Albert Speer: Reich Chancellor

Albert Speer

Reich Chancellor: 30 April 1945 - 20 April 1965

Many have called Speer the most reluctant world leader to ever take the political stage. Yet that did not stop him from becoming the brilliant leader that he was.

An apolitical man, Speer was first drawn to politics at a Party rally he attended in December 1930. There, he was amazed to find himself swept up in the oratory of the Fuhrer. Speer claimed to have been quite affected, not only with Hitler's proposed solutions to the threat of Communism and his renunciation of the Treaty of Versailles, but also with the man himself. It was this attraction to Hitler that would draw Speer into the Party and up to the highest echelons of power.

Despite numerous offers during the early years of the Reich, Speer turned downed numerous posts, instead wishing to focus on the architecture that was making him famous throughout Germany. He was determined to leave a defining mark on the Reich, his obsession with his works bordering on the manic. It was only through Hitler's personal request that Speer accepted the post of Armaments Minister during the Atlantic War. In that post, Speer demonstrated an excellent ability to recognize and recruit talent, manage, and lead. It was also in this post that Speer realized the inefficient system of conflicting and overlapping offices that hindered productivity in the Reich. He would learn quickly how to overcome those who stood in his way, centralizing authority in his hands.

It was a surprise to Speer when he spoke to Hitler on the night of the Fuhrer's 56th birthday. Hitler's health was failing and he believed he could no longer fulfill the obligations of his office. Speer tried to counter Hitler's arguments, but the aged leader would hear none of it. Hitler was not bitter that his body was failing him and that his time to retire had come. The Fuhrer had returned Germany to its proper place as a world power. He had led the Reich to victories over all the western powers. Germany was whole again. His duty was done. But Hitler could not leave unless he was sure that his Reich was in proper hands. The Fuhrer had already decided to split his office back into its two former parts. Goering was to receive the office of Reich President. Hitler wanted Speer to take the office of Chancellor.

For Speer, the idea of accepting such a post was anathema to what he believed. He had only taken the post of Armaments Minister to see Germany through its war with America. He was not a politician. He was an architect. What he had seen of the political leadership sickened him. He had avoided the corruption of power thus far. To be besieged by such sycophants. Speer had been sure this meeting was Hitler's acceptance of his resignation. He had never dreamed the Fuhrer would offer him such power. But offer Hitler did. "I cannot accept your offer, my Fuhrer. I am no leader. Surely there is someone better suited for this than I."

"You say you are a builder," Hitler told Speer, that old fire rekindled in his blue eyes with Speer caught in the center of them. "What do you build for? You build for the future of the Reich. What I am offering you is the chance to shape the Reich itself. No man can understand this more than you. You are an artist. You see things others can't. You are not corrupted like everyone else. You are about the spiritual. The amorphous shape. You take from the ether and make the abstract real. You cannot deny your talents. I have watched you. Nothing is impossible when you set your mind to it. I have entrusted so many of my dreams to you." Tears shone in the Hitler's eyes as his body trembled. The frail Fuhrer put a shaking hand on Speer's shoulder. "These people need you. I need you. Do not forsake us."

As president, Goering proved more a figurehead than an all-powerful ruler. He was content to sit in the background, stepping out for grandiose state functions in glittering, gawdy outfits. He did little to impede Speer in his post as chancellor, instead wandering the vast halls of his presidential palace. But the threat to Speer's power would not come from above. It would come from below.

Speer came to discover that without allies, the system Hitler had constructed threatened to consume him. Gauleiters, Ministers, SS, and others all valued their independence, even against their ruler, battling over the pettiest things. Speer would form an alliance with Goebbels and Himmler against these men in order to push his agenda. Himmler proved quite adept at blackmailing many officials into compliance with his vast collection of data collected over the years through the Gestapo. Goebbels also served his purpose securing loyalty from the people while using his intellect to outthink many who would try to undermine Speer's authority. Goebbels was to be the public voice of the quiet, reserved Speer. Of course these men did not freely work for Speer. In exchange for the loyalty of the SS, Speer gave Himmler free reign to continue his racial policies aimed at extinguishing all untermenschen from the Reich as well as to pursue ventures like his soldier-farmer colonies in the Eastern Territories. Goebbels found himself elevated to the post of vice chancellor and President of the Reichstag as well as given free reign to begin his assault on religion, though Speer served to moderate some of Goebbel's actions in this regard.

Speer proved a practical ruler, pushing reforms throughout the Nazi system. One of his first acts was to clear the cabinet of many of Hitler's appointees and replace them with professionals. For the first time in thirteen years, the cabinet became a working organ in government. Speer would delegate his programs to these officials who in turn made his will happen. Speer was quick to clean up a vast amount of corruption in government, though the SS proved exempt from these drives. The average age of government would decrease under Speer to an average of 38. Speer had an affinity for young, driven men who focused their energies into their duties.

The educational system found itself completely overhauled. Appalled by the type of students produced under Hitler's reign, Speer curtailed many of the powers of the Hitler Youth in order to resurrect the intellectual traditions trampled by the Nazis. Many restrictive laws were relaxed allowing for greater freedoms for teachers in the classroom. Crackpot theories, political ideology, and other programs receded from the curriculum. Incentives were also created to encourage students to enter psychology and physics, now stripped of their pariah status as Jewish studies.

The economy would also see reform under Speer. He knew reparations money would not continue forever, that slave labor would only damage the economy in the long run, and that the massive military currently in existence was not necessary, especially with the nuke now in their arsenal. Demobilization was rushed through in order to cut military spending, though a sizable budget would remain. Slave labor was slowly removed from industry creating jobs for the soldiers returning home. Government was streamlined and many unnecessary projects halted, most especially Hitler's building projects though Welthauptstadt Germania would still be realized by 1964. To further encourage economic growth, Speer had an economic union established that included nearly all of Europe, Canada, and South Africa. It forged a single currency, stripped away tariffs, and allowed German business to dominate like it had never done before.

Great strides were made in agriculture boosting yields and turning the Reich into the breadbasket of the world. Advanced fertilizers, farm equipment, and more put Germany at the forefront of food production.

Germany would also establish the first space agency headed by Werner von Braun. Goals made by the agency were to launch the first artificial satellite (1955), to put a man in orbit (1958), to reach the moon (1964), to establish a lunar colony (1979), and to eventually venture out to other planets in the Solar System.

Technology and medicine would flourish during Speer's reign. He invested mass amounts of state funds into education and grants to spur technological growth, doing his best to get the greatest minds to interact with one another. The medical field made rapid gains, in part because of the use of untermenschen for experiments. The first organ transplants, human study (both physical and psychological), dissections, and more allowed for in depth understanding of the human form. Genetics were also pursued with the goal of eventually breeding out recessive genes and enhancing others.

In the shadows of this golden age, the Final Solution was ramping up. With the Jews of Europe wiped out by 1946, the SS added others to their list for extinction. This would include Slavs, Asiatics, Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Blacks, Homosexuals, Gypsies, the insane, the handicapped, the retarded, Jews outside Europe, and others. Camps began to appear in Africa, North America, and the Eastern Occupied Territories. They would gradually eat away at the pseudo independence of the Central Asian states as well, gradually turning them into reichskommissariats. Tens of millions would die over the next two decades with the SS declaring their work done by 1963 in all German territories. It is estimated that roughly 100-150 million may have died during this period (including in the expanded territories of the European Union).

The Economic union Speer had crafted would lead to the integration of states into the Reich which created a problem for the superstate. How was Germany to deal with this influx of individuals, many of whom may not be of Aryan stock? The SS would step in, doing racial histories and deciding what groups were worthy and which were meant for the camps. One shocking development saw the southern Italians deemed subhuman as well as the Albanians. Many would flee to independent Yugoslavia to avoid the camps. Despite pressure by Himmler, Speer would not authorize an invasion of the slavic kingdom.

With Europe integrating, German influence, and thus SS influence, spread. The SS would make its presence most known in Africa where it quickly rushed to wipe out the natives or use them as slave labor in the mines. By 1963, roughly 15 million blacks remained in the whole of Africa.

Media would undergo a revolution as television emerged. Goebbels proved the most adept at realizing its full potential, using the new media as a way to assimilate many into the regime including those nations newly added to the Reich.

Nuclear power would become the beating heart for this great regime, providing energy to millions at a fraction of cost.

As to religion, Goebbel's served to bring first all German churches and finally all European churches under state control. Dogma was altered to support the state and its goals. This revisionism saw alterations to the Old Testament which stripped out Jewish cultural history and replaced it with an Aryan motif.

The population of the Reich would grow by leaps and bounds. By 1960, the estimated population of the Reich (including those European states added through the union) stood at well over 300 million.

Over the years, Speer's power grew greater and greater as he centralized his authority. One by one he removed those gauleiters against him until all that remained were allies. In full control, the chancellor would make it law that he had the right to appoint and dismiss gauleiters at will. Speer would further undermine local authorities by having all taxes paid straight to the central government which would in turn be doled out to the local governments.

When Himmler died in 1964, Heydrich became the new Reichsfuhrer and a rift began to develop in the alliance Speer had once held with the SS. Though Germany had expanded greatly, independent states still existed such as the United States and Japan not to mention South America and Australia. This angered the Reichsfuhrer who believed that Germany should use their nuclear arsenal to force the world under their hegemony. There was also the issue of open elections. Speer believed it was time to allow for a gradual return to democracy, something many in the Party feared. Speer believed it would make the government more responsive to the people and also break up the stagnating influence of a single party with no challengers. The threat of elections would force those in government to become more dynamic and competive. It would also bring fresh voices to power. But above all, what proved the most damaging to the alliance between Speer and the SS was when it was discovered that Japan was working towards a nuclear weapon. Heydrich presented this information to Speer, advising the chancellor that Japan should serve as a warning to those who would think to challenge Germany's nuclear superiority. The Reichsfuhrer suggested that they nuke every major city in Japan destroying its industrial and cultural base and rendering it incapable of challenging them in the future. Speer was horrified at the idea. The chaos that such an act would bring. The casualties alone would be in the tens of millions. Then there was the threat of destablization throughout Asia following the fall of Japan which could threaten to spill over into German lands. Speer believed dialogue would work best.

Despite warnings from all corners, Speer believed himself safe from the Reichsfuhrer's wrath. The chancellor had the support of the military, the final arbiter of power in the Reich. He had also been gradually wittling away at SS authority, Himmler's obsession with the Final Solution and his colonies blinding him to Speer's eroding of SS authority, whether it be in factory ownership, independent funding, control over the nuclear arsenal, the dismantling of the Gestapo, or the gradual demobilization of the Waffen SS with those remaining divisions being placed under Wermacht control. By the time Heydrich had come to power, the SS had been reduced to a national police force with a foreign intelligence wing. But such a force was more than enough for Reinhard.

With the strength of the SS behind him, Heydrich launched a coup on April 20, 1965.

SOURCE: Blix, Heidi The Reluctant Chancellor