So, who's your favourite Nazi?Is it Himmler, the sadistic chicken farmer with that silly little hey-fuhrer-look-at-me-I'm-just-like-you moustache, and fanatical hatred of the Jews?
Or Hess, who thought he could fly to Scotland and single-handedly end the war, but who ended up in jail until 1987, when he hung himself, a broken 93-year old man?
Perhaps it is Goering, the obese, drug-addled former flying ace, who had a penchant for silk uniforms and looting.
Or, if you are particularly eccentric, you might be a fan of Ribbentrop, the former wine salesman and Foreign Minister, who was so abysmal at his job, that in 1945 he still thought the Prime Minister of the country they had been fighting for 6 years, was called Vincent Churchill.
Well, I love all of these kooky cats, but at the moment I am quite interested in the fellow who is often referred to as the 'Good Nazi', the intelligent, wily, and multi-talented Albert Speer.
Speer joined the Party relatively late, but quickly worked his way into Hitler's favour, thanks to his formidable skills as an architect. The Fuhrer was a failed artist and architect, so he took a liking to the young man, eventually making him his personal building and city designer.
It was Speer who was responsible for the design of the 'pillars of light' effect at the Nuremberg stadium where the Nazis held their impressive rallies, and also for the new Reich Chancellery (where Hitler met his end in 1945), as well as the city plans for 'Germania', the triumphal new capital city that Hitler may well have built, if World War Two hadn't gotten in the way.
Now, as this global conflict was more about destroying stuff than making it, it would seem that Speer had found his career at something of a dead end. However, the Fuhrer had a soft spot for this spohisticated and charming young chap, so when the Minister for Armament Production carked it in 1942, Speer was rather unexpectedly elevated into this vital position.
He plunged into the role with gusto, promptly lending his organisational skills to the coordination of Germany's war industries. Over the next three years, he did an amazing job - while Hitler's armies were being pushed back on three fronts, Speer actually managed to increase production in some areas, churning out the tanks, planes, rockets and guns which were needed to keep the Third Reich in the war. He did face something of a labour shortage, what with every able-bodied male from about 10 to 60 being forced into the defence of the Fatherland, but he was creative in his solution: he used the millions of Jews, Slavs, communists and others who had been swept into concentration camps by Himmler to make his armaments! Not only did this give the idle souls something to do, they were so grateful for being provided with gainful employment, that they did it for free! A Good Nazi, indeed.
In 1945, it was obvious to all (except the by-now almost completely delusional Hitler) that the war was lost. Hitler ordered Speer to destroy all German industry and infrastructure, so as to deny it to the enemy. Speer pretended to obey, but later admitted to Hitler that he had been unable to put this 'scorched earth' policy into effect. Speer recalls that he told Hitler this during their last meeting, and that his boss was actually quite calm about this act of complete disobedience. One would have expected Hitler to lose his nut, and have Speer executed for this; so one must ask whether Speer simply invented the story of his confession to the Fuhrer. There are no witnesses, and the story does make Speer look both noble, and brave.
Now we approach the myth. Speer, around the time he told this story (soon after his arrest), also said that he had actually planned to assassinate Hitler. He claimed that he had advanced plans to poison everyone in the Chancellery bunker, by throwing a gas canister into the bunker's air intake. His plot was frustrated by a high wall that had been built around the vent.
Just bad luck? As a rival architect sarcastically stated: "the second most powerful man in the state did not have a ladder."
The question is: did Speer actually plan to assassinate his beloved Fuhrer?
I have no idea, and I don't think anyone does, except for Speer himself, and he's been dead for 28 years.
But I will go out on a limb and say: the sneaky bastard was lying.
You see, the evidence all points to Speer making this story up. Let me list my reasons:
1) He was a shameless self-promoter. Look at the way he clambered up the Nazi hierarchy, going from designing a couple of buildings, to running the entire wartime economy; look at the way he saved his skin at the Nuremberg Trials, by pleading guilty, and then admitting to his complete remorse for what he did, and managing to get off with 20 years in jail, while others at his level received death; look at his massive, best-selling memoirs, written in Spandau prison, and which, more than anything, put forward the myth that Speer was a fundamentally good man, propelled by forces beyind his control.
2) It is the obvious lie to construct. If I had been a senior Nazi, arrested after the war, and wished to save my own skin, I would also concoct a story about how I actually hated the Fuhrer, and thought about killing him.
3) The story doesn't stack up. Firstly, Speer designed the Chancellery, and was a seasoned architect. He, more than anyone, should have known the layout of the building, and the obvious ways to bypass the protective features. A high wall wouldn't have stopped him. If he was truly serious, I'm sure he could have gotten some of his slave labourers to whip up a ladder for him.
4) His actions afterwards don't fit in, either. If he had really thought about killing Hitler early in 1945, then why did he make the dangerous and daring dash back to Berlin a week before the Russians took the city, simply to say goodbye to Hitler, and (possibly)to confess his betrayal to him? these are not the actions of a man who has lost all faith in his leader, nor are they the actions of a man who has harboured deeply treasonous plans. Hitler by this stage was paranoid and frantic. Speer, if he had actually come close to assassinating his boss, would have been well-advised to stay away at this juncture. I just don't buy his story here at all.
5) Throwing poison gas into the Fuhrerbunker? Come on, you're just recycling Himmler's Final Solution strategy there. Come up with something original, Albert.
So, there you go: Speer was a great architect, a master organiser, an expert at contrition, a successful writer, and a fantastic bullshitter.
