Geetanjali Mukherjee - Will The Real Albert Speer Please Stand Up?

Cover and Book Design: Geetanjali Mukherjee

Cover Image: Original Image under Creative Commons license (CC-BY-SA 2.5), from Arno Breker Museum /MARCO-VG, Bonn Toestemming, available here . Image modified under same license.

"For the commission to do a great building, I would have sold my soul like Faust. Now I had found my Mephistopheles. He seemed no less engaging than Goethe's.

Over the years Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, commonly known as Albert Speer, has been given several titles both official and unofficial. He has been called the good Nazi, Hitlers architect, potential successor to Hitler and future Reichchancellor, and perhaps even the only penitent defendant at the first Nuremberg trial. There is no doubt that there are many faces to Albert Speer: he was a man who had far greater power during the war than any other aside from Hitler, and was widely believed to succeed Hitler; his tremendous powers of organization raised German production to its peak at a time when resources were at an all-time low; and it was expected by all, including himself, that he would receive the death sentence like the other Nazi leaders, instead escaping the noose with only twenty years.

In light of his extended involvement in the Nazi party, both as Hitlers architect and the Minister for Armaments, and his contributions to the illegal war waged by the regime, the question naturally arises: did Speer receive adequate punishment? Did the atypical verdict reflect the perception that Speer was somehow less culpable than the other defendants, or did he mastermind his defence in a way that reduced his sentence? The events leading up to the Nuremberg trial, and the trial itself, provides clues to answering these questions: what can we learn about the personality of Speer from the evidence available, and why does it matter?

In the years since the trial, biographers have been fascinated with the life of Speer, and have attempted to understand the man behind the enigma. The reason for the fascination is as much for his proximity to Hitler and the regime as it is for his actions at the end of the war. Van Der Vat quoted author Sebastian Haffner from a profile he did for The Observer, published on 9 April 1944: Speer was by no means a typical Nazi; as chauffeur of the war machine he was more important to the Nazis even than Hitler. By his own admission, Speer created miracles in German production, and prolonged the war effort through his efficient handling of infrastructure and armament industries. Speer also projected an image of quiet competence and intelligence, that however calculated, set him apart from his fellow defendants. Additionally, Speer proved to be a valuable source of information, both as an interviewee, and as a writer, authoring several books on his account of the Nazi machine. Both during his time in prison and after, he wrote about the regime and his role in it, and attempted to justify his actions, both to himself and to the world. Were they justifiable? Was Speers biggest flaw his ambition and his turning away from obviously inhumane acts? Or did Speer manage to pull off the ultimate conjuring trick, convincing the court of his unintentional involvement, all the while wholeheartedly supporting the Nazi regimes treatment of those they oppressed?

The evidence presents a picture of a complex man, one who was calculated and shrewd, as well as vulnerable and nave. This book argues that Speer was an opportunist; he was willing to go along with Hitlers plans to solidify his own career, and later at Nuremberg, he was willing to lie and use his charm to hide the truth to save himself from being hanged. Speer wasnt as cold-blooded as some of his fellow cohorts at the trial, nor was he filled with remorse when confronted with his wrongdoings; however, his self-interested behaviour in turning with the tide and securing his own position at all costs, begs the question: was he really that different from the other defendants at that first, historic trial?

A lbert Speer was born in Mannheim Germany in 1905, the son and grandson of architects. He had two brothers, Hermann and Ernst, and was the middle child. In 1927, he obtained his architectural license, and first heard Hitler speak with some of his fellow students at a rally at the university. Hitlers speech and his quiet, thought-provoking manner at the time captivated Speer, and merely a few months later he joined the Nazi Party. Due to some luck and good timing, Speer was noticed by Hitler whilst he was working for the Nazi party, and Hitler soon took him under his wing, making Speer a part of his inner circle.

Speer developed a close relationship with Hitler, one where they would frequently take meals together, and spend hours discussing architectural plans for a future where the power of the Reich reflected Hitlers grand ambitions. During this time, he designed and built grand buildings for Hitler, and for all intents and purposes became the official architect of the Third Reich.

In 1942, Frizt Todt, Minister for Armaments, was killed in a plane crash. Speer, again having arrived fortuitously at the headquarters just the night before, was appointed to the position vacated by Todt, and made Reich Minister for Armaments, overseer of construction and Chief of Organization Todt, which was responsible for large-range engineering projects throughout Germany. Over the next three years, he took over naval and air armaments, and was responsible for fourteen million workers, many of whom were forced labour. Speer utilized his tremendous organizational skills to increase the lagging armaments production, and provided the German war effort with a much-needed boost. He was a masterful organizer, who was able to go much further than Todt with his arena of armaments and war production. He got rid, as far as he could, of the system of coercion; [and] he put full responsibility for the efficiency of a plant into the hands of the local manager Reports suggest that Speer was single-handedly responsible for extending the capacity of the Reich to continue the war by another two years.

In 1945, Albert Speer was arrested by the US forces, and interrogated about the German war effort. On the 20th of June, he was indicted by the International Military Tribunal established at Nuremberg, and charged under all four counts of the Charter. Speer was convicted under two counts of the indictment, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and sentenced to twenty years in prison, from which he was released in 1966. Speer published three books, two that were more autobiographical in nature, and the third about the SS. He died in 1981 in England.