[111] Speer provided information to the Allies, regarding the effects of the air war, and on a broad range of subjects, beginning on 10 May. Speer went on to quote Hitler as telling him privately after the remilitarization of the Rhineland, "We will create a great empire. Speer in response used his propaganda expertise to display a new dynamism of the war economy. [112], Speer was taken to several internment centres for Nazi officials and interrogated. His father, who died in 1947, despised the Nazis and was silent upon meeting Hitler. [141] He found himself unable to re-establish a relationship with his children, even with his son Albert who had also become an architect. A groundbreaking 26-part documentary series narrated by the actor Laurence Olivier about the deadliest conflict in history, World War II. [138] He said little, reserving most comments for a major interview published in Der Spiegel in November 1966. [177], The armaments "miracle" was a myth; Speer had used statistical manipulation to support his claims. In his writings, Speer claimed to have finished five thousand books while in prison. In February 1942, Speer was appointed as Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production. [124], The prisoners were forbidden to write memoirs. Though stockpiling of materials and other work continued, this slowed to a halt as more resources were needed for the armament industry. For Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, AS+P completes the planning of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment (MCI). Speer's illness coincided with the Allied "Big Week", a series of bombing raids on the German aircraft factories that were a devastating blow to aircraft production. Hitler's cabinet was dismayed at his tactics, but, regardless, he was able to accumulate new responsibilities and more power. He suffered a stroke and died in London on 1 September. It became instrumental in exploiting slave labor for the benefit of the German war effort. He agreed to expand Auschwitz and some other camps, allocating 13.7 million Reichsmarks for the work to be carried out. [84] Production of German fighter aircraft more than doubled between 1943 and 1944. Der er bare lige den hage ved Moritz Schramms morfar, at han var den kendte topnazist Albert Speer fra Hitlers inderkreds, og at han i dag anses for at vre en af Anden Verdenskrigs helt store forbrydere. Speer enthusiastically supported the program and in March 1942 made an order for A4 rockets, the predecessor of the world's first ballistic missile, the V-2 rocket. Speer first heard Adolf Hitler speak during an address to the combined students and faculty of Berlin University and his institute. 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. [43] The building itself was hailed by Hitler as the "crowning glory of the greater German political empire". [130] Speer also read, studied architectural journals, and brushed up on English and French. 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. The battle is infamous as one of the largest . [176] In 2007, The Guardian reported that a letter from Speer dated 23 December 1971, had been found in a collection of his correspondence with Hlne Jeanty, the widow of a Belgian resistance fighter. He fabricated the additional details. 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. This is an apolitical forum for discussions on the Axis nations and related topics hosted by the Axis History Factbook in cooperation with Christian Ankerstjernes Panzerworld and Christoph Awender's WW2 day by day. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [5] Wolters and longtime Speer secretary Annemarie Kempf, while not permitted direct communication with Speer in Spandau, did what they could to help his family and carry out the requests Speer put in letters to his wifethe only written communication he was officially allowed. 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. [155] In addition to the myth that he was an apolitical technocrat, he claimed he did not have full knowledge of the Holocaust or the persecution of the Jews. Minister for Armaments. He used his writings from the time of imprisonment as the basis for two autobiographical books, Inside the Third Reich and Spandau: The Secret Diaries. There were so many corpses at the Dora underground factory, for example, that the crematorium was overwhelmed. Speer-Weber, Magarete, born 08-09-1905 in Heidelberg, lived there all her live, they also had a house near Hitler's Berghof on the Obersalzberg and was a girlfriend of Eva Braun (see Braun parents) and a regular visitor on the Berghof of Berchtesgaden. Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer ( Mannheim, 19. oujka 1905. He had claimed that he was unaware of Nazi extermination plans, and the Allies had no proof that he was aware. Albert Speer, nemki arhitekt in politik, * 19. marec 1905, Mannheim, 1. september 1981, London, Zdrueno kraljestvo . Despite this opposition, the two married in Berlin on 28 August 1928; seven years elapsed before Margarete was invited to stay at her in-laws' home. [55] At the same time, Hitler also appointed Speer as head of the Organisation Todt, a massive, government-controlled construction company. Hitler appointed Speer, whose work for Goebbels had impressed him, to manage the building site for Troost. He was credited with a dramatic increase in the shipment of arms that was widely reported as keeping Germany in the war. He was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, principally for the use of slave labor, narrowly avoiding a death sentence. First Architect of the Third Reich. 46.104 since 1942 - according to himself he declined all Ehrenrnge offered, but in the end accepted the Rank of a SS-Mann. [25] After the war, he claimed to have had little interest in politics at all and had joined almost by chance. [92] The rockets were built at an underground factory at Mittelwerk. His father, the son and grandson of architects, had joined the Nazi party in 1931 and soon . There was no communication. He was charged with planning for war, planning a war of aggression, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity. [22] Speer quickly became part of Hitler's inner circle; he was expected to call on him in the morning for a walk or chat, to provide consultation on architectural matters, and to discuss Hitler's ideas. Speer's desperate mother called Speer . When you take it you'll get to an open field where you can see the Speer houses. like so many other Germans his the atmosphere was said the best ever it was actually worded they I recommend this book without reservations. [29] Speer insisted that as many events as possible be held at night, both to give greater prominence to his lighting effects and to hide the overweight Nazis. Speer made no mention of it in the first draft of Inside the Third Reich. [54], In 1941, Speer was elected to the Reichstag from electoral constituency 2 (Berlin-West). 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. Initially, the funds were used only to support Speer's family, but increasingly the money was used for other purposes. "[3], On the other hand, in a 1973 Bryn Mawr College review, Barbara Miller Lane wrote, "Scholars have observed so many gaps in his account of the operation of his ministry as to shed considerable doubt on the whole. In the letter, Speer says, "There is no doubtI was present as Himmler announced on October 6, 1943, that all Jews would be killed. According to Speer's daughter Hilde Schramm, "One by one my sister and brothers gave up. Feigned repentance at Nuremberg, saving his own neck. Despite his opposition to the 20 July plot, he falsely claimed in his memoirs to have been sympathetic to the plotters. Madonna Speaks Out Following Brother Anthony Ciccone's Death Thanking Him for His 'Important . While he sought to frustrate directives to destroy industrial facilities in areas at risk of capture, so that they could be used after the war, he still supported the war's continuation. Reporters and photographers crowded both the street outside Spandau and the lobby of the Hotel Berlin where Speer spent the night. They're private residences. sort by. Four years into their relationship, in September 1981, Speer died. Like many of those in power in the Third Reich, he was not an ideologue, "nor was he anything more than an instinctive anti-Semite. "[16] The historian Magnus Brechtken, discussing Speer, said he did not give anti-Jewish public speeches and that his anti-Semitism can best be understood through his actionswhich were anti-Semitic. [55] On 8 February 1942, Reich Minister of Armaments and Munitions Fritz Todt died in a plane crash shortly after taking off from Hitler's eastern headquarters at Rastenburg. [19] This work won Speer his first national post, as Nazi Party "Commissioner for the Artistic and Technical Presentation of Party Rallies and Demonstrations". Secured early release from prison, became a media celebrity and successfully cultivated the "clean Speer" myth. Speer's own staff described the conditions there as "hell". 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. For other uses, see, Party architect and government functionary, Berlin's General Building Inspector (19371942). Having served his full term, Speer was released in 1966. Speer studied at the technical schools in Karlsruhe, Munich, and Berlin, and acquired an architectural license in 1927. [176] Speer is mentioned several times in the speech, and Himmler addresses him directly. Concerned about retaining power, he did not appoint a deputy and continued to direct work of the Armaments Ministry from his bedside. Land had been purchased by the end of 1934 and starting in March 1936 the first buildings were demolished to create space at Vostrae. Study now. [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 complicated architecture of Albert Speer, Jr. From being the son of a Nazi to becoming one of the world's foremost architects, this 82-year-old urban planner has been on top of the German planning world for more than half a century. [136] Speer served a full term and was released at midnight on 1 October 1966. 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. He studied under Bestelmeyer, Billing, and Tessenow, and rose to prominence on the death of Troost, becoming Adolf Hitler's (1889-1945) friend, confidant, and architect from 1934.His interest in archaeology led him to evolve a style of architecture that would be as expressive as anything left by Ancient Rome, and his . [64] Another factor that produced the boom in ammunition was the policy of allocating more coal to the steel industry. Instead, development turned to a "uranium motor", for use in the navy's submarines. Before World War II, Speer helped propel the Nazi vision of grandeur and superiority. [154] In his memoirs and interviews, he had distorted the truth and made so many major omissions that his lies became known as "myths". The myth began to fall apart in the 1980s, when the armaments miracle was attributed to Nazi propaganda. The journalist described an invented scenario in which Speer had refused Hitler's orders and Hitler had left with tears in his eyes. [53] Speer's offices undertook building work for each branch of the military, and for the SS, using slave labor. Po vlce byl bhem Norimberskho procesu odsouzen jako vlen zloinec ke 20 letm vzen. "[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. Neither the organizers nor Rudolf Hess were willing to decide whether to approve the plans, and Hess sent Speer to Hitler's Munich apartment to seek his approval. In 1942, he was named Minister of Armaments and Munitions, assuming significant responsibility for the German war economy. Its aim was to ensure the preservation and growth of fighter aircraft production. Speer II is more than an urban planner. [125] He had completed his memoirs by November 1953, which became the basis of Inside the Third Reich. [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. His claim was revealed to be false in a private correspondence written in 1971 and publicly disclosed in 2007. [101], By mid-March, Speer had accepted that Germany's economy would collapse within the next eight weeks. [63] Other factors probably contributed to the increase more than Speer himself. Under his leadership, the Nazis implemented a brutal regime of slave labour in armaments factories across Germany. In this capacity he was responsible for the Central Department for Resettlement that evicted Jewish tenants from their homes in Berlin. 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