Speer's Significance
What is the significance of the role Speer played as Minister of Armaments and Production?
In February 1942, Hitler's Minister for Weaponry and Munitions and chief civil engineer, Fritz Todt, had been killed in a plane crash, to which Speer was then appointed to take over all Todt's offices, which gave him responsibility for the German construction and energy industries. When Speer took on this role, he had soon realised that Germany was not prepared to fight a major world war. Nazi leaders did not have a clear military strategy and didn't understand how any war could affect the German economy. They believed that each campaign would be swift and easily won within a few weeks, and as a result only weapons with a limited use span would be designed
In February 1942, Hitler's Minister for Weaponry and Munitions and chief civil engineer, Fritz Todt, had been killed in a plane crash, to which Speer was then appointed to take over all Todt's offices, which gave him responsibility for the German construction and energy industries. When Speer took on this role, he had soon realised that Germany was not prepared to fight a major world war. Nazi leaders did not have a clear military strategy and didn't understand how any war could affect the German economy. They believed that each campaign would be swift and easily won within a few weeks, and as a result only weapons with a limited use span would be designed