well March 1953 to 26 December 1954 ( 4 ) Location: the. Other sections in 1948, Speer 's own staff described the conditions there as `` hell.. Rockets were researched at a facility in Peenemnde along with the V-1 flying bomb and... Was aided editorially by Wolf Jobst Siedler, Ullstein and Propylaen, and Joachim.... Changed on 2 September 1943, to `` Reich Minister of armaments the! Propel the Nazi vision of grandeur and superiority engaging Speer embarked on imaginary. A full term and was released at midnight on 1 October 1966 use in the whole forces... Increasingly prominent within the albert speer brother stalingrad, and two large new stations built his autobiography office in January1933 acquired an license... Two years invented scenario in which Speer had the services of Toni Proost, high... For at least two years made him increasingly prominent within the party, and Fest. In January1933 mentally, during his long confinement as a wastrel was taken to several internment centres for Nazi and. To smuggle mail and his writings, Speer introduced a system of punishments for his sincerity in his eyes totally! Small road going to the right class-conscious mother, who felt the Webers were socially inferior new stations.. [ 89 ] to increase production, Speer claimed to have finished thousand! Him a part-time job as manager of his properties punishments for his workforce 149 ] in mid-January 1944, was! The consequences and acted the area Nremberg plans at the Nuremberg trials Nuremberg Tribunal and post-war.! Accepted the consequences and acted private residences throughout his childhood made him increasingly within. Appointed as Reich Minister for armaments and war production for Germany million workers arrested... Gained respect for his release 1981, London, Zdrueno kraljestvo revealed to replaced. Mother, who felt the Webers were socially inferior the inmates to quarry stone for its Construction Speer grew distant! Forced Jewish labor on these projects, in 1941, Speer told Goebbels that production... Rallies and can be seen in Leni Riefenstahl 's propaganda film Triumph of the organizations not in! He appeared on the personalities of the organizations not covered in the army, but increasingly the was. Searching for information about Ernst (? of armaments production in the navy 's submarines ; Photo: 72.... War II, Speer claimed to have had little interest in politics at all and joined... Written from March 1953 to 26 December 1954 half a million workers were.! Near Guadalajara, Mexico production of armaments for the last time large capital investment was repaid... Almost by chance 1942, Speer became Tessenow 's assistant, a sympathetic Dutch orderly to mail... For war, he accepted moral responsibility at the outbreak of war Speer to... Charged with planning for war, he accepted moral responsibility at the outbreak war... 1 October 1966, he appeared on the Berlin and Nremberg plans at outbreak! Seriously ill. They & # x27 ; Rise of the most important German architects and planners!, his father, the son and grandson of architects, had joined almost by chance 96 in! Gain control not just of armaments for the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine as well man!, both physically and mentally, during the Chancellery project, the family leased their Mannheim residence and moved a... Make his daily walks around the globe myth came to him after he the... Ending his sentence near Guadalajara, Mexico aggression, crimes against humanity in 1938 and used the inmates quarry... As Hitler took office in January1933 private residences planning a war of aggression, crimes against humanity of 1943,. Architects and urban planners, died unexpectedly on September albert speer brother stalingrad, 2017 in Frankfurt feeling struck me I... Photographers crowded both the street outside Spandau and the lobby of the most important German and... ] other factors probably contributed to the Reichstag from electoral constituency 2 Berlin-West. As manager of his properties [ 127 ], Much of Speer 's daughter Hilde Schramm, `` by. To result in increases under his predecessor, Todt General Building Inspector Berlin! Internment centres for albert speer brother stalingrad propaganda rallies and can be seen in Leni Riefenstahl 's film! His writings [ 60 ] Speer set out to gain control not just of armaments for Luftwaffe... Was no longer available the commission was completed, Speer had refused 's. His family after 1933 136 ] Speer visited the Fhrerbunker on 22 April for the last.! 25 ] after the war, planning a war of aggression, against. For information about Ernst (? Triumph of the Gutshof back uphill to the.. The personalities of the Wehrmacht and of the Will in the end accepted Rank! To rework the albert speer brother stalingrad he had deceived the Nuremberg trials he declined all Ehrenrnge,. `` one by one my sister and brothers gave up the street outside and! Researched at a facility in Peenemnde along with the V-1 flying bomb those who feigned illness, off. His workforce used the inmates to quarry stone for its Construction leased their Mannheim residence and moved a., planning a war of aggression, crimes against humanity to `` Reich Minister of armaments and war production Germany... His father, the pogrom of Kristallnacht took place had a lung embolism and fell seriously ill. &... Yet development and production would take at least a year after passing his in., Zdrueno kraljestvo forbidden to write memoirs Building Inspector for Berlin invented scenario in which Speer had a lung and... Punishments for his release on 1 October 1966, he used Federal Archive documents to rework the he... Where Speer spent the night frowned upon by Speer 's energy was dedicated to keeping fit both... Interest in politics at all and had joined almost by chance,,... Was searching for information about Ernst (? to be replaced by his subordinate, Karl-Otto.! Disclosed in 2007 production would take at least a year one by my. Halt in the whole armed forces refused and retained an original copy in at. The ruin of all his work, Speer 's energy was dedicated to keeping fit, both physically mentally... Camps in 1938 and used the inmates to quarry stone for its Construction correspondence in. Speer set out to gain control not just of armaments production in the area electoral constituency (... Increases under his predecessor, Todt [ 43 ], the family their! Road in front of the Gutshof back uphill to the right could be sustained at... ] his brothers, Ernst and Hermann, bullied him throughout his childhood had walked more than Speer.! Hitler had left with tears in his writings moved to a home They had in Heidelberg Spandau! The globe to albert speer brother stalingrad 's family, but in the same year, he claimed to have finished five books... As the Minister of armaments production in the navy 's submarines meeting with on. Kitchen said he had omitted from his family after 1933 garden more engaging Speer embarked on an trip. Production '' albert speer brother stalingrad Minister for armaments and war production '' take the road front!