Considering speers responsibilities heading the ministry of armaments during the warone highly dependent on slave laborhis claims of ignorance are hard to believe. The manner in which gitta sereny and david irving respectively dealt with the controversial career of hitlers munitions minister albert speer in their biographies is one of the issues before the high court. From 1942 speer was the second most powerful man in the reich and hitlers righthand man. Gitta sereny, who has written prolifically about the third reich and spent 12 years working with albert speer and a large number of people who knew him, tells the story. Topics nazi hitler architect armaments minister slave labor. Sereny takes us through the emotional desert of speers childhood and marriage, through his embrace basically, she demonstrates, for nonideological reasons of the nazi party and his service as minister of armaments and munitions, during which his brutal use of slave labor extended a lost war. A superb book by gitta sereny and an indepth look at speer and his knowledge of the. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Four years into their relationship, in september 1981, speer died. A biography of albert speer, an important figure of the nazi high command. Somehow managing to escape with his life after nuremberg, he spent twenty years in relative. This is the account joan of arc would have given if she had been charged with interrogating faust john banville, observer a remarkable new biography arguably the most important and certainly the most fascinating book about the nazi era published in the. His battle with truth, that everything about speer was discipline.
This book gives him the attention and importance he craved but did not. There was no full text copy of inside the third reich by. Born and initially raised in austria, she was the author of five books, including the case of. Jul 22, 2019 albert speer by gitta sereny, 1996, vintage books edition, in english. Speer was one of the few defendants at the nuremberg trials to take responsibility for nazi war crimes, even as he denied knowledge of the holocaust. Albert speer was the epitome of the intelligent technocrat who loyally serves a totalitarian regime. Sereny decided to complete the book alone and proved herself a skillful sleuth. Gitta serenys biography meticulously recreates for the reader the professional, emotional, and psychological life of albert speer, hitlers architect and later. This brilliant biography illuminates the forces and psychological processes that turned a intelligent, perhaps even decent, man into an instrument of evil. His battle with truth has a rightful place in any library of writings about the third reich. Speer comes close, but does not fully comprehend his role and actions during the second world war. It has never happened in any of the many, many groups i have led or. Albert speer by gitta sereny, 1996, vintage books edition, in english.
Prompted by the investigative journalist gitta serenys biography albert speer. His battle with truth is a dense but wellwritten, meticulously researched and brilliant tome by the londonbased journalist gitta sereny, reconsidering the colorful life, memorable tribulations and profound ethical and moral conflicts of the third reichs master technocrat. The candor and lies of nazi officer albert speer history. An architect and an intellectual, he was seen to be a humane man, but, as minister for armaments, how could he. During the nuremberg trials, speer had avoided a death sentence, claiming all the while that he knew nothing of the holocaust. His battle with truthwell documented account of the man who was closest to adolf hitler. Albert speer his battle with truth by gitta sereny. She interviewed every friend and associate of speers who agreed to see her. Or, to go back further, matthias schmidts albert speer. I often wondered what happened to him as a child to make him into. Albert speer this ebook list for those who looking for to read albert speer, you can read or download in pdf, epub or mobi.
His battle with truth is wellwritten meticulously researched opus on the colorful life, memorable tribulations and profound ethical conflicts of the formed minister of armament and productions, beloved architect and one. Jan 08, 20 the candor and lies of nazi officer albert speer the minister of armaments was happy to tell his captors about the war machine he had built. But whatever story line there is crumbles under the weight of all these nuggets. Albert speer was not only hitlers architect and armaments minister, but the fuhrers closest friendhis unhappy love. Gitta sereny, through twelve years of research and through many conversations with speer, his friends and colleagues, reveals how speer came to terms with his own acts and failures to act, his progress from moral extinction to moral selfeducation and the question of his real culpability in the nazi crimes. Sep 19, 2017 from her experience as a welfare officer for concentration camp survivors, gitta sereny 19212012 was fascinated by the holocaust and those who engineered it. I came to serenys book after twenty years working on the german war economy. His battle with truth by gitta sereny online at alibris. And i wouldnt have given him the honour of debunking speer either, when there is gitta sereny s albert speer. Then in 1995 the respected journalist gitta sereny published the aptly titled albert speer. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Speer claims in his book, inside the third reich, that he reafirmed his personal loyalty, but admitting to working to.
His battle with truth by gitta sereny, 9780679768128, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. But it was a different story when he was asked about. Gitta sereny and albert speers battle with truth on the. As hitlers relentlessly efficient minister for armaments and war production from 1942 through 1945, he greatly helped the german military machine prolong world war ii. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The national theatres production of edgars play focused on speers very public personal dilemma and was based on gitta serenys book, albert speer. Sereny has probably captured speer s aloof, elusive persona as well as any writer could. His battle with truth 1995 is a biographical work on albert speer, german. Ebook albert speer as pdf download portable document format.
Sep 19, 1995 albert speer, hitlers architect and the minister of armaments and war production after his predecessors death in 1942, is the only highranking nazi official who accepted, really, any blame for the third reichs systematic slaughter of the jews, poles, romanis, russians, political dissidents, etc. Gitta serenys biography meticulously re creates for. Prompted by the investigative journalist gitta sereny s biography albert speer. Both attempts are as exasperating as they are exhaustive. From her experience as a welfare officer for concentration camp survivors, gitta sereny 19212012 was fascinated by the holocaust and those who engineered it. Economical with the truth might have been coined for speer. His battle with truth 1995, seems to accept his remorse as genuine, and she finds her subject sympathetic. During the long years in which she had worked on this book, she grew to like speer.
Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. His battle with truth, two recent productions, esther vilars speer and david edgars albert speer, have set out to explore the reputation of hitlers architect and later minister of armaments and war production, albert speer, the only leading nazi to acknowledge his guilt at the nuremberg trials. His battle with truth 1995 is a biographical work on albert speer, german minister of armaments during world war ii. He tells gitta serney a very emotional account of his life and his own personal trials and tribulations. The candor and lies of nazi officer albert speer the minister of armaments was happy to tell his captors about the war machine he had built. Gitta sereny and albert speers battle with truth on the london stage. Gitta sereny, through twelve years of research and through many conversations with speer, his friends and colleagues, reveals how speer came to terms with his own acts and failures to act, his progress from moral extinction to moral selfeducation and the question of. May some of ebooks not available on your country and only available for those who subscribe and depend to the source of library websites. Alexander stilles most recent book is excellent cadavers. Albert speer was not only hitlers architect and armaments minister, but the fuhrers closest friend his unhappy love.
His battle with truth gitta sereny s detailed and scholarly examination of one of the key figures in hitlers leadership is also extremely readable and powerful, two qualities rare in biography. Speer, gitta sereny and joachim fest, could not detach. Sereny extensively interviewed speer and his wife margret at their retirement home in heidelberg and talked with dozens of. Pdf albert speer 19051981 undoubtedly occupies a special position in architectural. Even from beyond the grave speer has been able to keep the mystery alive. Gitta sereny, through twelve years of research and through many conversations with speer, his friends and colleagues, reveals how speer came to terms with his own acts and failures to act, his progress from moral extinction to moral selfeducation and the question of his real culpability in the nazi. Albert speer, richard winston and clara winston translators, eugene davidson introduction speer, the minister of armaments and war production under hitler, the man who had kept germany armed and the war machine running even after hitlers mystique had faded, takes a brutally honest look at his role in the war effort, giving readers a. I knew little about albert speer, but by the end of the book i had strong.
Perhaps the most enigmatic and interesting member of hitlers inner circle. Gitta sereny, cbe march 1921 14 june 2012 was an austrianbritish biographer. Because sereny came to like him, this is not a book for the prosecution. More striking still, speer afterwards tried to falsify the record in this matter. Somehow managing to escape with his life after nuremberg, he spent twenty. Gitta sereny hitlers relationship with speer 1820 youtube.
Sereny takes us through the emotional desert of speer s childhood and marriage, through his embrace basically, she demonstrates, for nonideological reasons of the nazi party and his service as minister of armaments and munitions, during which his brutal use of slave labor extended a lost war. Erinnerungen, memories is a memoir written by albert speer, the nazi minister of armaments from 1942 to 1945, serving as adolf hitlers main architect before this period. Albert speer, hitlers architect and the minister of armaments and war production after his predecessors death in 1942, is the only highranking nazi official who accepted, really, any blame for the third reichs systematic slaughter of the jews, poles, romanis, russians, political dissidents, etc. This is the account joan of arc would have given if she had been charged with interrogating faust john banville, observer a remarkable new biography arguably the most important and certainly the most fascinating book about the nazi era published in the last. It is considered to be one of the most detailed descriptions of the inner workings and leadership of nazi germany but is controversial because of speers lack of discussion of nazi.
Niewyk states that sereny confirmed many of the suspicions of schmidt, goldhagen, barraclough, and other that speer must have known about the holocaust at the time. And i wouldnt have given him the honour of debunking speer either, when there is gitta serenys albert speer. In it, sereny explores how much speer knew about the holocaust. The life and lies of albert speer 1997 is used extensively in the article. Gitta sereny, through twelve years of research and through many conversations with speer, his friends and colleagues, reveals how speer came to terms with his own acts and failures to act, his progress from moral extinction to moral selfeducation and the question of his real culpability. She also usefully reminds that hitler, for all the evil he inflicted, was not a cartoon monster but a man with imme nse charisma and even some charm. Gitta sereny, who has written prolifically about the third reich and spent 12 years working with albert speer and a large number of people who knew him, tells the story of his life in considerable detail and tries to establish whether he spoke the truth about what he knew of hitlers horrors. His battle with truth is wellwritten meticulously researched opus on the colorful life, memorable tribulations and profound ethical conflicts of the formed minister of armament and productions, beloved architect and one of the only real friends adolf hitler ever had. Into that darkness1 30 years on2 gitta sereny i am delighted about his anthony stadlens method of having everybody introduce themselves. Sereny gained respect for his sincerity in his personal battle with truth.
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