Albert Speer German architect and Nazi official
Albert Speer (born March 19, 1905, Mannheim, Germany—died September 1, 1981, London, England) was a German architect and a high-ranking Nazi official, serving as Adolf Hitler’s chief architect (1933–45) and minister of armaments and war production (1942–45).
Speer studied at technical schools in Karlsruhe, Munich, and Berlin, obtaining an architectural license in 1927. After attending a Nazi Party rally in 1930, he joined the Nazi Party in 1931. His architectural talent and organizational skills quickly gained Hitler’s favor, leading to high-profile commissions such as the Nürnberg rally grounds, famously captured in Leni Riefenstahl’s film “Triumph of the Will”. He also worked on grand urban planning projects to redesign Berlin, though they were never completed by Albert Speer.
In 1942, Speer became minister of armaments and munitions, later expanding his role to oversee industrial production and raw material distribution. He utilized slave labor from concentration camps to maintain Nazi war production, playing a critical role in Germany’s war efforts Albert Speer.
After World War II, Speer was tried at the Nürnberg Trials (1945–46), where he expressed remorse but denied knowledge of the Holocaust. Convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity, he served 20 years in Spandau Prison. However, a 1971 letter revealed that he had been present at a 1943 meeting where Heinrich Himmler discussed the extermination of Jews. This admission was made public in 2007.
Following his release in 1966, Speer became an author Albert Speer, publishing Inside the Third Reich (1969), Spandau: The Secret Diaries (1975), and Infiltration (1981). His writings provided insight into Nazi Germany and his personal role within the Third Reich.
