Albert Speer: Modern History Assessment

Albert Speer: Modern History Assessment

Question 1: Describe (provide characteristics and features) the background (family influences and early career) of Albert Speer. No more than two pages. 10 marks.

The early life and career of Albert Speer was shaped by his familial upbringing, his connection to his mentor Professor Heinrich Tessenow and, in later years, his affiliation with the Nazi Party. Born into a wealthy family in March 1905, Albert Speer was the second of three sons. His father, Albert, was a prosperous architect who provided a privileged life for his three sons and wife. Albert's mother, Luise, was also successful in her own right. His parents provided all manner of material conveniences to their sons however with their high
Instead, he persuaded his son to adopt architecture, with the impression that Speer would join his father's business.

Schmidt, Matthias (1984), Albert Speer: The End of a Myth, St Martins Press

In 1923, the impact of the German hyperinflation crisis limited his parents' finances and so Speer began his studies at the Institute of Technology in Karlsruhe. Once the crisis had diminished he transferred to a more reputable institution, the Technical University of Munich. During his architectural studies Speer came under the influence of Professor Heinrich Tessenow, whose ideas and attitudes on architecture greatly impacted Speer. After graduating as an architect in 1927, Speer began to work as Professor Tessenow's assistant, a prestigious role for a man of 22 years of age.

Later that same year, Speer married a woman named Margaret Webber whom he had known from his time at school. His parents considered her socially inferior and so fearing their reactions, Albert informed them of their union by
With unemployment rising the political atmosphere was strained and uneasy. Many of the students at the Berlin Institute of Technology, where Speer now worked, openly supported the Hitler and the Nazi movement. In December 1930, Speer was persuaded to attend a Nazi rally which gave him his first impressions of Hitler. This event changed his life. Having previously considered himself apolitical, Speer found himself absorbed by the emotional fanaticism generated by Hitler's influence. In his autobiography Speer himself states "I was carried on the wave of enthusiasm which bore the speaker along from sentence to sentence...Here it seemed to me was hope". Like so many other Germans, Speer was held spellbound and enchanted by Hitler and in March 1931 he joined the Nazi party.

Through this membership, Albert Speer began to receive his first commissions. Karl Hanke, a Nazi official in Berlin, requested Speer renovate his personal home, and later he was accorded the more demanding task of rebuilding the Party headquarters in Berlin. The result impressed the Nazi leadership and in 1933 Speer was invited to rebuild the government's Propaganda ministry. Speer pledged that he could achieve total construction in two months, a promise which he fulfilled. However his mentor Tessenow was dismissive: "Do you think you have created something? It's showy, that's