Albert Speer

The author of these memoirs, Speer traces his life and reveals his innermost feelings while focusing on Adolf Hitler as the primary character. Speer is born in Mannheim on 19 Mar. 1905 and enjoys a comfortable childhood, despite the deprivations caused by World War I. He suffers a boyhood disability that helps him learn to deal with adversity. Despite his father's political interests, Speer retains naiveté into his early adult years. He is the third generation architect in the family, studying at the Institutes of Technology in Karlsruhe, Munich and finally Berlin-Charlottenburg. In Berlin he becomes the assistant to Prof. Heinrich Tessenow, a clear-headed, profound champion of simple craftsmanship. Speer is himself fond of Doric architecture. The Institute of Technology is a center of Nazi enthusiasm, and Speer reluctantly goes to hear Hitler speak. He is mesmerized and joins the Party in January 1931 (No. 474,481), specifically to follow Hitler and...