HITLER'S HENCHMEN: SPEER: THE ARCHITECT {DER ARCHITEKT: ALBERT SPEER} (TV)
Summary
One in this six-part German-produced documentary series about the men who engineered and ruled Hitler's Third Reich. Using recently discovered archival footage, rare biographical material, and newly recorded testimony from firsthand witnesses, the series profiles six members of Hitler's inner circle and architects of Third Reich. This program examines the life and career of Albert Speer. What Hitler, a failed artist, dreams, Albert Speer realizes: he breathes life into the Fuhrer's grandiose sketches for the monuments of the Third Reich, choreographing its fiery rallies, and designing and building its armaments. Convicted in the Nuremberg tribunal, Speer maintains until his death in 1981 that he was merely an apolitical technocrat, unaware of the blood shed under the Nazi banner. Speer, a recent graduate from an architectural college, first hears Hitler's voice at a student rally for the National Socialist German Workers Party. Immediately captivated by Hitler, Speer quickly sets to make his mark in the Berlin Nazi Party. Soon, Speer becomes Hitler's chief architect. He designs the stage that will make Hitler appear impressive to the German people. Using the darkness of night and powerful spotlights, Speer creates an awe-inspiring setting for the Fuhrer to take center stage and captivate the crowds on May 1, 1933. Hitler later commissions Speer to rebuild Berlin into the "New Germania," and Speer evicts Aryans from their homes so that edifices can be rebuilt. He accommodates them by turning Jews out of their flats and giving the Aryans already furnished new homes. Later, as Armaments Minister, Speer reorganizes the production of armaments, making German industry more efficient for the Fuhrer's cause. Soon after, the Wehrmacht suffers great losses and Speer is forced to mobilize his labor force into armies. Concentration camp inmates are used as slave labor instead. Later, an underground factory is built at Dora concentration camp. In these inhumane tunnels, thousands of slaves work to build Speers's new weapons. Speer often visits the soldiers on the front. Realizing Germany is losing the war, he nevertheless does not want Hitler to destroy his factories. He drives to Berlin to convince Hitler to only cripple the factories rather than annihilate them. In the end, Speer is not mentioned at all in Hitler's will and he becomes the only man at the Nuremberg trials to accept collective responsibility for the deeds done by the Reich during the war. However, despite the fact that Speer insists until his death that he had no knowledge of the war crimes committed by the regime, he is nonetheless sentenced to twenty years in prison. The program includes commentary by the following individuals: Reinhard Spitzy, Hitler's attachŽ; Willi Schelkes, an architect in Speer's office; Werner Krisch, a member of a Jewish family evicted from its home; Alexander Samila, prisoner 28831 at Dora; Ewald Manstein, prisoner 74557 at Dora; Manfred von Poser, Speer's adjutant; and Traudl Junge, Hitler's secretary. Also included in this program is footage of the following: Berlin at the turn of the century; the school where Speer studied architecture; the mass rally of the Nazi Party on May 1, 1933; the blueprints for the stage of the rally; Hitler's own architectural drawings; Hitler and Speer discussing architectural plans; Speer and his wife visiting Hitler at his home; the buildings created by Speer; a computer generated graphic of how Berlin would look if all of Speer's plans had been completed; Jewish flats; Hitler giving a speech about the rebuilding of Berlin; the Victory Column in Berlin; the New Berlin; Hitler and Speer touring Paris; a meeting of the German armament industry; Hitler giving Speer an award for his accomplishments; Eva Braun and Margaret Speer picking flowers; Speer and Hitler inspecting new weapons; Hitler commenting on new armaments; the testing of German rockets; the tunnels of Dora; Speer visiting with soldiers and workers; American pilots at a briefing on their attack on Germany's fuel supply; the people of Germany listening to a speech at the end of the war; and American soldiers in Germany. In addition, Hitler is heard giving a speech to students and commenting on the buildings created by Speer; stills are shown of Hitler and Speer going over blueprints in Hitler's home; and Speer is heard talking about the production of armaments.
(This program is in German with English narration and subtitles.)
(This program was originally telecast on the ZDF German Television Network as "Der Architekt: Albert Speer" on February 18, 1997.)
Details
- NETWORK: History Channel
- DATE: October 22, 1997 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:54:19
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:50251
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Germany - History - 1933-1945; Nazism; Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, 1945-1946
- SERIES RUN: History Channel - TV, 1997
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Guido Knopp … Producer, Created by
- Peter Adler … Producer, Director, Writer
- Andrew McDonald … Producer, Writer, Script and subtitles by
- Rosamund Ziegert … Writer, Script and subtitles by
- Peter Templeton … Writer, Script and subtitles by
- Nicole Sohns … Researcher
- Elisabeth Hartjens … Researcher
- Klaus Doldinger … Music by
- David Ritchie … Narrator
- Geraint Evans … Narrator
- Traudl Junge … Guest
- Werner Krisch … Guest
- Ewald Manstein … Guest
- Alexander Samila … Guest
- Willi Schelkes … Guest
- Reinhard Spitzy … Guest
- von Poser, Manfred … Guest