Preview

Albert speer and his involvement in the nazi regime

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1462 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Albert speer and his involvement in the nazi regime
Albert Speer served the Nazi Regime from 1931-1945. It is within this 14 year period Speer’s significance from the war effort can be recognized as one of the most crucial and predominant roles within the Nazi leadership. As Hitler’s chief architect Albert created numerous designs and constructions used for Nazi propaganda as well as the Dora concentration camp. Using his power and influence within the German Nazi movement, Speer exploited the use of slave labor, as well as aided astronomically to the output of ammunitions and other vast weaponry, further prolonging world war two.
Internationally recognized as the ‘Nazi who said sorry’ collectively, it was from Speer’s remorseful attitude during his trial in 1946 as well as his previous crimes committed in the Nazi movement from which his significance in German and international history is seen.

Serving as Hitler’s Major Architect throughout Speer’s involvement in the Nazi regime, there are many structures and designes that contribute to the significance of Speer throughout Germany. The first of such would be the construction of Nuremberg stadium in 1934. Here Speer efficiently and decisively built the permanent reviewing stand for the Nuremberg rally and developed what he called his “cathedral of light”. In effort to achieve a dramatic affect, 130 high-powered searchlights were installed around the zeppelin field stadium, casting beams of light some 8000 metres into the sky. Along with the construction of the massive Reich eagle overlooking the zeppelin field, Speer contributed to the installment of Nazi propaganda on German landmarks and was most recognized internationally for this project in particular. In 1939, Speer completed the new Reich’s chancellery building in Berlin. This architectural development was significant within Germany as it signified the new age Germany Hitler was so determined to construct. Both Speer and Hitler purposefully strove to construct a specific style of architecture that

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Criticism of Speer’s success in armament production focuses on the human ‘cost’, much of the increase of armament production rested on the exploitation of foreign workers and the prisoners of war, whom were kept under horrific conditions. In the Nuremburg trials Albert Speer claimed that the appropriation of the workers was the responsibility of Fritz Saukel, his deputy. Fritz Saukel was known for being ruthless while carrying out his work, he wrote in his memorandum to his officials, “all men must be fed, housed and treated in such a way as to exploit them to the greatest possible extent at the absolute minimum of expenditure.” Although Speer only got 20 years at the Nuremburg trials and Fritz Saukel was sentenced to death it was Albert Speer as the minister who was responsible for the number of workers that were used and even the conditions in which they were forced to work in.…

    • 1036 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Schindler our protector, he was the only one who could protect us.” is a quote by Sol Urbach, a refugee of Oskar Schindler. Oskar Schindler was a Holocaust rescuer who saved over 1,200 prisoners during World War II. He rescued many of these prisoners by employing them in his factory as an excuse for their release. Oskar’s personality developed when he realized how awfully Jews were being treated during the war, so he decided to use his wealth to save the countless lives of others. Schindler used his cleverness, generosity, and social status to keep his Jews from the brutal conditions they might have had to face by Nazi party. Oskar may not have had a perfect early or adult life, but he is an outgoing hero of the Holocaust.…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Albert Speer Essay

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    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.…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Albert Speer is one of the most controversial figures in history. His complex personality resulting from a traumatic childhood, combined with a cunning intelligence and tireless work ethic saw Speer rise to become one of the most powerful and prominent figures in the Third Reich.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    <br>Speer's well structured and thought out defence shaped historical interpretation for years to come. At Nuremberg he presented himself as a pure technician and not involved in the politics or ideology of the party. He also claimed collective responsibility for crimes against Jews but also his ignorance of the Nazi intentions. As he stated at a later time: "I just stood aside and said to myself that as long as I did not personally participate it had nothing to do with me. My toleration for the anti Semitic campaign made me responsible for it." This admission of guilt won a fair amount of sympathy from the court. The reasons he gave for being with the Nazi party was that he was taken by Hitler's personality and also realised that if he was to achieve his dream as an architect he will have to sell his soul to the party. This image of Speer was to be accepted for a while by most historians and was given little attention. This was probably because Speer was a little less ‘spectacular' than Hitler's other henchmen. There were however some suspicions. John Galbraith, a member of the US team that debriefed Speer before the Nuremberg trial, said in Life magazine 1945 that Speer's claims contained "elements of fantasy". He also believed that Speer's confession was a part of his "well developed strategy of self…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Adolf Eichmann was considered one of the main perpetrators and contributors to the development and the rise of what came to be known as the Holocaust.” (Source A) this quote can be taken and considered in the fact that Adolf Eichmann was involved in the mass killings of Jews known as the Holocaust. In order to understand more on Adolf Eichmann we need to look deeper into the history of Adolf Eichmann.…

    • 176 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Albert Speer

    • 2758 Words
    • 12 Pages

    2. Having wanted to establish his own architectural practice, in Albert 's early days of leaving his studies it had been unsuccessful for him. Due to the depression that had hit Germany in the 1920 's the demand on construction had a down turn, which made it possible to find any jobs for Speer. Not finding work and resigning from his assistant lecture 's position, Speer had decided to move back to Mannheim to try and create his practice there, but once again the demands for designing work was low. Realizing that there was no chance in building his practice in Mannheim he…

    • 2758 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Albert Speer was born on the 19th of March 1905. His family was very well off compared to the general population and their social status demanded an adherence to social conventions and formality. As a student and early adult, Speer was very apolitical however leaned towards the communism. Speer was first introduced to Nazism in 1930 where he was first inspired by Hitler’s oratory skills. Speer became a member of the Nazi Party on March the 1st 1931 with the membership number 474,481. From this point Speer was provided with many opportunities within the party, specifically in architecture, Hitler was especially impressed by Speer’s early work and later made him Armaments Minister. At the end of World War II, Speer along with other leading Nazi’s were put on trial by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, known as The Nuremberg Trials, where many Nazi leaders were sentenced to death or imprisoned as Speer was in Spandau for extended periods of time. Each of these were significant events in the life of Albert Speer who died in 1981.…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    At that moment, the SS officer used his remaining energy to seize his last opportunity to repent. Nobody knows if he died in peace; however, the probability that he achieved piece was greater than Wiesenthal. Because Wiesenthal was hurt, upset and angry, it was understandable why he did not respond to the officer. Yet, if he had at least tried to ease his anger and talked to the officer, maybe he would not feel troubled for many years. The holocaust is dreadful, and it does not deserve forgiveness; nevertheless, the SS officer deserves forgiveness because he expressed a genuine…

    • 1592 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Nuremburg Trial outcome is our vital evidence that Albert Speer was a man who was corrupted by the events at the time. He is the epitome of the saying “events shape people more than people shape events” as he merely rode the wave of Nazism. As German historian Joachim Fest stated, “He [Hitler] drew Speer to him like no one else, he singles him out and made him great” (Fest, The Face of Third Reich, pg 340). In any other situation it is inconceivable that an architect could have come to hold the title of Minister of Armaments and War Production. The event of Nazi Germany transformed an architect, whose destiny seemingly lay in continuing the family business, to a man answerable only to the ‘Fuhrer’. Albert Speer did not shape Nazi Germany: Nazi Germany shaped Speer.…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Albert Speer was a personal architect for Hitler also the Minister of Armaments and War Production for Nazi regime. He was the only Nazi to bear the responsibility on the crimes of his former master Hitler and the Nazi regime in the Nuremburg Trials. But he said he knew nothing about the fate of the Jews and claimed he was just focused on his ambition.…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Albert Speer’s rise to prominence began through his early work for the Nazi Party, followed by becoming the first architect of the Reich and his contributions to the Germania project where the Nazi power was consolidated. Speer reached his full potential through his appointment as Armaments minister.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Albert Speer Analysis

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Despite Albert Speer’s claims, as Minister of Armaments, it is inevitable that Albert Speer was aware of the use and abuse of forced labour and the appalling conditions of inmates at concentration camps and I find it hard to believe anything contrary. As Gitta Sereny suggests, Speer knew a lot more than what he led on, he knew what he was inevitably going to find out. Although Speer states in, Inside the Third Reich, “I did not investigate, I did not want to know”, this position of knowledge places him with direct personal responsibility for the use and abuse of forced labourers.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Adolf Hitler surfaced in 1919, joining the Nazi party as a minority. However, by 1933, Hitler surprised everyone by becoming Chancellor, which was seen as a remarkable achievement. Yet many people underestimated his abilities, and thought that he would be removed from power. Even fewer people would have expected that by mid-1934, Hitler would become the sole leader of Germany, establishing a dictatorship. This essay will show how Hitler cleverly consolidated power, using a mixture of legal, illegal, and violent methods to remove any hindrance and oppositions in the way; and how Hitler, viewed by some as an opportunist, others a planner, made use of six major factors including the Reichstag fire, Emergency Decree, the Enabling act, the Night of the Long Knives, death of Hindenburg and the Army 's oath of Loyalty, which lead to his role 'Fuhrer ' and Reich Chancellor, securing his position between the Nazis and Germany.…

    • 1356 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays