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Spandau: The Secret Diaries

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Albert Speer was for some strange reason a very extraordinary character.
First of all he was the Third Reich's Architect, and one of Hitler's closest friends and during the last years of WWII he was also Minister for arms and munitions. At the "Nuremberg Judgement" he was sentenced to 20 years in Prison.

In his "Secret Diaries", Speer tries to make clear, how a well educated intellectual like him could have been caught by such a totalitarian system and got mesmerized by it. His entries are primarily his way of coming to terms with his past.
Describing several key elements from his time in office, Speer tries to find out how much his character has been influenced and far he has been manipulated.
Speer gets sentimental from time to time, but he tries to remain objective and level-headed and never falls into self-pity or lachrymose and most important, Speer sees and accepts himself as the war criminal he was.

From a historical point of view, Speer's portraying of his fellow prisoners (Hess, Doenitz, Neurath, Raeder and von Schirach) are those of great significance and fascinating to read, and his portaying of Adolf Hitler is surely one of the most precise and immediate analyse of the dictator's nature.

Of course I'm not sure how much these diaries were subsequently altered and/or changed, and it's possible that they were ! One must always keep that in mind ! But in terms of history these diaries are very valuable and of great importance.

The notable German writer Carl Zuckmayer once said about Speer's diaries: "A great book in some respects: In the human attitude of the convict, in the firmness of his discipline and in the unusual way of his expression which is both thoughtful and sincere."

"The Secret Diaries" is a controversial but utterly important book and a must read for everyone who is interested in history, and in addition to that, Speer's book is also a gripping study in existentialism.

This is an excellent book which gives a brilliant account of the day to day life of the Nuremburg men at Spandau. While Albert Speer's thoughts on the 'Third Reich' are interesting, I much prefer his diary entries which incidentally cover his time spent at Nuremburg too. Some entries are only one or two lines long but they make a very sensitive and moving account of himself. I loved reading about the various dreams he had in Spandau (some of which were very vivid) the attitude to him of the other prisoners are interesting too. Referrences to Rudolf Hess make fascinating reading but for a full picture of Hess I suggest that reliable back up information of a sympathetic nature be read as well such as the book by one time Spandau Director Colonel Eugene Bird (The Lonliest Man In The World) now sadly out of print but worth seeking second hand through the internet. Albert Speer could not have known that Rudolf Hess was genuinely ill with an undetected stomach ulcer when he wrote how Hess complained so much of being in pain. The reality of Hess's very real illness was only discovered after Speer had been released from Spandau. The book also highlights the sometimes harsh treatment meted out to Rudolf Hess. The diary entries show a sensitive and intelligent man who wondered how he was going to get through his 20 year sentence. It is an extremely human and moving account and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the Third Reich and in particular anyone who is seeking to know what the men at Spandau were really like and who are willing to put any pre-conceived prejudices they may have or have heard about Nazi's aside.

A brilliant read!

Louise Brown

Alfred Speer account of his 20 years detention in the jail of Spandau is surprisingly captivating. One of the reason for that is that not only Speer shows himself to be a talented writer but the interaction between all the ex-nazi leaders detained in Spandau is fascinating. What struck me however as the most interesting part of this great book is how perfectly it demonstrate the damage that long term detention can do to the human mind. All the prisonners remaining after the first few years demonstrate various signs of mental deterioration, which Speer as managed to describe with surprising accuracy (Speer himself start showing these signs as the story unfold). Granted, some of these men were already psychically destroyed at the time of their incarceration but still the effect of time cannot be ignored... Other highlights of the book include a close look at the enigmatic Rudolf Hess as seen through the eye of Speer ( Funny at time, ... often, surprisingly lucid on occasion, the man is still as incomprehensible to me as ever...). We also get to see a darker side of the admiral Doenitz, the man Hitler had named to be his successor (but Speer might not be totally impartial on the question...). All these themes an much more are told in a masterfull way by Speer who recorded the events as they unfolded on anykind of papers he could get his hand on in the jail, he then managed to sneak his writings out to his family through some friendly guards...

Ok enough compliments, now the little warning: Speer however repentent he might have been and however talented he was, was sentenced to 20 years at Nuremberg for a good reason (one could argue he was actually lucky not to get the death sentence others got for less then he did). My point is that Speer is a very charismatic man who has always had a talent (even in his writings) to make himsfelf look like a good guy in comparison to his fellow high ranking Nazi. He does it mainly by accepting a general responsability (for Nazi crime) which make him seems like an honest man in comparison to others, yet never confessing to any concrete responsability on his part to really important crimes he did or by trying to diminish his responsability in those crimes (his responsability in germany using slave labor for example). So read this book with caution and do not forget the intelligent yet unscrupulous man who wrote it.

No figure emerged from the Second World War with greater controversy and attention than did Nazi architect and Hitler confidant Albert Speer. Sentenced to twenty years in the military prison in Spandau for war crimes, Speer was the only one of the principals tried at Nuremberg to admit his culpability in the horror that was the Third Reich. Many questioned his sincerity, for although he said all the right things, it was extremely self-serving to do so at the moment of final judgment, for his capitulation surely saved his life. Yet Speer served his twenty years and then was released to live out his life amidst even greater controversy, for Speer had compiled an amazing 25,000 page secret diary during his long confinement.

This treasure trove of personal anecdotes, reminiscences, and observations was eventually serialized into two distinctive books. When the first was published in 1969 in Germany, the diary, entitled "Recollections", caused a literal firestorm of controversy based on a range of observations and positions taken by Speer. Yet the book, released a year later in a translated version for the English-speaking world as "Inside The Third Reich" was a runaway best seller based primarily on the detailed and absolutely spellbinding descriptions Speer offered regarding the principals of the Nazi regime. Shortly thereafter, Speer released the present volume, entitled "Spandau; The Secret Diaries". His observations, tidbits, and anecdotes about Hitler himself were endlessly fascinating and occasioned a lot of dinner conversation all over the world. Likewise, his portrayal of the day to day life within the so-called Nazi elite gave reader s a graphic and telling account of what these people were like, and how it was possible that they could do so much of what they did.

It also establishes a consistent pattern of personal denial of any real responsibility for what had happened on Speer's part. He claimed to have been only tangentially involved in what happened to the Jews, and that he never understood that the policy of deportation and relocation to 'work camps' was part of a conspiracy to systematically murder all of Europe's Jews. Yet careful readers find that his role as Chief Administrator Of Armament Production, which employed slave labor by both Jews and other subjugated prisoners of war certainly had a systematic policy of working these slave laborers to death.

In later works he claimed to be less involved in the politics of the Third Reich than in the day to oversight of functional management of its policies. This is a fascinating book, and one cannot help but to come to admire this man and his struggles to maintain his balance and his sanity during the two decades he was held at Spandau. It provides a penetrating look both at his own mental processes as well as sharing his ruminations about various details and aspects of life within the whirlwind of excitement, agony, and horror that the years of Nazi reign in Germany represent. This is a book I can highly recommend. Enjoy!

What a good story. I couldn't put the book down. I recommend that you read a book on the Nuremberg trials (Persico's is a good one) before plunging into Speer's diary. Speer wrote his diary while paying his 20 years sentence at Spandau prison for his responsibility as one of the leaders of the Thirch Reich.

This is the prison diary of Hitler's pet boy-genius architect Albert Speer - the one person whom Der Fuehrer looked up to and regarded as the closest friend he ever had. A supremely talented controversial figure (the world is still undecided whether he was a sole Good Nazi or whether he survived because he was a consumate actor who managed to swindle the International Tribunal in Nuremberg!) who served an even more controversial figure (Hitler), secretly wrote these diaries when he was serving out his 20 yrs jail term. Many curious and personal observations about the life of Third Reich's Best in prison routine, including Fuehrer No. Two, Adm Doenitz, Deputy Fuehrer Rudolf Hess, Reichbank chief Funk, Hitler Youth Supreme Leader Baldur von Schirach etc. Many many unique 'first person view' accounts of life at the pinnacle of the infamous Third Reich, as Hitler's favourite courtier. An invaluable historical document and a Must Read for the serious historian. At a personal level, this counts as one of history's foremost prison diary. Speer shines with his deeply insightful observation and analysis of the characters imprisoned in Spandau with him, and touches the reader with his effort at maintaining his dignity and sanity confronted with the dehumanising reality of a 20-year imprisonment. Speer was in turn analytical, psychological, poetical and soulful. One finishes reading this book greatly puzzled how such a magnificently talented man with such a beautiful soul could have collaborated with Hitler. This adds to the paradoxical mystery of Hitler as - in turn - maniacal dictator and art patron. You draw your own conclusions whether Albert outsmarted everyone of the Nuremberg judges (save the Soviet one). I myself found it superbly entertaining, highly illuminating and deeply moving from one who not only was THERE, but there at the very TOP. A unique historical First person account.

That which was good (Inside the Third Reich) is now even better for "Spandau" is Speer's soul-searching account of and reflection on himself and his life while he was imprisoned for 21 years. The book was written in a day-by-day diary entry form so one almost feels one is there with him sharing his emotions and observations. He made it quite clear from the very outset that writing kept him sane but ".. it must be more than a matter of organizing sheer survival. This must also become a time of reckoning. If at the end, after these twenty years, I do not have an answer to the questions that preoccupy me now, this imprisonment will have been wasted for me. And yet I fully realize that even at best my conclusions can only be tentative..." Upon his release in 1966, he left the mass of papers of his prison diaries lay untouched, unread for over ten years before he finally published them. Apart from the historical importance, readers will enjoy the writing of a fine intellectual mind despite his sad observation that "Diaries are usually the accompaniment of a lived life. This one stands in place of a life." This is an immensely personal and moving book that no one could afford to miss and deserves much more than a running commentary.

Speer is an intriguing personage in the Nazi hierarchy: was he really the only "good Nazi", as he was called, or merely a master manipulator? I read his "Inside the Third Reich" many years ago and found him to be unafraid of his history in Hitler's cabinet. Although "Inside" was published before "Spandau", the diaries had to be written before he could write "Inside". Speer struggles mightily trying to comprehend his role in Hitler's agenda and subsequent responsibility for its actions. This alone is interest enough, however, Speer's anecdotes about life with his fellow inmates, first at Nuremburg, then at Spandau, give a different view of such historical figures as Goring and Donitz. Speer even manages to humanize the odd and remote Rudolph Hess. Alone of the men convicted at Nuremburg, Speer sought and accepted personal accountability. His writing provides a deeply introspective view of how ordinary men are caught up in extraordinary circumstances. That he sought to understand this in himself was his redemption. The casual reader will enjoy the book for its human insights, however, some passing familiarity with WWII, Hitler, and European politics will add depth to the reader's experience. Speer may have longed for an abiding fame as an architect, but I believe he has built something much more lasting and significant with this work than he could have imagined.

'Spandau: The Secret Diaries' is the record of Albert Speer's twenty years in the Berlin prison and is just as compelling as Speer's earlier work, 'Inside the Third Reich.' While serving his sentance Speer tells us of the endless discussions and thoughts about Hitler, Nazi Germany, and failed military strategies that he and his fellow inmates shared. Speer also tells us of the day to day boredom that was his constant companion. His insights into Hitler are perhaps the greatest ever produced and the portraits he paints of Doenitz, Raeder, von Shirach and Rudolf Hess provide wonderful glimpses into that troubled time. Perhaps most compelling of all is Speer's moral struggle with his own conscience; can a man who was part of such evil truly ever make amends? Speer relates that his daughter was invited by a Jewish family to stay with them while she visited America. To this, Speer could only cry; hoping that at least to some extent forgiveness is possible. Much more than history, this is a powerful look at one man's search for redemption.

In 1980 I was an U.S. Army officer serving in the Berlin Brigade. I read this book while I was the Officer of the Guard for Spandau Prison.

As I read the book I walked the grounds of the prison. The experience was overpowering. I actually ate fruit from the trees Herr Speer planted during his imprisonment. The trees were where he said they were.

One afternoon I literally bumped into Rudolph Hess. The impact of the book was driven home in a way that is difficult to explain.

In 1945 my father's Army unit met the Russians on the Elbe. In 1980 I met Spandau Prison and Hess.