Inside the Third Reich

Speer chronicles his entire life, but the majority of Inside the Third Reich focuses on the years between 1933 and 1945, when Speer figured prominently in Hitler's government and the German war effort as Inspector General of Buildings for the Renovation of the Federal Capital and later as Minister of Arms and Munitions. Speer's recollections of both duties foreground the impossibility of reconciling Hitler's idealistic, imperialistic ambitions with both architectural and military reality. Throughout, Inside the Third Reich remains true to its author's intentions. With compelling insight, Speer reveals many of the "premises which almost inevitably led to the disasters" of the Third Reich as well as "what comes from one man's holding unrestricted power in his hands." -- Bertina Loeffler

Product Description
Speer, the Minister of Armaments and War Production under Hitler, the man who had kept Germany armed and the war machine running even after Hitler's mystique had faded, takes a brutally honest look at his role in the war effort, giving readers a complete view of the inside of the Nazi state. Photos & illustrations.

Albert Speer served under Adolf Hitler for over 14 year and was one of Hitler's closest associates during most of that period. As Speer testified at Nuremberg, "If Hitler had had any friends, I would certainly been one of his close friends." Speer initially served as one of Hitler's architects and later as the Minister of Armament and War Production. Sharing a passion for design and architecture, Speer quickly impressed Hitler after completing several projects in record time. In the pre-war period, Hitler was obsessed with constructing monumental builds that would characterize Germany as the great "1,000 year Reich" that he envisioned. Having proven his ability to successfully manage complex projects, Speer used these same talents to make himself indispensable as the head of all Germany armament and production efforts in support of the war. Many of the principles he used over fifty years ago, are very similar to the quality initiatives used today. Sharing a passion for architecture and proving his management acumen, Speer was quickly accepted to Hitler's inner circle.

Following the end of the war, Speer wasone of the only Nazi's to take responsibility for his part in the war crimes. Albert Speer wrote Inside the Third Reich in an attempt to come to grips with his part in the Nazi atrocities of WW II. His statement that "only the truth could accelerate the process of cutting free from the past," provides some insight into his motives for publishing these memoirs. To set the stage, Speer describes how he was lured by Hitler's charisma, drawn into the struggle for power, and how an environment of secrets and intrigues all led to his failure to realize the crimes that were committed during the war. Even at the very end of the war, after he was thoroughly disgusted with Hitler and had overtly countered many of Hitler's direct orders, Speer claimed he still felt as if he was under Hitler's spell. Speer explains how in those last days he was still thrilled when Hitler would treat him as one of the inner circle.

As a rather young man, Speer was awarded positions ofpower and prestige, working directly for the most worshipped man in Germany--and he owed all of this success to this man, Adolf Hitler. Hitler was like a savior to many of the post-World War I Germans, and Speer had the opportunity to be one of is closest associates. However, with these rewards, Speer was also lured into his own ultimate downfall. Thus Speer stated, "I owe him the enthusiasm and the glory of my youth as well as belated horror and guilt."

At the Nuremberg trials, Albert Speer was charged specifically with the crime of organizing forced labor to work in the production of German war materials. In his defense, Speer claimed that while he was aware prisoners were being used for forced labor, he was not aware of the other atrocities being committed, such as the Jewish holocaust or the inhumane treatment of the prisoners. He also claimed the German people, in general, should not be judged for what the government alone was responsible. Speer stated that while all government officials should be held responsible for fundamental matters, they should not be held responsible for the details which were not in their control. I interpret this to mean the government should be held responsible for establishing the environment in which the crimes were committed, but only the actual offenders should be held accountable for their individual crimes.

In the conclusion of the book, Speer posts a warning for future governments not to fall into the same trap as Nazi Germany. He warns that in an age of technology it is easy for a dictator to commit crimes and breed corruption. He states technology allows a dictator to easily hide his actions and motives, more efficiently conduct his crimes and intrigues, and allows direct communication, surveillance, and control over his subjects.

To build his case, Speer draws heavily on his own experiences and records, as well as, official records found in the Federal Archives in Germany. Numerous excerpts from daily journals, photographs, and policy memorandums add to the credibility of his text. However, I am obligated to warn the reader of potential inaccuracies. First, I believe it is only human nature for an individual to portray themselves in a favorable light, especially an individual that has been accused of some of the worst crimes in history. Speer himself admits in several cases that he lied to Hitler, the court at Nuremberg, and to others in order to protect his position. Additionally, Speer talks about his involvement in various intrigues to gain/protect his power--thus we could assume that he may also have been compelled to cover his role in more important matters that could have lead to his execution. To look at both sides of this debate on credibility, we can turn to two books written about Albert Speer.

In Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth, Gitta Sereny takes a more psychological approach in her investigation of Speer's participation in the war crimes. While Sereny provides evidence that Speer was probably lying about several situations, she also discusses the possibility that Speer repressed memories of certain atrocities, which later emerged after the war. When drawing our own conclusion, we must also keep in mind that Sereny apparently had developed a close friendship with Speer in the course of her investigations.

At the other extreme, in Matthias Schmidt's Albert Speer: The End of a Myth, he claims to provide evidence of Speer's knowledge of the concentration camps and extermination of the Jews. He also provides numerous discrepancies in both Speer's testimony and in his memoirs. Matthias goes on to claim Speer actually attempted to suppress various documents that surfaced after his release from prison, that confirmed his knowledge and participation in the deportation of Jews. Matthias also paints Speer as a ruthless and power hungry person that was well aware of the crimes being committed. This picture of Speer is quite the opposite of that portrayed by Sereny or even by Speer, himself--as a "respectable Nazi" that was lured into Hitler's trance.

Apart from this accuracy debate, there are two final cautions to the reader. First, Inside the Third Reich provides an enormous amount of detail on the architecture, buildings, and idle tea-time with Hitler. These details may tend to fatigue the reader, especially if they are not an architecture enthusiast. Second, the book is not organized in strict chronological order. While the book generally follows his life, each chapter actually covers overlapping timeframes, which may cause the reader to lose track of a particular sequence of events.

In general, Inside the Third Reich is an excellent book that provides not only an autobiography, but also several biographies into one book. This book is sure to give the World War II enthusiast great insights into this period in world history. Although there may be an abundance of details on architecture and afternoon tea with Hitler, there are also valuable historic accounts of the effects of allied bombing on the German war machine and Speer's effective efforts to continue a high rate of production.


ENGROSSING, DISTURBING   July 24, 2000
R. Penola (NYC, NY United States)
47 out of 52 found this review helpful

After watchiing the not-so-hot Nuremberg movie on TNT, I was once again fascinated by all things WWII, and particularly by the "good Nazi", Hitler's architect, Albert Speer, whose life was spared in the trials -- instead he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. This book chronicles with a seemingly honest voice the years leading up to the war, the war itself, and in particular of Speer's strangely remote friendship/comradery with "his Fuhrer". Hitler emerges in this book as more human than we usually give him credit for; still, as the author admits, his descent into power-mad horror is inhuman at best. This book is most troubling as an eyewitness account -- and, even in its "honest" retrospect -- of an entire people's willing ignorance of the evil brewing in their very backyard, all in the name of personal success, comfort, achievement at last. The Germans were so thirsty for a period of relative calm that they welcomed Hitler and embraced his butchery, all the while pretending they did not know what was happening...I am not sure it is entirely convincing, to imagine that Speer, not only the architect of Hitler's new vision for Germany, but eventually too his Master of Armaments, for God's sakes, was so indebted to his leader for his achievements in professional life that he simply DID NOT KNOW what was happening in places such as Auschwitz...this is a deeply troubling memoir, but, even in the moral questions it raises, deserves to be read as a first-person chronicle of life with the most horrifying world leader in modern times.


Success at any price   February 1, 1997
39 out of 49 found this review helpful

I read with great interest Albert Speer's book "Inside the 3rd Reich". I believe that everybody interested in modern history should read about Hitler's Germany, and this book gives an intimate insider's view of the Inner Circle around the 'Fuehrer'. But is it sincere? Just how captivating Speer's elaborately woven net of deception and self-deception, of partial admission of 'collective' guilt (and thus personal absolvation) is I experienced myself when reading "Inside the 3rd Reich". In particular when Speer describes his last visit in the 'Fuehrerbunker' and claims to have confessed his late opossition to Hitler's 'Scorched Earth' strategy, and when he writes about the 'fit of weeping' that came over him after he realized the extent of destruction in Europe in the days after Hitler's death, one almost believes him that he 'didn't know' anything, just did his duty as any good German for the war effort, and that his devotion to Hitler had blinded him against the inmesurable crime he helped to perpetrate. Thus, almost from the first line on, Speer sets out to spring an elaborate trap, carefully, subtly - a trap for the reader, almost inescapable. At the end of the book, the reader has fallen prey, to the illusion that Speer was basically a 'good guy', not really a 'Nazi' at all, and in fact wanted to even assasinate Hitler in the end. In reality, Speer was even worse than Himmler, Bormann, Ley, Goering and the others, since in his case one cannot excuse his participation in the Nazi nightmare with the lack of intelligence. On the contrary: Speer was THE intellectual in this circle, rivalled only by Goebbels, yet Speer not a fanatic, but even worse - a technocrat in a void of morality, with the only selfish aim of advancing himself, of gathering power, maybe succeeding Hitler? Speer wanted success, success at any price. And this is Speer, dangerously intelligent, incredibly selfish, who set out to narrate "his" story, in which he appears to admit guilt but in fact absolves himself from responsibility. The aim? Success, again. And he got it. This book, a masterful piece of deception, dramaturgically remastering history (Speer's suicidal confession to Hitler never took place, for example) became THE best seller after WW II! As Speer said about Hitler once: You hardly recognize the devil when he puts his hand on your shoulder. True, indeed! Yet, the devil comes in many forms - and it appears that occasionally - he writes a book! Yours Sincerely, Imre Berger, PhD Dept. of Biology, MIT iberger@rich.mit.edu on "Inside the 3rd Reich" (Erinnerungen, by A. Speer)


Fascinating story from one of the few who lived to tell it   June 27, 2002
Mannie Liscum (Columbia, MO United States)
34 out of 35 found this review helpful

I had seen the movie version of "Inside the Third Reich" many times before I read the book so I thought I knew what to expect. I should not have been surprised that I found the book even more compelling than the movie (which BTW was very well done!).

Albert Speer was one of the small group of Hitler's paladins who was present from his early days until the end. With a seemingly average architectural career in front of him a young Speer is captivated by the Fuhrer during the early "days of struggle" (of the Nazi party) after Hitler's release from Landsberg prison. His awe of Hitler as a speaker and magnetic personality, and Hitler's longing to be an "artist" brought the two together and a mutual respect and friendship grew from these likes. According to Speer's accounts his only real contact with Hitler on a professional level in the early years (even through the first years of the war) was related to architecture. Speer was commissioned for several party and later state projects - this despite Prof.Todt and his organization being the chosen "party" architects. When Todt was killed in a plane crash, Speer filled the void. He and Hitler planned to rebuild Berlin (as Germania) as the seat of power in all of Europe (and the world?) in grand fashion. Many of Hitler's own personal drawings for structures, such as a great arch to dwarf the Arch de Truimphe, survived the war in Speer's possession and are presented in the book. These tidbits of "artisan" sidelines are a fascinating piece of history not found elsewhere. One sees another side of Adolf Hitler - one that however still retains his now expected megalomania. As the war progressed and Speer's connections with Hitler were strengthened he attained greater stature and eventually became the Minister of Armaments. In this capacity Speer really found his calling. Many books have touched on the genius that was Speer's in terms of war production. Under Speer's reign, despite the western allies and Russian's closing in from either side and continual air bombardment, war production continued to increase right up to the last couple of months of the war. This is an amazing testament to Speer and his thoroughly Germanic approach to production. It however required slave labor on the backs of hundreds of thousands from the "Minderwertigen" (inferior races), which the Nazi movement looked to erase (and tried very hard to do) from existence. While Speer is one of the few Nazi's who stated that ALL Germans were responsible for the war and it's atrocities - he has often been called the "Good Nazi" (sarcastically) for his statements - he does not really ooze remorse for his slave labor program, which kept the war moving and continued to cause the deaths of so many. He does however make a strong point in these memoirs to give the reader the clear impression that he did everything he could at the end - when he apparently came to his better senses - to end the war and its associated suffering. These claims, from most accounts, seem to be merited. Yet many in the Nazi regime had changes of heart as the walls closed in so we should not have expected anything less from someone of Speer's intelligence.

All in all this book as a really good read with plenty of material not found elsewhere (unless rehashed from Speer's works themselves) to chew on. Whether Speer was a "Good Nazi" or not is not a judgment I would make. I do however feel that he left a Good account of the rise and fall of the Nazi movement and provides plenty of insight into the inner workings of Hitler's power elite. This book should adorn all bookshelves of serious WWII history students.


THE VOICE OF HITLER'S INNER CIRCLE   August 13, 2002
K. Jump (Corbin, KY United States)
25 out of 27 found this review helpful

This is probably the most famous of all WWII memoirs, and in many ways this is perfectly justified. Albert Speer, Hitler's architect and Minister of Armaments, wrote this book during his 20-year prison term following the Nuremburg trials. Speer's reflections on his own absorbtion into the Nazi regime and the unfolding of the greatest war in history reveal the men who ruled Nazi Germany with general sincerity and enlightening insight. Goering, Goebbles, Himmler, Bormann, and even Eva Braun are each highlighted by Speer's keen evaluations, and for the most part found wanting. Hitler himself emerges from Speer's portrait as a man whose megalomania was always clear to anyone who cared to notice, but whose sheer charisma and force of will swept the German people inexorably into the inferno. Speer takes much of the blame for Germany's war effort, and admits that he and his cohorts, even if personally ignorant of Hitler's concentration camps, were nonetheless accomplices in crime. The book does demand some historical awareness on the reader's part, as Speer focuses mainly on the rather closed-in, often literally subterranean world of the Nazi leadership, so that references to important military events often come with little or no elaboration--Speer apparently assumed his readers would already be well acquainted with the historical record, and this is required for a full appreciation of his text. Though undoubtedly subjective, Speer's memoirs remain the most powerful and educational work on the inner workings of Nazism ever published. Highly recommended to all students of military/political history.