‘Hitler’s only friend’ who died in the city he tried to bomb into defeat: How Nazi war criminal Albert Speer passed away in London while making BBC programme – after saving himself from hanging by claiming ignorance of the Holocaust
He was a self-proclaimed “good Nazi”, a man who cleaned up his reputation despite being Adolf Hitler’s “only friend” for many years.
Albert Speer, Nazi Germany’s chief architect turned minister of armaments, spent 20 years in prison after being found guilty of war crimes at Nuremberg.
But he continued to remake himself in his best-selling memoir, claiming he knew nothing about the Holocaust plan.
However, a new documentary shown on Sky History shows how these claims were false, revealing that he was responsible for the expansion of Auschwitz, including the construction of gas chambers where Jews were killed.
Speer’s apparent remorse and regret led him to travel to London in 1973 for an interview with the BBC amid bitter controversy that saw him detained at Heathrow Airport for eight hours.
And he was in London – a city devastated by bombs made under his direction – when he collapsed while filming a BBC documentary and died in September 1981.
Albert Speer was a self-proclaimed “good Nazi,” a man who cleaned up his reputation despite spending years siding with Adolf Hitler. Top: Speer (right) with Hitler in 1937.
Speer first came into contact with Hitler in 1933 while he was overseeing the renovation of the chancellery in Berlin.
The married father of six soon formed close ties with the Nazi leader and was tasked with rebuilding Berlin to make it the “capital of the world.”
The grand new chancellery he built for Hitler boasted a 480-foot-long hall and polished stone floor.
The stone for the project was quarried by 10,000 concentration camp slaves under appalling conditions.
Speer later said about this fact: “The Jews were accustomed to making bricks while in captivity in Egypt.”
When houses had to be demolished for his grandiose projects, 23,000 Jewish apartments were confiscated and their occupants were sent to death camps.
Speer was allowed into Britain for 48 hours in 1973 after being held at Heathrow Airport for eight hours while the Home Secretary decided whether to let him in. his visit
The BBC photographed him reading a newspaper outside Windsor Castle for the television program Midweek.
Speer can be seen outside Windsor Castle in another publicity photograph published by the BBC.
Speer looking at a rack of postcards in London during his visit in 1973.
The architects were appointed Minister of Armaments by Hitler in 1942, three years after the outbreak of World War II.
He initially achieved spectacular success by dramatically increasing weapons production.
But he did it using prisoners of war and millions of slaves.
However, vital factories, raw materials and supplies were lost as Allied bombing intensified and the Russians continued to advance towards Germany.
Speer was then ordered to focus on weapons such as V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets.
Slaves were once again forced to work in horrendous conditions, toiling 72 hours a week on a meager diet of 1,100 calories.
When he stood trial at Nuremberg after Germany’s defeat, he took full responsibility for his actions but stated that he was unaware of the murder of Jews.
This demonstration contrasted with the ruthless and unrepentant fanaticism of other leading Nazis. This allowed him to avoid a death sentence.
Instead, he was sent to Spandau Prison, where he was kept alone for two decades. Rich friends smuggled him delicacies, including champagne and caviar.
After his release in 1966, he published his memoirs, Inside the Third Reich. The book, which was a huge success, brought him a fortune in royalties.
Sky History program “Hitler’s Engineers” reveals plans for the expansion of Auschwitz, which Speer oversaw.
He oversaw the construction of gas chambers and crematoria at the notorious extermination camp.
The volume portrayed him as a “good Nazi” who knew nothing about the murder of six million Jews.
But after his death, the evidence against him increased.
In addition to the removal of Jews from Berlin and the mistreatment of slaves, he was famously present when Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, declared that it was necessary to exterminate Jews and their children to prevent future revenge.
Speer announced his presence at the speech in a letter he wrote to the wife of a Belgian resistance leader killed by the Nazis.
In a 1971 letter that appeared in 2007, he said: “There is no doubt: I was present when Himmler announced on October 6, 1943, that all Jews would be killed.”
Speer had previously stated that he left the conference before Himmler made his speech.
The Sky History program Hitler’s Engineers shows plans to expand Auschwitz in occupied Poland, which he oversaw, so it could house thousands more Jewish prisoners.
Speer can be seen in a Nazi uniform along with other leading officials from his time as a key ally of Hitler.
Adolf Hitler looks over some documents with the architect and Minister of Armaments Albert Speer.
Albert Speer (left) and Hitler together at Hitler’s field headquarters in Rastenburg in 1942.
Albert Speer with Karl Doenitz and General Alfred Jodl at the time of their arrest in Flensburg in 1945.
They also spoke in detail about the construction of gas chambers and crematoria.
Speer was interviewed on the BBC Midweek program in 1973.
After being cleared by the Home Secretary to come to the UK for 48 hours, he was shown in BBC promotional photographs reading a newspaper outside Windsor Castle and was also spotted in Shepherd’s Bush in West London.
Speaking about the moment he was detained at Heathrow, he said: “I wasn’t bothered by the fuss. I thought it was quite funny.
“It was a little boring, but I got used to it. After all, I was in prison for 20 years.”
He added: “I survived to be a normal person. But my sentence could destroy me, like many of my contemporaries.”
He said he had “made clear” his regrets during the Nazi period.
Daily Mail report on Speer’s visit to London in 1973. He was initially held at Heathrow Airport for eight hours.
Daily Mail report on Speer’s death in September 1981. He was in the UK filming a documentary for the BBC.
The former senior Nazi also said: “I didn’t want to try to destroy London. I saw no point in such a war on either side.
“Now I’ve seen the city, I’m glad that so many of the old buildings survived the destruction.”
He was also interviewed on Thames TV’s This Week program in 1975. He called Hitler “eccentric” and spoke about the moment of his release from Spandau prison.
On the day of his death in 1981, he spent time filming a new BBC documentary about Hitler’s plans to plunder Europe’s artistic treasures.
Returning to his hotel in Bayswater, he collapsed and died a few hours later at St Mary’s Hospital.
Hitler’s Engineers airs on Sky History tonight at 9pm.