Albert Speer Essay
First Architect of the Third Reich, Minister of Armaments and Munitions, survivor of the Nuremberg Trials, acclaimed author and “Good Nazi” Albert Speer has obviously left his mark on history. In this speech I will be arguing that Speer although made some positive actions in his life he had a mostly negative impact on his time.
Originally an architect Albert Speer strove to transform Germany into Hitler’s dream, the imperial capital of the Third Reich. By designing Goebbels HQ and later ministry, the Nuremburg Trials and the Reich Chancellery Speer managed to accomplice this in a suitably Neo-classical style. Gitta Sereny claims "He was ecstatic upon entering Hitler's service…blinkered from the very beginning to Hitler's monstrous obsessions; oblivious to the suffering they would immediately cause."Although there are serious questions about Sereny’s objectivity due to her closeness to Speer, this is a commonly held belief among many other historians/authors including William Shirer and Alan Bullock. Speer’s successes in these designs progressed him along the Nazi party and therefore are negative in the long run but initially provided confidence and jobs to other Germans.
During 1937 the plans to turn Berlin into a grand metropolis required the destruction of 52,000 houses. When they realised that 23,000 of those where Jewish, Speer put forward “The Law concerning the Rental Situations of Jews”. As a result they where instantly evicted breaching the Geneva Convention. Dan van der Vat states “Albert Speer was…an active participant in ruining the lives……of 75,000 Berlin Jews by having them evicted…….It was clear that Speer rather than Hitler was directly and personally responsible for the bulk of the suffering thus caused. It was Speer who signed the eviction and demolition orders. ”Van der Vat is a mostly reputable source but his early life in Nazi controlled Holland damages his objectivity. Despite that, robbing 75,000 people of their homes and sending them to
Originally an architect Albert Speer strove to transform Germany into Hitler’s dream, the imperial capital of the Third Reich. By designing Goebbels HQ and later ministry, the Nuremburg Trials and the Reich Chancellery Speer managed to accomplice this in a suitably Neo-classical style. Gitta Sereny claims "He was ecstatic upon entering Hitler's service…blinkered from the very beginning to Hitler's monstrous obsessions; oblivious to the suffering they would immediately cause."Although there are serious questions about Sereny’s objectivity due to her closeness to Speer, this is a commonly held belief among many other historians/authors including William Shirer and Alan Bullock. Speer’s successes in these designs progressed him along the Nazi party and therefore are negative in the long run but initially provided confidence and jobs to other Germans.
During 1937 the plans to turn Berlin into a grand metropolis required the destruction of 52,000 houses. When they realised that 23,000 of those where Jewish, Speer put forward “The Law concerning the Rental Situations of Jews”. As a result they where instantly evicted breaching the Geneva Convention. Dan van der Vat states “Albert Speer was…an active participant in ruining the lives……of 75,000 Berlin Jews by having them evicted…….It was clear that Speer rather than Hitler was directly and personally responsible for the bulk of the suffering thus caused. It was Speer who signed the eviction and demolition orders. ”Van der Vat is a mostly reputable source but his early life in Nazi controlled Holland damages his objectivity. Despite that, robbing 75,000 people of their homes and sending them to