Modern History Albert Speer

Main Events in the Career of Albert Speer Albert Speer, a very talented architect was Hitler's architect in the preceding years and during the Second World War. He was later promoted to very influential positions in Germany regarding the economy as a whole and was vital to Germanys war production and design, which resulted in a close friendship between him and the Nazi leader Adolph Hitler. Late in 1930, a certified architect of 3 years, Speer first heard Hitler speak at a beer hall, was impressed with the leader and what he had said and early 1931 he enthusiastically joined the NSDAP, later known as the Nazi Party.

Write a 700- to 1,050-word reflective paper that addresses the following questions: o How would you define personality? o What are some key personality features that define you? o What key concepts or “constructs” are used to explain your personality? o Are your personality features consistent or do they change according to the situation? o Have you ever taken a personality test

In this assignment, you will be creating a list of your skills, values and personality traits. Be sure to use the text material and lectures to assist you with completing the assignment.

Upon appointment as Minister after Fritz Todt’s suspicious death, Speer proved immensely successful, in which his organisational skills were proven, increasing the efficiency and production of the German war machine despite the constant British bombings of factories and communications. Between 1942 and 1943, arms production grew by 30%, with labour productivity increasing by 160%. (Wagenführ, R, 1954). Historian Alan Bullock admires Speers improvements to the war effort, claiming that “Without Speer, Hitler would have lacked the power to stage his fight to the finish.” (A.Bullock, 1962). Contradicting Speers success as Armaments Minister however is Dutch historian Dan Van Der Vat, who questions Speers claims, “As if he did not have enough to do, Speer somehow managed … at the end of January 1945 to draw up a Rechenschaftsbericht … this enormous report ran to 10 000 words.” (Dan Van Der Vat, 1997). Van Der Vat therefore raises the important issue of how much one can trust a source written by one on their own success in power, with little to no contradicting evidence. Consideration however must be given to Van Der Vat’s argument, as he did grow up under Nazi occupied Holland, and thus an obvious bias is pited against any leader of the Nazi Party. Nevertheless, there was an actual increase in production under the guidance of Speer, in which his organisational genius was proven and the war was extended by a further two years, thus having a positive effect upon the Nazi Regime in regards to the war

The first positive was that Speer has been labelled the ‘Good Nazi’ for his iconic apology at the Nuremburg trials in 1945, in which he accepted collective guilt for the war crimes of the Nazi regime, whilst denying individual guilt. This was seen as an extremely positive move for Germany as it showed that not all Germans were as radical as the Nazi Regime itself.

Albert Speer’s significant contribution towards history can be assessed in two sections. His contribution on a national scale consisted of his role as Hitler’s architect to encourage the perception of the Nazi Party to the German people, his position of Armaments Minister and his reorganisation of the industry to maximise production and through his defiance to Hitler’s scorched earth policy. His dedication to the Nazi Party effected history on an international level. Through his involvement with anti-semitic activities and his admission of collective responsibility changed the way a “war criminal” is seen throughout history.

Speer’s Rise in the Nazi Party Albert Speer rose from a mere architect to be one of the most influential Nazi leaders of the Third Reich, and self-admittedly Hitler’s closest friend. As a young, struggling architect Speer joined the Nazi Party as a ‘Septemberling’, and subsequently began to design many of the displays and structures that succeeded in promoting the Fuhrer Myth. Within the NSDAP Speer progressed to the position of Minister for Armaments and War Production in 1942, a reward for his superior managerial skills, and effectively utilised in the Nazi war effort. However, Speer’s rise in the NSDAP was often degraded by the members of the ‘old guard’, who thought that he had not earned

In his memoirs entitled Inside Third Reich Albert Speer depicts his time as Adolf Hitler’s head architect and a very close personal friend. Their friendship lasted nearly 12 years ending when HItler committed suicide in his bunker. After the war Speer was certain that he would be sentenced to death by hanging like many of the other nazi generals were. Instead he was sentenced to a 20 year sentence in Spandau prison. He was granted this sentence and not death because of his convincing case he made at the Nuremberg trials. Speer claimed that he had was aware of the use of Jews as unpaid slaves, however he was unaware of the Final Solution(1) or the horrendous conditions in the labor camps. Yet the Gauleiter of Thuringia, Ernst Sauckel reported

How Albert Speer is to be remembered by history is a source of much debate, one which even today, nearly thirty four years after his death at the time of writing, has historian’s views at polar opposites. Some historians have concluded that Albert Speer was a high ranking member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party’s inner circle who managed to manipulate his way into securing an acclaimed role as one of the twentieth centuries most successful architects, despite the practice of utilising slave labour to promote the Nazi war effort. Such manipulation, in the eyes of some historians is that Speer became someone who managed to create a clever rouse over the prosecutors during the Nuremberg trials, which eventually spared himself from

And in that sense Speer certainly had more than scars — he bore the wounds of an emotionally deprived childhood.”. Even though politics was not a well discussed subject in the Speer household, his father was a liberal and his mother had secretly joined the Nazi Party prior to the appointment of Hitler. At school Speer excelled, particularly in Mathematics. In 1923 at the age of 18, Speer left school with the dream of becoming a mathematician but his father had other plans for him and persuaded Speer to follow in the footsteps of himself and Albert’s grandfather in becoming an architect. In 1923, Speer entered the Institute of Technology at Karlsruhe to commence his architectural studies, while the rest of Germany was gripped by hyperinflation. However, in 1924 Speer transferred to the more esteemed

1. Born in March 19th 1905, and the middle child of three sons, you could say Albert Speer had a life of a movie star. Having a father who was a successful architect in Mannheim, and a mother who came from a wealthy family you would say that the Speer family was more than well off. The Speer family had their own cook, kitchen maid, chamber maid, butler, chauffer, nanny and governess; Albert Speer was the upper class instead of the upper-middle which he classified himself into.

Due to Hitler’s constant observations of the reconstruction, Speer was often required to answer questions about the renovations. Through these visits, Hitler came to enjoy Speer’s company, seeing his as a “building person like me”. As a result of this relationship, Speer was invite to attend a luncheon held with many high-ranking Nazi officials. The luncheon provided Speer with an opportunity to further form a relationship with Hitler, realising that his connection could result in an immense boost to his career and further endeavours. At the time of the luncheon, Paul Troost remained Hitler’s main architect, however after troost fell ill and passed, Speer was assigned to the role, his first major project being the design of the 1934 Nuremburg rally

“I told him that I did not believe that they could burn people in our age, that humanity would never tolerate it,” (Elie Wiesel.) This was true, no one tolerated it, many were determined to bring these people to justice. The first international trial, the Nuremberg Trials brought many of these nazi war criminals to justice. The Nuremberg Trials were separate trials to bring Nazis to justice. It involved many people, not just the nazis. The trials had a positive outcome, however some may find it surprising. Indeed, the Nuremberg Trials will be remembered as the first international trials, bringing criminals to justice.

The trials of the Major War Criminals, heard the cases of twenty-four individuals who were accused on charges of crimes against humanity. Also, six Nazi

Compare and contrast Psychodynamic Approaches, Trait, Learning, Biological and Evolutionary, and Humanistic Approaches to personality. Which approach to personality do you find the most compelling? Why?