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After a couple of weeks of intermittent reading, this huge 700+ page book, Inside The Third Reich, is finally closed. A final analysis or summary is needed for me to move on from it. So here we go...
 
As mentioned before in this blog, Albert Speer, Hitler's Minister of Armaments and foremost architect, authored this book during WWII and afterwards in Spandau prison. Despite it being a true account of the Reich, I was expecting more of the intense horror that has become, over the years, general knowledge. Nevertheless, this book of Speer's memoirs is still a "prose masterpiece". It is a detailed account of the various personalities in the Third Reich as well as showing the mental dysfunction (Hitler's fantasy-world and Goebbels' propaganda machine) that beset Germany during the war years.
 
The secrecy and conniving attitudes within Hitler's organisation was remarkable. Top members such as Speer seemed to be under so much of a spell that they did not notice the extent of the horrors in the concentration camps. Even when there were hints, they were ignored, pushed to the back of their minds to concentrate on the job at hand. I guess it depends on personality, but I failed to see how such things could be pushed to the back of one's mind (again it seems that a lot of this can be attributed to propaganda fuelled by Hitler within his political organisation). Being Minister of Armaments and War Production, Speers' responsibilities included managing the labour force from the concentration camps into the war industry in Germany and the occupied territories. Later at the Nuremberg Trials, this past ignorance was to come back and haunt him as he was sentenced to 20 years in Spandau prison. Speer admits in this book that his motivation in the war years was that of increased armaments production and, to this end, barely any moral voice alerted him to the possible war crimes he may be contributing to.
 
Hitler's bloated imagination of the future German Empire is also fascinating reading. It was Speer who laid the designs for the buildings and promenades in Berlin from which the Third Reich would pronounce its power to the world. Although Speer was the more modest being than Hitler, it was the Fuehrer who helped in embellishing the future architectural plans. Buildings were designed to eclipse Nero's Roman palaces and to take their place among the wonders of the world. Speer writes:

Furthermore,

Since Hitler was originally an architect himself, I'm sure this added to his appreciation of these future undertakings. From this alone we can get a sense at how close these two personalities would get through the 1930s and early 1940s. Even when Germany was losing its supremacy over the Allies during the war, Hitler would still find time to browse architectural plans and entertain his megalomaniacal thoughts. Furthermore, Speer indicates the extent of Hitler's obsession with building by mentioning how resources were prevented from being fully deployed in war industry, while construction of these works would continue in the background. Propaganda was initiated here so that the people could be assured that all was being done to win the war and not on premature monuments. Besides the smaller projects of rebuilding the Chancellery, Goering’s “palace” and the other buildings in Obersalzberg, the magnificent architectural plans of the Reich were never to be completed.

 

Speer also writes about other important figures in the Third Reich such as Goering (drug addiction and other excesses), Himmler (the SS chief), Goebbels (Head of Propaganda), Ribbentrop (Foreign Minister) and Sauckel (in charge of forced labour). Goering and Goebbels are given a lot of attention in the book, their personalities and actions provide fascinating reading. Himmler is a character that I will research more… it seems that Speer did not include him in his circle of associates. Leading on from this, Hitler’s intimate circle and their almost-daily meals and meetings at the Chancellery almost lay a surreal yet warm setting for this historical story. Personally, I think this one of the environments that can promote political leaders to such inhumane orders (would they indeed be “actions” if it was these sheltered leaders who had to perform the orders?).
 
The fall of the Third Reich is a story of blunders created by stilted and fantastically corrupt personalities. I’ve heard that the western nations believed Hitler and the Reich to be a tight-knit group, but from an inside perspective this couldn’t be further from the truth. The jostling for power and prestige ran rampant among Hitler’s Gauleiters and adjutants. Martin Bormann, Hitler’s sidekick, could only be described as a power-hungry scheming bastard. While Hermann Goering maintained his pompous and excessive lifestyle until the very end of the Reich despite the German nation going hungry. Goering, and to a lesser extent Hitler, hoarded works of art from all over Europe. These often furnished their residences and Goering’s hunting lodges in the mountains.
 
Despite this altogether dark page of the 20th century, I couldn’t help but feel sadness for the leaders and the people for all that energy having gone towards such destructive means and towards a catastrophic end for many people. Speer’s memoirs are at times heartfelt and dripping with regret. Once Hitler’s authority began to wane and conspiracies were hatched to kill him, Speer’s outlook was resigned to giving back to the people as much as he could. It seems that once the Allies apprehended him he promised himself and the people the truth without coating his speeches to save his own skin (if indeed he had anyway leeway at all in this regard). The death of Hitler, the rejection by Speer of the scorched earth policy, and the trials at Nuremberg provided the end to this brilliant and highly informative book. This is a short review, the book covers so much more that it cannot be covered in one blog entry.
 
So in closing, if you are interested in reading more you will have to get the book. A long read indeed, but the impact of it is far greater. This comment from the New York Times sums it up: