Gitta sereny, who has written prolifically about the third reich and spent 12 years working with albert speer and a large number of people who knew him, tells the story of his life in considerable detail and tries to establish whether he spoke the truth about what he knew of hitlers horrors. Only a few contemporary commentators saw through speer s web of evasions, fibs and halftruths. For all of you out there who are fascinated by the mystery surrounding the character of albert speer, this is definitely the book to read. Gitta attributed her fascination with evil to her own experiences of nazism as a child of central europe in the early 20th century. She died on june 14, 2012 in cambridge, cambridgeshire, england. Speer gave sereny, for her use, a number of unpublished manuscripts, and after his death she. She passed away in england aged 91, following a long illness. Gitta sereny first saw albert speer on trial at nuremberg. Whereas much has been written about speer in the last decades, most notably by gitta sereny in her study albert speer. Despite nazi architect albert speer s repeated and obviously sincere confessions during the nuremberg trials and in his published writings, journalist gitta sereny makes the startling and.
Perhaps the most enigmatic and interesting member of hitlers inner circle, albert speer was the only nazi leader tried at nuremberg who expressed remorse and accepted responsibility for the. The daughter of a hungarian father and a german mother, gitta sereny was born in vienna on march, 1921. Gitta sereny hitlers relationship with speer 1820 youtube. Gitta sereny, cbe march 1921 14 june 2012 was an austrianbritish biographer.
A conversation with albert speer excerpted from witness to an extreme century by robert jay lifton. Gitta sereny, who concluded that he was living a lie. Stangl commanded treblinka and was found guilty of coresponsibility for the slaughter there of at least 900, 000 people. His battle with truth by gitta sereny 19960809 gitta sereny on. Albert speer was the epitome of the intelligent technocrat who loyally serves a totalitarian regime. Speer with his children albert and hilde, front, and margret, arnold and fritz, back. His principal englishlanguage biographers until now gitta sereny and joachim fest did not. She is known for her work on channel 4 news 1982, history 2000 and reputations 1994.
Over the last years of his life she came to know him through hundreds of hours of conversations as no other biographer has known a nazi leader. Gitta sereny s biography meticulously recreates for the reader the professional, emotional, and psychological life of albert speer, hitlers architect and later. Mar 15, 2020 how much did albert speer know about hitlers evil policies. She interviewed every friend and associate of speers who agreed to see her. There is none of the toingandfroing, did he know, didnt he know about the fate of the jews under nazism, as portrayed by gitta sereny in her monumental albert speer. His battle with truth main market by gitta sereny isbn. She interviewed every friend and associate of speer s who agreed to see her. Believes speer was genuinely concerned for the german people and reevaluated his view of hitler. Mar 09, 2020 gitta sereny, gitta sereny honeyman, austrianborn british author born march, 1921, vienna, austriadied june 14, 2012, cambridge, eng. May 26, 2015 gitta sereny interviewed speer at length after his release from spandau about his role during the war. Speer was one of the few defendants at the nuremberg trials to take responsibility for nazi war crimes, even as he denied knowledge of the holocaust.
Internationally she is best known as the daughter of the german architect and highranked nazi party official albert speer 19051981, and the younger sister of albert speer jr. Among documents collected by david irving for his libel action against hungarian born gitta sereny is this article which she wrote upon the death of hitlers former armaments minister albert speer, whom he dismissed in disgrace in 1945, and about whom sereny would later publish a book, albert speer. Gitta sereny was an austrian born journalist, biographer and historian. Through hitlers great trust in him and speers own genius for organisation he became.
His battle with truth by gitta sereny london, 1995 the anatomy of the nuremberg trials by. The manner in which gitta sereny and david irving respectively dealt with the controversial career of hitlers munitions minister albert speer in their biographies is one of the issues before the high court. An architect and an intellectual, he was seen to be a humane man, but, as minister for armaments, how could he not have. I consider myself as one of those people who cannot think of speer as the cunning nazi who got away with it. Historians that believed the void of love and affection, and torment by his brothers, caused an emotional closing of speer. Sep 19, 1995 for all of you out there who are fascinated by the mystery surrounding the character of albert speer, this is definitely the book to read. Hitlers best friend the debate over albert speer s responsibility for nazi war crimes rages on in a new biography of the third reichs master architect and planner. Four years into their relationship, in september 1981, speer died. He was one of the fuhrers inner circle, his architect and, as minister of armaments, responsible for slave labour. Gitta sereny, cbe march 1921 14 june 2012 was an austrianbritish biographer, historian, and investigative journalist who came to be known for her interviews and profiles of infamous figures, including mary bell, who was convicted in 1968 of killing two children when she herself was a child, and franz stangl, the commandant of the. Gitta sereny, an acclaimed investigative journalist whose books about nazis and murderers delved into the minds behind heinous acts of depravity and violence, died june 14 at a addenbrookes hospital in cambridge, england.
Gitta sereny austrianborn british author britannica. Jun 19, 2012 gitta sereny pursued her subjects indefatigably. She interviewed as well the people around him the celebrated, the notorious and the ordinary. From her experience as a welfare officer for concentration camp survivors, gitta sereny 19212012 was fascinated by the holocaust and those who engineered it. Sereny decided to complete the book alone and proved herself a skillful sleuth. Gitta sereny, who has written prolifically about the third reich and spent 12 years working with albert speer and a large number of people who knew him, tells. Albert speers daughter has no doubts her fathers role in the holocaust has shadowed hilde schramms life. Culture speer s battle with truth how deeply was albert speer implicated in hitlers crimes. To listen to more of gitta serenys stories, go to the playlist. From her experience as a welfare officer for concentration camp survivors, gitta sereny 19212012 was fascinated by the holocaust and.
Feb 28, 20 gitta sereny s investigation of this mans mind, and of the influences which shaped him, has become a classic. How much did albert speer know about hitlers evil policies. Albert speer his battle with truth sereny gitta 0333645197. A few weeks earlier the sunday times had published an analysis by lewis chester and myself of david. Topics nazi hitler architect armaments minister slave labor collection opensource language english. Albert speer was the epitome of the intelligent technocrat who loyally serves. Writer best known for her books on mary bell and albert speer 12 obitsereny. Memoirs by albert speer and mentioned that my opinion of this book changed after i read albert speer. By the time of his death, two schools of thought had emerged about the part played by albert speer from 1939 to 1945. As hitlers relentlessly efficient minister for armaments and war production from 1942 through 1945, he greatly helped the german military machine prolong world war ii. Albert speer this ebook list for those who looking for to read albert speer, you can read or download in pdf, epub or mobi.
Gitta sereny, through twelve years of research and through many conversations with speer, his friends and colleagues, reveals how speer came to terms with his own acts and failures to act. His battle with truth is a dense but wellwritten, meticulously researched and brilliant tome by the londonbased journalist gitta sereny, reconsidering the colorful life, memorable tribulations and profound ethical and moral conflicts of the third reichs master technocrat. Architect of the house of lies how much did albert speer. Albert speer was hitlers architect before the second world war. Better historians than you and me have spent years analyzing what albert speer believed and knew during the war and after the war. Albert speer his battle with truth by gitta sereny illustrated. Speer, irving, dine together at frankfurt book fair october 1980 the albert speer i knew. Sep 19, 2017 from her experience as a welfare officer for concentration camp survivors, gitta sereny 19212012 was fascinated by the holocaust and those who engineered it.
Albert speer gave a 50minute address to the assembled top officials of nazi germany at posen castle in occupied polands reich gauregion wartheland on the critical state of world war ii at that point. Gitta sereny, a writer perhaps best known for her extraordinary 1995 biography of albert speer, has spent most of her 78 years attempting to understand human evil. Gitta sereny was one of europes foremost journalists with a special interest and expertise in the third reich. Albert speer was not only hitlers architect and armaments minister, b. Gitta serenys biography meticulously recreates for the reader the professional, emotional, and psychological life of albert speer, hitlers architect and later. Speer was one of the few defendants at the nuremberg trials to take. His battle with truth by gitta sereny, published by picador. Culture with hitler on his conscience how did albert speer live with his guilt. Now this enigma of a man is unveiled in a monumental biography by a writer who came to know speer intimately in his final years. Believes speer was genuinely concerned for the german people and reevaluated his view of hitler when he was given the order. His battle with truth gitta sereny s detailed and scholarly examination of one of the key figures in hitlers leadership is also extremely readable and powerful, two qualities rare in biography. Speer addressed this in an interview with the british journalist gitta sereny, who spent 10 years studying his life for a riveting book, albert speer. Gitta sereny, cbe march 1921 14 june 2012 was an austrianbritish biographer, historian, and investigative journalist who came to be known for her interviews and profiles of infamous figures, including mary bell, who was convicted in 1968 of killing two children when she herself was a child, and franz stangl, the commandant of the treblinka extermination camp.
This is the account joan of arc would have given if she had been charged with interrogating faust john banville, observer a remarkable new biography arguably the most important and certainly the most fascinating book about the nazi era published in the last. A biography of albert speer, an important figure of the nazi high command. His battle with truth is wellwritten meticulously researched opus on the colorful life, memorable tribulations and profound ethical conflicts of the formed minister of armament and productions, beloved architect and one of the only real friends adolf hitler ever had. Gitta sereny was born on march, 1921 in vienna, austria. A personal assessment by gitta sereny of hitlers armaments minister, who died in london this week at the end of 1977, quite out of the blue, i received a letter from albert speer. Albert speer by gitta sereny commentary commentary magazine. Sereny gained respect for his sincerity in his personal battle with truth. Albert speer was not only hitlers architect and armaments minister, but the fuhrers closest friendhis unhappy love.
His battle with truth, published in 1995, scholars have only fairly recently turned their attention to brandt as one of the key architects of hitlers murderous policies. From 1942 speer was the second most powerful man in the reich and hitlers righthand man. The book was also later adapted by david edgar as the play albert speer and directed by trevor nunn at the national. Here she tells brigit grant why forgiveness is not an option. Gitta sereny said the reason child murderer mary bell as well as highranking nazis committed their heinous crimes was because of issues in earlier life. Both attempts are as exasperating as they are exhaustive. Internationally she is best known as the daughter of the german architect and highranked nazi party official albert speer 19051981, and the younger sister of albert speer. Neither could gitta sereny the author of this book.
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