Of all the Nazis in Hitler’s inner circle, only Albert Speer escaped the hangman’s noose. How was he able to achieve this when the armaments’ industry used slave labour on an epic scale?

Unlike most of Hitler’s circle, Albert Speer and Hermann Goering were not regarded as archetypal Nazi thugs. Most such as Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy until his arcane mission to Britain in 1941, were wastrels and professional thugs in keeping with their narrow-minded views on society and the solutions to social problems. If there had to be a psychological attribute for being a member of the Nazi inner circle, that trait would be sociopathy.

Speer, as far as all accounts suggest, displayed none of these traits initially. Subsequent to his release from Spandau Prison however, many of these traits came to the fore.

By training Albert Speer was an architect. His first “introduction” to the Nazi party and Hitler in particular was at a political meeting in 1930. Whether it was the simplistic solution to Germany’s problems or his self-aggrandisement, Albert was smitten like a teenage school girl. Gretel, his wife, was not as enamoured by his decision to join such a party but his comments to her at the time indicate that he foresaw the Nazis as a potential meal ticket.

Speer’s first one-on-one meeting with Hitler was when he was appointed to refurbish Hitler’s apartment but Hitler never recalled that meeting.

The first time that Hitler became aware of Speer was when he was contracted to upgrade the (in)famous Nuremburg Stadium in 1934. The grandiose pretentious scale of the Nazis pendants serving as a backdrop to Hitler at the podium drew Hitler’s attention to Speer. Hitler, the failed artist and architect with megalomaniac dreams of vast arenas and stadia, was drawn like a magnet to Speer.

From that moment onward, Speer moved effortlessly within the inner circles of the Nazi Party. Of all Hitler’s associates dating back even to the early 1920’s, Hitler did not form a close bond. He valued their loyalty and dedication to the Party, but to none except Speer from 1934 would he bare his innermost thoughts and desires.

When Speer was engrossed in discussions with Hitler, even Eva Braun knew that she could not disturb Hitler. Speer was the only person accorded this luxury. Hitler lauded Speer’s abilities as an architect to the rest of his entourage flattering Speer’s vanity in the process. Being classified as the greatest architect ever together with an unalloyed admiration of Hitler drove Speer to propose even more megalomaniac structures than Hitler could imagine; their imaginations feeding off one another.

Huge scale models were built for Hitler. With not even his secretary, Martin Bormann in attendance, Hitler would stand beside these models. Delusions of grandeur would be the order of the day as Hitler day-dreamed as if in a trance. In a flat monotone as if mesmerised, Hitler would ramble about his visions of world conquest. What the contemporary Speer thought of such wild imaginings, we will never know for sure but in retrospect, Speer wants us to believe otherwise.

In 1941 with the Russian winter campaign becoming mired first in cloying mud and then deep snow drifts, like Napoleon before him in 1812, the German forces were bogged down on the outskirts of Moscow.

Peacetime pursuits and vanity projects such as grandiose buildings were shelved. WW2 had become reality for Hitler.

The Todt Organisation was a Third Reich civil and military engineering group in Germany named after its founder, Fritz Todt. The organization was responsible for a huge range of engineering projects both in Germany itself and occupied territories from France to the Soviet Union during the war. It became notorious for using forced labour.

Its founder, Fritz Todt, died in a plane crash on 8 February 1942, shortly after a meeting with Hitler in East Prussia. Todt had become convinced that the war could not be won and thought of himself as being indispensable enough to say as much to Hitler. As a result, there has been some speculation that Todt’s death was a covert assassination, but this has never been substantiated. Todt was succeeded as Minister of Armaments and Munitions and de facto head of the Organisation Todt by Albert Speer.

This is how Speer became involved in the use of “compulsory labour” a Nazi euphemism for a modern day slave, many of whom never survived the work or the war.

Administratively, however, the organization was effectively incorporated into Albert Speer’s Ministry of Armaments and War Production in 1943. Speer’s concerns, in the context of an increasingly desperate Germany in which all production had been severely impacted by materials and manpower shortages and by Allied bombing, ranged over almost the whole of the German war-time economy. Speer managed to increase production significantly, at the cost of a vastly increased reliance on compulsory labour.

Even though the treatment of compulsory labour was no different whatever the source of the labour, various types can be distinguished. Firstly there were the foreign nationals and POWs who somewhat euphemistically, referred to as “foreign workers” (Fremdarbeiter). In 1943 and 1944 these were further augmented by concentration camp and other prisoners. Beginning in the autumn of 1944, between 10,000 to 20,000 half-Jews (Mischlinge) and persons related to Jews by marriage were recruited into special units.

By the end of 1944, of approximately 1.4 million labourers in the service of the Organisation Todt overall most were prisoners of war and compulsory labourers from occupied countries.

The treatment of these labourers has been extensive documented especially those working underground at Nordhausen building V1 & V2 rockets. Given insufficient food and water and kept underground until they died, most survived for no more than 3 months. Continually beaten and maltreated combined with the privations suffered, death was a welcome release.

Even though Speer argued quite convincingly at the Nuremberg Trials, that it was his deputy, Karl Sauer, who was involved in the day-to-day organisation and administration of the various factories, there is extant evidence that Speer did not only visit the underground facility in 1944 but also witnessed the maltreatment of these abject individuals. Speer appeared to have misgivings about their treatment but instead thanked the SS officials for such excellent production figures.

Being the only confidant of Hitler and an early disciple of Hitler, he must either become aware of Hitler’s avowed anti-Semitic views espoused in the book Mein Kampf or more likely directly from Hitler over the years.

What has also subsequently been established is that Speer’s firm in 1941 was involved in the expropriation of Jewish property in Berlin without compensation and the eviction of their Jewish tenants.

Partly what convinced the western judges on the Nuremberg Trial of the veracity of Speer’s version was his admission that in all respects the Nazi were wrong and inhumane. He accepted moral responsibility for the crimes of the Nazi Regime. Whatever his innermost thoughts and convictions, this approach earned him the life-long enmity of unrepentant Nazis such as Rudolph Hess and incarceration instead of the death penalty by the judges at Nuremberg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
All things considered, it was a meagre price to pay for his ultimate freedom.

In 1965 Speer was released from Spandau Prison to much fanfare. As a leading Nazi potentate, his autobiography was eagerly awaited. Both became best sellers. The first Inside the Third Reich in which he again accepted moral responsibility for Nazi war crimes and of which I have a 30 year old copy, made Speer a rich man.

Outwardly the kindly smiling face became the acceptable face of a good Nazi but inwardly Speer had not changed his spots. Most of what has subsequently become known about his post prison activities has only become common knowledge after his death in London in 1981 on a book tour.

Firstly Speer never accorded Gretel, his long-suffering wife any recognition and solace after his release. By all accounts he was cold and distant showing no emotion towards a loving and faithful wife.

Instead Albert is reported to have had a numerous affairs one of which was a British woman living in London whom he was visiting on his death.

Furthermore Speer’s partners in their architectural firm had ensured that during his incarceration that Speer’s children were provided out. This generosity was never official recognised by Speer after his release. In fact he refused to associate with his former colleagues in spite of their unrequested assistance.

 

Lastly what has recently been established is that Speer sold some paintings which had been confiscated from the Jews after his release from prison by using third parties. Not even his family was aware of this transaction.

From a smiling repentant Speer, the image has become less sanguine with aspersions being cast upon his integrity and probity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The German language film, a 4.5 hour documentary, entitled Speer und Hitler deals with most of these issues except for the latest revelations. The next biography of Speer will probably not focus on the genial urbane aspects of the man but rather on his sociopathic tendencies, a trait common to many leading Nazis.

Finally based purely on the fact that 20,000 prisoners at Nordhausen died of maltreatment, starvation and thirst, a mere 20 year sentence was far too lenient.

It should have been death by hanging like many of his contemporaries.

 

Sources:

Book: Autobiography by Albert Speer: Inside the Third Reich.

DVD: German production with English subtitles: Speer und Hitler. [A re-enactment of Speer’s life]