Did Albert Speer know about the Final Solution? Or did he say he didn't to avoid execution?

Answer 1

It's hard to believe he didn't know about the final solution. To carry-out high volume genocide meant the collaboration from all walks of life, from the train-men & transportation system, the pharmaceutical conglomerate that supplied 4-1/2 tons of Zyclone-B per month, to the contractors who built the crematoria.

His guilt was the use of slave labor in the war factories which is what he was convicted for. The knowledge of the holocaust was not his guilt. I'd have to re-read William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich to get a better idea of his complicity in the high volume genocide.

Answer 2

In an interview for a series titled "The World at War", narrated by Lawrence Olivier, Albert Speer clearly stated that he knew of the Final Solution but that he distanced himself from it as much as he possibly could. Whether he supported it or not, is not made clear.

The only reason why Albert Speer did not receive the death penalty, along with other leading Nazis, is because the judges at the Nuremberg Trials believed him to be well presented, of the upper middle classes and similar to themselves in respect of his place in society.

By rights Albert Speer should have been hanged. He was not however the only leading Nazi not to be hanged.

The Nuremberg Hangman was a black US Army sergeant. The Nazis just hated that! Race theory wrong then!

While other leading Nazis had to approach Hitler via the office of Martin Boreman, [Hitler's deputy], Albert Speer had direct access to Adolf Hitler at all times. He had, as Albert Speer said himself, "Hitler's ear". No other leading Nazi had this same privilege. Speer must have known all about the "Final Solution".

Answer 3

If you read "Inside the third Reich" by Albert Speers, I think it goes without saying that; he knew of the genocide. However, he could not convince himself that it was reality.

As many Germans during that time felt, Speers was trying to survive. And yes, he thought he would go down in history as a great architect but, I don't believe he could buy into the mass murder taking place. I also don't think he designed the ovens as one of the previous answers stated. When he took over control of factories and other assembly line type of production, he was merely a project manager. In fact, Speers was the first to point out that slave labor would work better if they were fed.

Answer 4

Of course he did. He visited Concentration Camps and had dealings with the SS and knew about the Mittelworks and over Work Death Camps.
Oneof the reasons he survived Nurembourg was because he took the step of agreeing with the Aliied Commission and tried to 'Admit Guilt' for the conduct of the war.
Speer was a very crafty and interesting Nazis and believed in the cause, but knew how to save his life at the end of the war.

Answer 5

Can't say about the final solution (the result of the Wannseekonferenz), but Speer definitely knew what was going on because it was part of his plans.Speer was the architect behind the plan for redesigning and rebuilding Berlin (in a very megalomaniac way).This plan required lots of appartment houses to be torn down.
Speers office was in charge of keeping the archive on the inhabitants of Berlin, he gave a list of those houses inhabited by jews to Gestapo who evacuated them,thus resulting in the jews being transported to KZs.
Furthermore, there was an SS-program to enlarge KZ Auschwitz
called "Sonderprogramm Prof. Speer", because he was the one in charge of germanys armament program as "Rüstungsminister".
This all came out only two years ago.
The link i can provide is in german,unfortunately :
http://www.netzeitung.de/feuilleton/340773.html

Answer 6

I had a question on the holocaust which shows there has been a lot of half truths I think there are many in Germany who did not know what was going on. I think that Jews are annoying, they forget everyone else lost millions in the war what about the Poles for example or when fire bombs were dropped on the German families. I think the Jews forget that the reason they became hated was by trying to control Germany they say never again but arn`t they doing that in America now. I prey one day we can all live in peace it is a shame as Bush seems to be learning nothing bombing children is not how to make friends. Ps the trials were a farce and looking for people to blame very close to the way we have been lied to about Iraq I suggest everyone watches the following One Third of the Holocaust (over 4 hours of common-sense exposure of holocaust hoax) and no silly comments from people who havn`t seen it watch then make comments

Answer 7

As a leading member of Hitler's inner circle it goes without saying that he was bound to know as he was Hitlers chief architect he even designed the gas chambers where the Jews and other non Arian people were gassed.However he did say he was sorry for the holocaused and as the only Nazi to express remorse he was sentenced to life in prison. He served 20 years and was released in 1966 where upon he became an author and wrote 3 books,he died in london in 1981.

Answer 8

That's what the trial at Nuremberg wanted to know.
He wasn't executed but was given a long prison sentence.
The court must have believed him.