Inside the Third Reich Paperback – April 1, 1997

Written by man who saw Hitler almost every day

While you have to take much of what Speer says surrounding his guilt with a grain of salt, this book does provide a fascinating insiders perspective into the third reich. There are so few resources that can provide a high level insiders perspective of the events surrounding the third reich. Since most of the individuals that were close to Hitler died or committed suicide before sharing their experiences, crimes, memoirs, etc. it is usually only from an outsiders perspective and analysis that we are able to learn information in regards to this period. However with Speer being a leader in the third reich and being part of Hitlers inside circle, his memoirs allow us to explore numerous pieces of information that are not as well known or spoken about in other historical pieces. As a WWII historian, I find that most pieces of literature or documentaries cover perspectives and information that I was already aware of, however after reading this book I found a lot of small details that I was not aware of that helped to add context to the different characters of the third reich. I would definitely recommend reading this book for anyone interested in the third reich or WWII history.

Read and know the human side of a terrible time in German history by a man who was part of it but who also had a conscience. I was particularly interested in his views as he had saved the life of my friend's grandfather after the coup against Hitler. Historically Speer will always be controversial but he also teaches us many lessons we need to know abut the evils of fascism. His books are needed for the many sides of historical accuracy. It was a fascinating read when compared with many other books of the period.

It’s been decades since I read Albert’s Speer’s memoir, Inside the Third Reich (1970), and felt the need to read it again after researching the German war effort for more than a decade. When I first read this book, the emphasis was upon gaining insight into Hitler’s inner circle since there were still many aspects of the Third Reich that were not well known. That was then. Now, decades later, we have a much better understanding of the inner workings of the Third Reich and Speer’s memoirs are but one piece. Furthermore, Speer’s prison-inspired mea culpa back in the 1970s seemed like the unvarnished truth – which is how he represented it – but this is not so evident upon further reflection. It’s now clear that Speer was intent upon ‘spinning’ his story a certain way, to make himself appear to be a more sympathetic and credible witness to history. After re-reading his memoirs, I’m not so sure that his effort to depict himself as a ‘prodigal son’ who believes in a common humanity was any more than a clever effort at historical white-washing. In any case, Inside the Third Reich remains an interesting read from someone who was a key decision-maker in leading Germany’s war effort.Speer’s memoirs begin by taking us on his journey from young architect to his initial contact with Hitler in 1933. Hitler’s plans for aggression. Of course, Speer was trying to distance himself from any connection to Hitler’s war-mongering, although it is implausible that he was unaware of it before September 1939. I also find it odd how Speer barely mentions his wife or children or other relatives throughout 500 pages of text; they are only mentioned in passing, but many minor Nazi party functionaries get paragraph after paragraph. Speer’s mother joined the Nazi party, but it gets but brief mention. I also thought that Speer was an established architect when he first met Hitler but in fact, he really was a novice straight out of school with virtually no paid work to his credit. Speer does point out that Hitler was genuinely popular with much of the German populace because he delivered on his early promises about the economy. The author readily admits that he fell under Hitler’s spell and became a willing follower; Hitler reciprocated by praising Speer’s rather pedestrian style and giving him various ad hoc tasks to fulfil. Speer’s only complaint in the 1930s was that the Nazis didn’t always pay him for his work but when he saw the wreckage inflicted by Kristallnacht, all he could say was that “the smashed panes of shops offended my middle class sense of order.” Speer wasn’t blind to Nazi excesses; he was a moral idiot, like so many of Hitler’s followers.Moving into the war years, Speer makes interesting observations about Hitler’s unwillingness to put off the reconstruction of Berlin even after the war in Russia had begun. Instead, scarce resources and labor were diverted away from war production for these prestige projects, which highlights that dictatorships are not necessarily more efficient at war-making. This wastage continued until December 1941, when the defeat at Moscow finally forced some scaling-back of civilian construction programs. By this point, Speer began making a name for himself as a hard-working improviser by helping to restore the railroads in occupied Soviet territory. Indeed, he positioned himself so well that Hitler made him Minister of Armaments in 1942. Speer, in fact, was very astute about working his way upward in the Nazi hierarchy in order to gain more power and prestige for himself – just like the other Nazis were doing.Speer does have some useful things to say about the German war effort. He says that air defense took significant resources away from production devoted to ground weaponry, but faults the Allies for not repeating attacks on damaged industrial facilities. He also notes the total mismanagement of labor resources and he points the finger at Nazi party officials for refusing to cooperate with releasing people to work in war industries. He also apportions a large share of blame to Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring, who had his fingers in everybody’s pie; Speer describes Goering as very intelligent but lazy and he managed to screw up every project that he touched. The role of the SS and Gestapo is also addressed, and it is amazing to hear that the rocket scientist Werner von Braun was arrested by the SS in 1944 for making remarks about civilian use of space. Speer’s conclusion is that the German war effort was mis-managed from the start due to personal agendas and empire-building within the Nazi hierarchy. Of course, Speer omits how any of his personal agendas and empire-building may have contributed to this mess, as well.Speer’s rationale is weird at times, particularly when he refers to Hitler’s “magnetic power” over him and another times he claimed that Hitler “paralyzed him psychically” which of course is intended to absolve Speer of personal responsibility – he had no choice. Yet other Germans could see Hitler’s evil and were not paralyzed – why was Speer different? He lamely refers to a half-baked attempt to assassinate Hitler in 1945, but says it failed due to altered security measures. It’s clear that this non-effort, which nobody else could corroborate, was inserted to belatedly cast Speer into the ranks of those who opposed Hitler. This of course is nonsense, since Speer loyally hung in with Hitler to the end, as if he had some kind of man-crush on him; in reality, he was always looking for crumbs from Hitler’s table – praise or new authorities. Ultimately, Speer was a talented conniver who put his own ambition first and Hitler was his venue for achieving his dreams. Speer lamely concludes that, “for twelve years, I had lived thoughtlessly among murderers,” as if he was merely a house-guest.

Here is a book written from a first-hand witness inside the Nazi regime. Albert Speer was a young architect initially seduced by the speeches and rhetoric of Hitler. Hitler became interested in Speer through his own interest in the arts. Speer has paid his penance for his part of the inner circle and had come to the realization of Germany's reality during WWII. His personal observations have been self-analyzed objectively. He saw Hitler as Adolph actually was and how Adolph acted/ performed in front of the German people.If you are interested about the inner workings and how things started out, THIS IS THE BOOK TO READ. It's honest, factual and VERY INTERESTING. He points out the flaws, fallacies and false rhetoric that was spread throughout Germany.(FYI: this will remind you of certain current politicians, both domestic and foreign. I will not mention who, but if you follow politics, you will have no trouble knowing who they are... and I am NOT talking about Joe Biden!..)