Albert Speer: the end of a myth

Exposes the false image of Speer as a technocrat unaware of the political and moral implications of his work as a minister in Hitler's government. Argues that Speer was a clever and ruthless politician and deeply devoted to Hitler, although perhaps not to Nazism. Ch. 12 (pp. 181-198), "Speer and the Final Solution: A Necessary Correction", argues that Speer's claim to have had only a "vague notion" of the Final Solution is unfounded. As Inspector-General of Buildings in Berlin, his office carried out forced resettlement of Jewish tenants from 1939 on. As Minister of Armaments from 1942, he was well informed about construction of concentration camps and visited the Dora concentration camp in December 1943. However, he denies being present at a meeting in Poznan where Himmler mentioned him in connection with the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto.