Part III Personalities in the Twentieth Century- Essay Plan
(a) Describe Speer’s career as an architect up to the outbreak of the war in 1939 and beginning at his time in university 10 marks
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, born on the 19th of March 1905, was a German architect, He was Hitler’s chief architect. But more importantly, Speer was Hitler’s intimate and trusted friend. Throughout the 1930’s, the two met on an almost daily basis in either Berlin or Munich. When relaxing in the Berchtesgaden Mountains, they went on afternoon walks, rejoicing in mutual fantasies generally about art and architecture. Today, historians debate his dedication and involvement to Hitler.
Albert Speer was born to Albert Friedrich Speer and Luise Hommel on the 19th of March 1905, in Mannheim, Germany. His father was a successful architect and Albert, alongside his two brothers grew up in a privileged world. Money was never an issue for them; they actually had their own person kitchen maid, cook, butler, governess, chauffer and nanny. His Lutheran protestant parents provided Speer with a very sheltered upbringing. However, although he lacked nought materialistically, emotionally he lacked a lot. His parent was cold and aloof, lacking in both love and warmth. Speer also suffered the frequent bullying and feelings of inferiority from his brothers.
In 1923, at the age of 18, Albert Speer left school with impressive results and the notion of pursuing a career in mathematics. Speer was however dissuaded from this career path by his father, who persuaded him instead to pursues a career in architecture and then join him in the family architectural firm. He began his studies at the technology of Karlsruhe and then decided to transfer to the institute at Munich in 1924, the region where Hitler had staged his controversial Beer Hall Putsch. Speer received a generous allowance from his father and lived a life “totally free of cares and [he] could live splendidly. By 1926, he had transferred to the Institute of Technology in Berlin. He studied there under the tutelage of the highly esteemed and admired, Professor Tessenow one year later, in 1927, at the age of 23, Speer completed his studies and was given the position of assistant to Tessenow at the institution. It would not be until four more years that Speer would receive his architectural license.
By 1930, Germany was suffering from the impact of the Great Depression; increasing unemployment and the tense political situation. Many of the students at the institute and the Berlin University, where Speer worked, supported the Nazi movement, even his mentor, Professor Tessenow, empathized with some of their doctrines.
Speer attended a political meeting on December, 1930, where Hitler was to address the students of the Institute and Berlin University. Speer, who viewed himself as “allergic to any political commitments”, found himself drawn into the very heart of it. Speer was “captured by the magic of Hitler’s voice”. He was deeply affected, and impressed by Hitler persuasive and abstemious speech, proposing solution’s to the threat of communism and his renunciation of the Treaty of Versailles. A few weeks later, Speer attended another rally, but this time Joseph Goebbels, the future minister for propaganda, was speaking, in particular about how the Jewish people were to be blamed for Germany’s misfortunes. Goebbels speech offended Speer but he was unable to forget the impression Hitler had made upon him. Speer like so many others of his generation had fallen under the spell of Hitler. He had been attracted by Hitler’s persuasion, charisma appearance and his firm vision for the future of Germany. In March, 1931, Speer joined the Nazi Party.
The Nazi membership that Speer had attained, open wide doors of endless opportunities for him. His first commission was given to him through Karl Hanke a Nazi official in Berlin, who asked him to renovate his home. Consequently, he was given an even bigger task, to rebuild the party’s headquarters, in Berlin. The result impressed that Nazi leaders and he was subsequently given additional jobs. In early 1933, after Hitler’s ascension to power, Speer was assigned the task of rebuilding the Propaganda Ministry by Joseph Goebbels. True to his word, Speer finished in two months, a trait that led Hitler to believe that he could meet near impossible completion deadlines. Speer’s reputation and was gaining momentum. He was not seen only as an architect, but also as an exceptional organizer.
In 1933, his design of the Zeppelin field impressed Hitler himself. Hitler however was acquainted with Speer’s style as it was he who was put in charge of the overall supervision of the renovation of the Chancellor’s residence. Hitler, interested in art and architecture, found himself drawn to Albert Speer. In Speer, Hitler saw the embodiment of his hopes and dreams. Hitler was also impressed with Speer’s ability to candidly speak his mind. The two shared a common bond, and despite Hitler’s inability to relate to people on a personal level, a form of relationship was struck between them, “...if Hitler had any friends, I [Speer] would have been his friend”.
From his architectural studies under Professor Heinrich Tessenow, he was influenced to the view that good architecture was simple architecture “simple is not always best but the best is always simple”. Speer preferred the classical simplicity of the Doric style from the ancient Greece, with their massive stone columns and cornices. This, conveniently, also corresponded to Hitler’s architectural preferences, neo-classical architecture. Hitler wanted buildings and structures that would reflect the power, glory and the solidity of the Third Reich, even in its destruction. Speer catered to Hitler’s ‘Theory of Ruins’ by including sketches depicting the building’s appearance after a thousand years of existence. Speer’s work was intended to make a practical contribution to the image and popularity of the Nazi regime. The buildings were practical forms of Nazi propaganda.
However, Speer was given his first commission in January 1934, by Hitler himself. His mission was to build a permanent reviewing stand for the Nuremberg Rally and have it completed in September of the same year. Speer’s inspiration came from The Great Altar of Pergamon of the ancient Greeks. He designed a monolithic stone structure, four hundred metres long and twenty four metres high, on the Zeppelin Field at Nuremberg, fit to accommodate three hundred and forty thousand spectators. Again, Speer had the building completed by the due time. Speer had also planned aspects of the design, for its filming in “Triumph of the Will”. To create a dramatic effect, he surrounded the field with 130 anti-aircraft searchlights casting massive beams of light some eight thousand metres into the sky, also termed “the cathedral of light”.
In the same year, Hitler’s longstanding architect, Paul Ludwig Troost, Speer was promoted first architect. When the decision came to build new and permanent structures, it was Speer who was allocated the task of designing a set of buildings at the Nuremberg Rally site. Among these was the horseshoe- shaped Great Stadium, which was three times the size of the Great Pyramids and would be the largest ever built (seating four hundred thousand); an equally impressive class dome Congress Hall (seating fifty thousand); the March Field for army parades (seating one hundred and sixty thousand). According to Speer, “Hitler wanted the biggest of everything to glorify his works and magnify his pride. These monuments were an assertion to his claim to world domination long before he dared to voice any such intention to his close associates”. But none of these works were completed; World War Two put an end to the construction, and by 1940, only the basic structure had been done.
Germany’s contribution for the World Fair, held in Paris in 1937, was designed in 1936 by none other than Albert Speer himself. However, his plans were altered upon discovery that their pavilion was opposite that of the Soviet Union. Speer ensured that the German pavilion dwarfed that of the Soviet’s. Speer’s design consisted of a tower, dominated by an eagle and a swastika. This was viewed by others as a monument and a symbol of German pride and achievement under the Nazis.
Speer’s greatest task would be his reconstruction of Berlin, as Hitler was eager, as many dictators before him, to build a city that would glorify his memory, and this city would be Germania. Hitler hoped to rebuild Berlin to a new and grand design so that it would be a worthy capital to his thousand-year Reich and Speer was given the job of making Hitler’s dream reality in 1937,When he was appointed Inspector General of Buildings for Construction. This position elevated him to the status of State Secretary and gave Speer a place in all high level meetings.
A scaled model of Germania, and the buildings that would reside within, was soon fashioned by Speer. The railway station was to be moved so that those arriving at the new South Station would have come upon a wide and long avenue, longer and grander avenue than the Champs Elysees in Paris that would run both north and south. Through discussions with Hitler and his sketches, Speer was able to design two great avenues that were to dominate this avenue. At the southern end, there was to be an Arch of Triumph, which would be taller than the Eiffel Tower, and would have the names of the German World War One casualties. On the other end, there was to be a Great Hall, which would be crowned the largest Dome in the world, with a diameter of over two hundred metres. Along the North-South Avenue, as well as the eat-west avenue, government buildings, theatres, offices and places of residences would be scattered. The avenues would be lined with four hundred special streetlights, designed by Speer. Hitler wanted Germania to surpass even Vienna and Paris.
Hitler also used Speer to redesign his chancellery in Berlin, his place of residence. This task was given to Speer in January 1938 and in January of the following year, Speer had Hitler’s Chancellery designed and built in the neo-classical style. The building was intended to both impress and intimidates its visitors, especially foreign dignitaries, and although Hitler hardly used it, this was achieved. Speer had also designed the Cabinet Room, where Hitler and his ministers would meet, and several air raid shelters and bunker, which was ironically where Hitler had suicided, beneath the chancellery.
Today, no traces of Albert Speer’s grand buildings have survived.
Through the analysis of Albert Speer’s architectural career, it can be seen that Albert Speer had both exceptional skill and ambition that was wisely utilised by Hitler and the Nazi Party. It can be argued, by viewing the amount of jobs that came to Albert Speer through the Nazi party, that it was his ambition that fuelled him to join the Nazi Party. Certainly, it cannot be denied that his membership in the Nazi Party opened many doors for him, yet he himself was not a radical Nazi, he had not even read Mein Kempf. It could be also said, that to an extent, Speer was overwhelmed by Hitler’s personality and his words.
How can this essab be improved?Wat do u think is rong with it? thanx in advance
(a) Describe Speer’s career as an architect up to the outbreak of the war in 1939 and beginning at his time in university 10 marks
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, born on the 19th of March 1905, was a German architect, He was Hitler’s chief architect. But more importantly, Speer was Hitler’s intimate and trusted friend. Throughout the 1930’s, the two met on an almost daily basis in either Berlin or Munich. When relaxing in the Berchtesgaden Mountains, they went on afternoon walks, rejoicing in mutual fantasies generally about art and architecture. Today, historians debate his dedication and involvement to Hitler.
Albert Speer was born to Albert Friedrich Speer and Luise Hommel on the 19th of March 1905, in Mannheim, Germany. His father was a successful architect and Albert, alongside his two brothers grew up in a privileged world. Money was never an issue for them; they actually had their own person kitchen maid, cook, butler, governess, chauffer and nanny. His Lutheran protestant parents provided Speer with a very sheltered upbringing. However, although he lacked nought materialistically, emotionally he lacked a lot. His parent was cold and aloof, lacking in both love and warmth. Speer also suffered the frequent bullying and feelings of inferiority from his brothers.
In 1923, at the age of 18, Albert Speer left school with impressive results and the notion of pursuing a career in mathematics. Speer was however dissuaded from this career path by his father, who persuaded him instead to pursues a career in architecture and then join him in the family architectural firm. He began his studies at the technology of Karlsruhe and then decided to transfer to the institute at Munich in 1924, the region where Hitler had staged his controversial Beer Hall Putsch. Speer received a generous allowance from his father and lived a life “totally free of cares and [he] could live splendidly. By 1926, he had transferred to the Institute of Technology in Berlin. He studied there under the tutelage of the highly esteemed and admired, Professor Tessenow one year later, in 1927, at the age of 23, Speer completed his studies and was given the position of assistant to Tessenow at the institution. It would not be until four more years that Speer would receive his architectural license.
By 1930, Germany was suffering from the impact of the Great Depression; increasing unemployment and the tense political situation. Many of the students at the institute and the Berlin University, where Speer worked, supported the Nazi movement, even his mentor, Professor Tessenow, empathized with some of their doctrines.
Speer attended a political meeting on December, 1930, where Hitler was to address the students of the Institute and Berlin University. Speer, who viewed himself as “allergic to any political commitments”, found himself drawn into the very heart of it. Speer was “captured by the magic of Hitler’s voice”. He was deeply affected, and impressed by Hitler persuasive and abstemious speech, proposing solution’s to the threat of communism and his renunciation of the Treaty of Versailles. A few weeks later, Speer attended another rally, but this time Joseph Goebbels, the future minister for propaganda, was speaking, in particular about how the Jewish people were to be blamed for Germany’s misfortunes. Goebbels speech offended Speer but he was unable to forget the impression Hitler had made upon him. Speer like so many others of his generation had fallen under the spell of Hitler. He had been attracted by Hitler’s persuasion, charisma appearance and his firm vision for the future of Germany. In March, 1931, Speer joined the Nazi Party.
The Nazi membership that Speer had attained, open wide doors of endless opportunities for him. His first commission was given to him through Karl Hanke a Nazi official in Berlin, who asked him to renovate his home. Consequently, he was given an even bigger task, to rebuild the party’s headquarters, in Berlin. The result impressed that Nazi leaders and he was subsequently given additional jobs. In early 1933, after Hitler’s ascension to power, Speer was assigned the task of rebuilding the Propaganda Ministry by Joseph Goebbels. True to his word, Speer finished in two months, a trait that led Hitler to believe that he could meet near impossible completion deadlines. Speer’s reputation and was gaining momentum. He was not seen only as an architect, but also as an exceptional organizer.
In 1933, his design of the Zeppelin field impressed Hitler himself. Hitler however was acquainted with Speer’s style as it was he who was put in charge of the overall supervision of the renovation of the Chancellor’s residence. Hitler, interested in art and architecture, found himself drawn to Albert Speer. In Speer, Hitler saw the embodiment of his hopes and dreams. Hitler was also impressed with Speer’s ability to candidly speak his mind. The two shared a common bond, and despite Hitler’s inability to relate to people on a personal level, a form of relationship was struck between them, “...if Hitler had any friends, I [Speer] would have been his friend”.
From his architectural studies under Professor Heinrich Tessenow, he was influenced to the view that good architecture was simple architecture “simple is not always best but the best is always simple”. Speer preferred the classical simplicity of the Doric style from the ancient Greece, with their massive stone columns and cornices. This, conveniently, also corresponded to Hitler’s architectural preferences, neo-classical architecture. Hitler wanted buildings and structures that would reflect the power, glory and the solidity of the Third Reich, even in its destruction. Speer catered to Hitler’s ‘Theory of Ruins’ by including sketches depicting the building’s appearance after a thousand years of existence. Speer’s work was intended to make a practical contribution to the image and popularity of the Nazi regime. The buildings were practical forms of Nazi propaganda.
However, Speer was given his first commission in January 1934, by Hitler himself. His mission was to build a permanent reviewing stand for the Nuremberg Rally and have it completed in September of the same year. Speer’s inspiration came from The Great Altar of Pergamon of the ancient Greeks. He designed a monolithic stone structure, four hundred metres long and twenty four metres high, on the Zeppelin Field at Nuremberg, fit to accommodate three hundred and forty thousand spectators. Again, Speer had the building completed by the due time. Speer had also planned aspects of the design, for its filming in “Triumph of the Will”. To create a dramatic effect, he surrounded the field with 130 anti-aircraft searchlights casting massive beams of light some eight thousand metres into the sky, also termed “the cathedral of light”.
In the same year, Hitler’s longstanding architect, Paul Ludwig Troost, Speer was promoted first architect. When the decision came to build new and permanent structures, it was Speer who was allocated the task of designing a set of buildings at the Nuremberg Rally site. Among these was the horseshoe- shaped Great Stadium, which was three times the size of the Great Pyramids and would be the largest ever built (seating four hundred thousand); an equally impressive class dome Congress Hall (seating fifty thousand); the March Field for army parades (seating one hundred and sixty thousand). According to Speer, “Hitler wanted the biggest of everything to glorify his works and magnify his pride. These monuments were an assertion to his claim to world domination long before he dared to voice any such intention to his close associates”. But none of these works were completed; World War Two put an end to the construction, and by 1940, only the basic structure had been done.
Germany’s contribution for the World Fair, held in Paris in 1937, was designed in 1936 by none other than Albert Speer himself. However, his plans were altered upon discovery that their pavilion was opposite that of the Soviet Union. Speer ensured that the German pavilion dwarfed that of the Soviet’s. Speer’s design consisted of a tower, dominated by an eagle and a swastika. This was viewed by others as a monument and a symbol of German pride and achievement under the Nazis.
Speer’s greatest task would be his reconstruction of Berlin, as Hitler was eager, as many dictators before him, to build a city that would glorify his memory, and this city would be Germania. Hitler hoped to rebuild Berlin to a new and grand design so that it would be a worthy capital to his thousand-year Reich and Speer was given the job of making Hitler’s dream reality in 1937,When he was appointed Inspector General of Buildings for Construction. This position elevated him to the status of State Secretary and gave Speer a place in all high level meetings.
A scaled model of Germania, and the buildings that would reside within, was soon fashioned by Speer. The railway station was to be moved so that those arriving at the new South Station would have come upon a wide and long avenue, longer and grander avenue than the Champs Elysees in Paris that would run both north and south. Through discussions with Hitler and his sketches, Speer was able to design two great avenues that were to dominate this avenue. At the southern end, there was to be an Arch of Triumph, which would be taller than the Eiffel Tower, and would have the names of the German World War One casualties. On the other end, there was to be a Great Hall, which would be crowned the largest Dome in the world, with a diameter of over two hundred metres. Along the North-South Avenue, as well as the eat-west avenue, government buildings, theatres, offices and places of residences would be scattered. The avenues would be lined with four hundred special streetlights, designed by Speer. Hitler wanted Germania to surpass even Vienna and Paris.
Hitler also used Speer to redesign his chancellery in Berlin, his place of residence. This task was given to Speer in January 1938 and in January of the following year, Speer had Hitler’s Chancellery designed and built in the neo-classical style. The building was intended to both impress and intimidates its visitors, especially foreign dignitaries, and although Hitler hardly used it, this was achieved. Speer had also designed the Cabinet Room, where Hitler and his ministers would meet, and several air raid shelters and bunker, which was ironically where Hitler had suicided, beneath the chancellery.
Today, no traces of Albert Speer’s grand buildings have survived.
Through the analysis of Albert Speer’s architectural career, it can be seen that Albert Speer had both exceptional skill and ambition that was wisely utilised by Hitler and the Nazi Party. It can be argued, by viewing the amount of jobs that came to Albert Speer through the Nazi party, that it was his ambition that fuelled him to join the Nazi Party. Certainly, it cannot be denied that his membership in the Nazi Party opened many doors for him, yet he himself was not a radical Nazi, he had not even read Mein Kempf. It could be also said, that to an extent, Speer was overwhelmed by Hitler’s personality and his words.
How can this essab be improved?Wat do u think is rong with it? thanx in advance
