Spandau: The Secret Diaries Paperback – February 17, 2010

It must have been a serious challenge to turn twenty years of notes clandestinely written on toilet paper and smuggled out by cooperative guards into something interesting, but Speer pulled it off. This was tough, especially because religion is about nonexistent in Speer's thinking and there really exists no convincing story of introspection/redemption/repentence. Speer, and his co-detainees were materialists and went through only the most superficial moral exercises. Yet, I admit, it is a very interesting book for other reasons. He does go back to cover intimate human details about Hitler that were left out in Inside the Third Reich - for example, Hitler's fascination with the writer of westerns and adventure stories in German, Karl May, who is almost unknown in the English speaking world. When Hitler was overcome by adversity, he'd crawl up in bed with a book by May to recharge his batteries. Who would have guessed? I should not be surprised that most of the guards from each of the 4 occupying powers were corruptible and snuck in cogniac and cigars, and so now I wonder less about how cyanide was smuggled into Goerring at Nuremburg. I was kinda surprised at the corruption, maybe I should just have known better. Rudolf Hess comes through as a real jerk, in technicolor, a malingerer who tried to fake (or maybe exaggerate) his mental disorders for sympathy or a break that never came. All the gory details. And much talk about Speer's lingering interest in architecture, a regret that his Germania was never built You will get something valuable from this book if you read it, for it is a rich source, but exactly what you derive will be more about you than the scattered and often undirected rambles that shape it. But it is as valuable as Inside the Third Reich. It will take you inside Speer's mind and a bit into those of the other prisoners, and more than a little into the thoughts of the guards, directors, and others who ran this tiny prison, even what they thought of how such prisoners should eat. The Russians get a fair measure of criticism, especially for gastronomic monotony (cabbage and stew mainly, statistics in the book) but he really does not tar them very much, and seemed to get along with an like the Russian guards, too, though the officers were tough nuts to crack. Even if you are not a professor of modern European history, you will find much that is interesting amidst the writings about twenty wasted years and you will form a better understanding about the basically amoral, materialist people who led the Third Reich.

Very interesting, especially Speer's characterization of his fellow prisoners including Hess, who probably was not insane and had a dry sense of humor. I've been sympathetic towards Speer, it's crazy he did 20 years when others (Soviet prisoners ) were released in 1955. I've since learned he was not entirely honest in that illegal art was found hidden on his property after death.Post-release he did not adjust well to his children, which he acknowledges. Sad situation overall, but the literary world will appreciate his memoirs, including Inside the Third Reich.

That which was good (Inside the Third Reich) is now even better for "Spandau" is Speer's soul-searching account of and reflection on himself and his life while he was imprisoned for 21 years. The book was written in a day-by-day diary entry form so one almost feels one is there with him sharing his emotions and observations. He made it quite clear from the very outset that writing kept him sane but ".. it must be more than a matter of organizing sheer survival. This must also become a time of reckoning. If at the end, after these twenty years, I do not have an answer to the questions that preoccupy me now, this imprisonment will have been wasted for me. And yet I fully realize that even at best my conclusions can only be tentative..." Upon his release in 1966, he left the mass of papers of his prison diaries lay untouched, unread for over ten years before he finally published them. Apart from the historical importance, readers will enjoy the writing of a fine intellectual mind despite his sad observation that "Diaries are usually the accompaniment of a lived life. This one stands in place of a life." This is an immensely personal and moving book that no one could afford to miss and deserves much more than a running commentary.

I have read all of Albert Speer's books now. He once said " If Hitler ever had a friend it was me." This book is not a easy read, being translated and Speer is not a good author to begin with. This book was written in prison in small segments and smuggled out over a 20 year period. That in itself makes for a fascinating book.

As a lay historian focused on the Third Reich, "The Secret Diaries" provided interesting insight into Speer's mind.

Its an exciting book those who know Albert Speer and those who wants to know about Germany during Hitler's regime.

WELL PUT TOGETHER, CAN NOT STOP READING!

This is a great book to read along with Inside the Third Reigh by Albert Speer. It gives an inside account of the running of Spandau Prison. Speer documents conversations with guards, happenings with the prison directors and his co-conspirators. If you are a fan of World War II history, you will enjoy this book.

I would not necessarily recommend this book for people interested in or in Second World War or the Nazi Party. If you are interested in the life of Albert Speer and his `battle with the truth' you will however find this book hard to put down.I would definitely recommend reading this book after you have read `Inside the Third Reich' by Speer. Inside the Third Reich is primarily about the governance of Germany under Hitler, as the title suggests. Although Speer looks into aspects of his own morality and the part he played in Hitler's regime this is not the real aim of that book.The Spandau Diaries, written while Speer was incarcerated in Spandau Prison between 1947 and 1966, are far more unvarnished, due to their nature as journal entries. They delineate the battle of a man with loneliness and someone who I believe struggled to accept his place in history. From my limited architectural understanding if it had not been for his unique relationship with Adolf Hitler his architectural work would have been sound, but would never have made it into any history book.Throughout his diaries Speer looks back at the past and remincies about moments with Hitler and some of the key decisions that were made in his presence. This is not the strength of this book though. This is a chance to get inside the mind of Albert Speer that the more varnished transcript of Inside the Third Reich does not offer.The truth is that despite the excellent works like Albert Speer: His Battle with the Truth by the late Gitta Sereny we will never truly know how complicit Speer was in the greatest crimes of the Third Reich. This book however, along with other studies, has helped me to make up my own mind. Speer is truly a fascinating character and this book, if you are interested in his life, you have to read.

Useful material for the researcher. A remarkably honest book

Very informative, dragged occasionally, but on the whole a remarkable story. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would recommend to any person interested in the whole scenario of WW2

Albert Speer, 'the good nazi', kept a diary while being locked up in Spandau prison. I couldn't put this book down. Very interesting read!

Very satisfied. Good service