Albert Speer

1. Albert Speer 1905 - 1981

2. Early Years • Born in Mannheim, the son of a wealth middle class architect • In 1925 he studied architecture at the renowned Technical University of Berlin • On March 1st 1931 he applied to the Nazi party after being impressed by Hitler’s oratory skills at a rally, he became number 474, 481 • Speer was asked to design the 1933 Nuremberg rally and met Hitler for the first time so he could approve the design • For these plans he was granted his first Nazi position: “Commissioner for the Artistic and Technical Presentation of Party Rallies and Demonstrations” • Speer then acted as a liaison in the renovation of the chancellery, during this time Speer and Hitler met regularly for lunch, becoming close friends

3. Role in the Nazi party • During the years 1934-39 Speer designed many famous Nazi buildings, including a redesign of the 1936 Olympic stadium • At the outbreak of WW2 Speer was in support of the war, but knew it would interfere with his architectural aspirations • On February 8th 1942 Speer was appointed by Hitler as the “Minister of Armaments” • He began to gear the economy towards armament production by centralizing power over the war economy to himself • During the later years of Nazi rule Speer accumulated more and more power, combined with his good relations with Hitler, many of the Nazi elite had him as a possible successor of Hitler • Speer obtained exclusive power to implement Hitler’s Nero Decree, and with this power persuaded many Gauleiters not to carry out needless destruction on the German people

4. After the War • Speer was charged with various war crimes a the Nuremburg trials and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment • While in Spandau prison he was determined to make use of his time and by 1954 had finished his memoirs which became the basis for his book, ‘Inside the Third Reich’ • Much of the rest of his time Speer spent reading hundreds of books • After he was released, he published three books, ‘Inside the Third Reich’, ‘Spandau: the secret diaries’ and ‘Himmler and the SS’ • Of the royalties for these books, his publisher claimed Speer donated up to 80% to Jewish charities • His criticism of Hitler, and describing him as a criminal lost Speer a great many friends • In his last book ‘Infiltration’ Speer says “What would have happened if Hitler had asked me to make decisions that required the utmost hardness? ... How far would I have gone? ... If I had occupied a different position, to what extent would I have ordered atrocities if Hitler had told me to do so?”