Albert Speer

Albert Speer remains the most mysterious character of the leadership of the Nazi regime. He was the chief architect of the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler's confidant. Speer built the "Reichskanzlei" (official offices), discovered the "Lightdome" and was finally, in 1942, named as the minister for arms. But he characterised himself as apolitical, called Hitler's hatred of Jews an anomaly, and the conspirators of the 20th July placed Speer's name on their cabinet list. Joachim Fest helped Albert Speer to draft his "memoirs" and the Spandau diaries. Between 1966 and 1981 they conducted numerous detailed conversations whose content (and at times exact wording) Joachim Fest recorded in writing after the event. The records captured in this manner are now published for the first time in this book and they provide a unique portrait of Albert Speer - of the man, his thinking and his role in the Nazi regime. They are an important contribution to understanding the psychology of the national socialist leadership and at the same time a significant document of history.

J. Fest, Historian, Writer and Journalist

Introduction 1. Drawing Closer 2. The Innermost Circle 3. Highs and Lows 4. The Minister: Flying Starts and Stumbling Blocks 5. Breaking with Hitler 6. Completion of the 'Memoirs' 7. The End and the Farewell to Hitler 8. Trial, Prison Years, Release 9. Expert in Escapes 10. The Unanswered Questions Chronology Sources of Illustrations