Was Albert Speer A Important Figure In World War 2
Was Albert Speer a important figure in World War 2
In my essay I will assess how significant Albert Speer was to the running of the Nazi war machine and the Nazi regime. I will look at how such an intelligent, well-intentioned, principled person like Speer could become such an integral part in the Nazi party, so captivated by Hitler’s charisma and influence that he could ignore all the atrocities, the concentration camps, the slaughter of the fuehrer’s wars and devote all the country’s resources to keeping the regime in power. Albert Speer was appointed as minister for Armaments and munitions in February 1942. Speer played an invaluable role in the Nazi War Machine during the next three years of the Second World War. His effectiveness as minister for armaments and munitions led to phenomenal increases in the production of armaments, and ultimately prolonging the war for another one to two years which greatly impacted on the functioning of the War Machine. Speer’s major accomplishments as minister for armaments and munitions were the standardization of weapons and specialization of factories. Implementing a Total War policy in Germany. The mobilization of the workforce in relation to the armament production.
Speer’s use of slave labour during his time as armaments minister was one of the most incriminating things used against Speer at the trials. The nation-driven concept of ‘Total War’ and the ongoing recruitment needs of the armed forces clashed as the war progressed. As the manufacture of armaments and weapons were at the centre of the war effort, Speer used his influence in order to ‘access’ workers from foreign sources. He co-ordinated the German Minister of Labour, Fritz Sauckel, to recruit people from occupied and conquered territories in order to keep efforts on track. Sauckel saw it as a matter of priority to assist and provide workers in order to fulfil Speer’s demands. During the course of the war he recruited five million people, two hundred thousand
In my essay I will assess how significant Albert Speer was to the running of the Nazi war machine and the Nazi regime. I will look at how such an intelligent, well-intentioned, principled person like Speer could become such an integral part in the Nazi party, so captivated by Hitler’s charisma and influence that he could ignore all the atrocities, the concentration camps, the slaughter of the fuehrer’s wars and devote all the country’s resources to keeping the regime in power. Albert Speer was appointed as minister for Armaments and munitions in February 1942. Speer played an invaluable role in the Nazi War Machine during the next three years of the Second World War. His effectiveness as minister for armaments and munitions led to phenomenal increases in the production of armaments, and ultimately prolonging the war for another one to two years which greatly impacted on the functioning of the War Machine. Speer’s major accomplishments as minister for armaments and munitions were the standardization of weapons and specialization of factories. Implementing a Total War policy in Germany. The mobilization of the workforce in relation to the armament production.
Speer’s use of slave labour during his time as armaments minister was one of the most incriminating things used against Speer at the trials. The nation-driven concept of ‘Total War’ and the ongoing recruitment needs of the armed forces clashed as the war progressed. As the manufacture of armaments and weapons were at the centre of the war effort, Speer used his influence in order to ‘access’ workers from foreign sources. He co-ordinated the German Minister of Labour, Fritz Sauckel, to recruit people from occupied and conquered territories in order to keep efforts on track. Sauckel saw it as a matter of priority to assist and provide workers in order to fulfil Speer’s demands. During the course of the war he recruited five million people, two hundred thousand