Albert Speer

Albert Speer was unique in the Third Reich. An intellectual architect, he was befriended by Hitler in 1933 and for the next twelve years they maintained one of the most powerful and extraordinary relationships in the Nazi hierarchy. In 1942 Speer was appointed Armaments Minister and became second only to Hitler himself as a power on the home front. But in 1945, Speer defied Hitler’s scorched earth policy and began to plan his assassination. At Nuremberg he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The English translation of his memoir was first published in 1970 as IN THE THIRD REICH. It is regarded as ‘not only the most significant personal German account to come out of the war but the most revealing document on the Hitler phenomenon yet written’ (NEW YORK TIMES).