Transcript ALBERT SPEER

HISTORICAL CONTEXT
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Nazi party started by
Hitler – 1921
New Nazi
constitution
Attempted overthrow
of government –
Munich (Beer Hall)
Putsch – 8 November,
1923
Hitler jailed
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Writing of Mein Kampf
Beginning of the
attempt to be voted into
power.
By 1932 – Nazi party
largest party in
Reichstag
1933 – Hitler Chancellor
chancellor
Reichstag
fire
Enabling Act
Night of the
Long Knives
Death of
Hindenburg
Oath by
Armed
forces
Fuhrer
Repression
Leisure
Education
Youth
Women
Racial
Policies
Fear
Foreign
Policy
Work and
Unemployed
Propaganda
“[There is]…the tendency of human
societies to single out certain individuals
and place them in positions of authority,
and to find justifications for doing so.
(Lipman – The Allure of Toxic Leaders)
It was all due to the faith of one man! Yes, you
who called us godless, we found our faith in
Adolf Hitler, and through him found God once
again. That is the greatness of our day, that is
our good fortune!
(German Propaganda Archive)
After 1934 he was seen
as the upholder of public
morality, cleansing
public life of the
dissolute immorality
and corruption of the
SA leaders. (Kershaw)
In Upper Bavaria 'unreserved recognition for
the energy, cleverness, and courage of the
Fuhrer could reportedly be heard everywhere.
(Kershaw)
Many genuinely believed that matters, especially if unpalatable, were
deliberately kept from Hitler, and that if he learned of them he would
act swiftly to set things right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hEzs7x5aEM
Hitler, and
Hitler alone,
seemed in the
end to stand in
the eyes of many
Germans
between them
and total
annihilation.
(Lindner)
He used simple, straightforward language that
ordinary people could understand, short sentences,
powerful, emotive slogans... There were no
qualifications in what he said; everything was
absolute, uncompromising, irrevocable, undeviating,
unalterable, final. He seemed... to speak straight from
the heart, and to express their own deepest fear and
desire. (Brooks – The Rise of Nazi Germany)
He speaks his heart, and therefore
reaches the hearts of those who
hear him. (Goebbels)
Hitler's used systematic
image control. Such actions
contributed to the
personality cult in that they
promoted a strong image of
Hitler.
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Excellent public speaker
Propaganda machine –
he was totally in control
of his own image.
Seen by the people as
“father”
TO 1945
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The Nuremberg Trials were
a series of military tribunals
The first and best known of
these trials was the Trial of
the Major War Criminals
before the International
Military Tribunal (IMT),
which tried 24 of the most
important captured leaders
of Nazi Germany, though
several key architects of the
war (such as Adolf Hitler,
Heinrich Himmler, and
Joseph Goebbels) had
committed suicide before the
trials began.
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The crimes these men
were tried for were:
Participation in a common
plan or conspiracy for the
accomplishment of a
crime against peace
Planning, initiating and
waging wars of
aggression and other
crimes against peace
War crimes
Crimes against humanity
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Speer was found guilty
of the last 2 charges and
sentenced to 20 years
imprisonment.
http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/File:1946-1008_21_Nazi_Chiefs_Gui
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