Product Description

'INSIDE THE THIRD REICH is not only the most significant personal German account to come out of the war but the most revealing document on the Hitler phenomenon yet written. It takes the reader inside Nazi Germany on four different levels: Hitler's inner circle, National Socialism as a whole, the area of wartime production and the inner struggle of Albert Speer. The author does not try to make excuses, even by implication, and is unrelenting toward himself and his associates... Speer's full-length portrait of Hitler has unnerving reality. The Fuhrer emerges as neither an incompetent nor a carpet-gnawing madman but as an evil genius of warped conceits endowed with an ineffable personal magic' NEW YORK TIMES

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63566 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 832 pages

About the Author
Albert Speer was unique in the Third Reich. An intellectual architect, he was befriended by Hitler in 1933 and for the next 12 years they maintained one of the most powerful and extraordinary relationships in the Nazi hierarchy. In 1942 Speer was appointed Armaments Minister and became second only to Hitler himself as a power on the home front. But in 1945, Speer defied Hitler's scorched earth policy and began to plan his assassination. At Nuremberg he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Customer Reviews

Ignore the bias - read - judge for yourself
Albert Speer's seminal work on life inside the highest echelons of the Third Reich is as historically controversial now as it was when it was released and indeed is still a fascinating read.
In fact largely `ghost written' by Joachim C. Fest who had a not insignificant impact on the style of the prose, Inside The Third Reich is a veritable Goldmine for anecdotal remarks for any student studying the history of Hitler's Germany.
Historical bias aside - there is plenty and the debate is seemingly endless - it is still worth the effort and the reader would probably benefit from having a copy of Sereny's biography to hand to see how Speer's `Mia Culpa's' developed in face of ten years of mixed reception to his work.
Every A' Level Modern History Student should have read at least the first half of this book.
One should also remember once this has been read that confidential personal correspondence written in Speer's own hand was recently sold in an auction for well over £10000, which admitted more explicit knowledge of the crimes. And in light of this, J C Fest had his private note on Speer edited and released, and consequentially greatly revised his conclusion regarding the character of Speer.

A fascinating insight into Nazi Germany
This book is a fascinating insight into Nazi Germany and its key personalities, written by one of them. It contains the first explanation I have ever read of why intelligent and conciable individuals became caught up in Nazism, and is valuable for that reason alone.

The bulk of the book describes key people and events at first hand, and frequently surprises with a very different view to the common one. For example Hitler is portrayed as a bumbling amateur, but with an amazing personal ability to inspire and lead. The Allies' victory was assured mainly by a catalogue of mistakes by the German leadership, some almost incredible. At the same time, Speer identifies several Allied mistakes which lengthened the war - for example failing to follow through and capitalize on the Dambuster raid, or those targeted at ball bearing production.

Although a long book, it's well-written and easy to read, and I found it difficult to put down. Amazingly, given the writer and subject matter, there are even some humorous overtones. Related stories and incidents are grouped together rather than in a strict chronology - this takes a little getting used to. More disappointing is the absence of any diagrams or maps. Architecture was Speer's key skill and Hitler's abiding interest, and it is frustrating to read a lengthy description of their projects to be told "these plans survive", but not to be shown them.

A reader is likely to end up with some sympathy or even admiration for Speer. His successes as armaments minister early in the War were matched by humanitarian achievements as he led opposition to Hitler's "scorched earth" policies during the War's closing stages.

However, the reader must also consider some questions: History is written not necessarily by the victors, but certainly by the survivors. Is the fact that only the relatively decent Nazis survived to write their memoirs cause, effect, or the writers' own self-advancement?
Similarly, there is little or no mention in the pre-war and mid-war sections of Nazi philosophy and Hitler's own established hatreds - is this Speer trying to prove how little he knew about the war crimes and genocide?

This is an important book, revealing the other side of the Second World War. History may judge Albert Speer to be one of the few "decent" Nazis. His own book cannot do that alone, but it definitely deserves to be read...

Every dictator needs a Speer
Albert Speer knew exactly what was going on in the forced labour camps that first supplied the stone for his building projects and then the arms for him as Munitions Minister. That said he also tried his hardest to stop Hitler's scorched earth policy at the end of the war and was a wholly better man than those around him (but that wasn't exactly hard).

Inside is Speer's attempt to spin himself out of all the negative aspects of his Nazi past. This he does with style and class. If you accept this and realise that a lot of the judgements and some of the facts (especially about the Posen conference) are plain lies then this book gives interesting insights into the mind of one of the few Nazis who knew they were doing wrong.