Albert speer his battle with truth gitta sereny book

The author had access to speer, his family and friends and his private papers. Gitta sereny, who has written prolifically about the third reich and spent 12 years working with albert speer and a large number of people who knew him, tells the story of his life in considerable detail and tries to establish whether he spoke the truth about what he knew of hitlers horrors. Albert speer was not only hitlers architect and armaments minister, but the fuhrers closest friendhis unhappy love. His battle with truth from the worlds largest community of readers. In it, sereny explores how much speer knew about the holocaust. As hitlers relentlessly efficient minister for armaments and war production from 1942 through 1945, he greatly helped the german military machine prolong world war ii. Chapter xxiv, spandau ii of the 1995 alfred knopf hardback edition. Speer addressed this in an interview with the british journalist gitta sereny, who spent 10 years studying his life for a riveting book, albert speer. His battle with truth 1995 is a biographical work on albert speer, german minister of armaments during world war ii. She interviewed every friend and associate of speers who agreed to see her.

This book was edited by diana athill who would also edit serenys into. Albert speer was not only hitlers architect and armaments minister, b. From 1942 speer was the second most powerful man in the reich and hitlers righthand man. His battle with truth, by gitta sereny 757 pages, albert a. Sereny writes of what she calls speers profound malaise with his own conscience his battle with his soul ambivalence between his moral necessity to confront the longrepressed guilt of his terrible knowledge of the murder of the jews and a desperate need to deny that knowledge and thus the guilt this ambivalence dominated his life from nurenberg until shortly. Gitta serenys biography meticulously recreates for the reader the professional, emotional, and psychological life of albert speer, hitlers architect and later. Albert speer was hitlers architect before the second world war. A truly defining book for me and one that will be bettered in time to come i am sure, but not as yet. His battle with truth by gitta sereny, 9780679768128, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. His battle with truth mentions two visits of hilde, in company with her brother albert at the first followed by a meal at superchic restaurant horchers, and the second with her sister margret pp.

Jun 18, 2012 in 1995 she was accused of losing objectivity after befriending speer to study him. Culture speers battle with truth how deeply was albert speer implicated in hitlers crimes. During the nuremberg trials, speer had avoided a death sentence, claiming all the while that he knew nothing of the holocaust. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. His battle with the truth is the most comprehensive biography of hitlers architect and minister of armaments to date. His battle with truth has 4 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace. Albert speer was not only hitlers architect and armaments minister, but the fuhrers.

A monumental attempt to pierce the facade of lies, deceit, evasions, and halftruths erected by hitlers favorite architect and minister of armaments and war production in the third reich. Through hitlers great trust in him and speer s own genius for organisation he became, effectively from 1942 overlord of the entire war economy, making him the second most powerful man in the third reich. Perhaps the most enigmatic and interesting member of hitlers inner circle. Gitta sereny, who has written prolifically about the third reich and spent 12 years working with albert speer and a large number of people who knew him, tells the story. His battle with truth by gitta sereny and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. His battle with truth 9780679768128 by gitta sereny and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. His battle with truth is a 720page book, written with the utmost historical rigour, about a man whose long life was dominated by the defining event of the twentieth century. Over the last years of his life she came to know him through hundreds of hours of conversations as no other biographer has known a nazi leader. Born and initially raised in austria, she was the author of five books, including the case of mary bell. His battle with truth main market by gitta sereny isbn.

Sereny decided to complete the book alone and proved herself a skillful sleuth. She interviewed every friend and associate of speer s who agreed to see her. Architect of the house of lies how much did albert speer. Sereny gained respect for his sincerity in his personal battle with truth. Albert speer his battle with truth 9780333645192 by sereny, gitta and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Alexander stilles most recent book is excellent cadavers. Four years into their relationship, in september 1981, speer died. Albert speer, first hitlers architect and later his minister for armaments and war production, will remain forever an enigma. Gitta has taken us into the heart of the man and his thoughts. She interviewed as well the people around him the celebrated, the notorious and the ordinary. Throughout the 12year history of the third reich, speer remained one of hitlers most trusted confidants and one of the most powerful political leaders of.

Speer was a charming, erudite, and extremely intelligent man who was also engaged in an intense battle for the truth that he eventually probably lost. Gitta sereny in the ruling circles of the third reich, albert speer was one of the most powerful figures. Much of this book tries to explain how, as sereny puts it, hitler was able to convince a nation of culturally sophisticated men and women that wrong was right. This title is not currently available for purchase. His battle with truth was, however, notable for eliciting confessions about the architects early. Somehow managing to escape with his life after nuremberg, he spent twenty years in relative. His battle with truth is a dense but wellwritten, meticulously researched and brilliant tome by the londonbased journalist gitta sereny, reconsidering the colorful life, memorable tribulations and profound ethical and moral conflicts of the third reichs master technocrat. This book gives him the attention and importance he craved but did not. His battle with truth, sereny, who spent hundreds of hours with speer near the end of his life, concedes that speer may not have known specifically about the. He was not only hitlers architect and armaments minister but the fuhrers closest friend. Gitta sereny s biography meticulously recreates for the reader the professional, emotional, and psychological life of albert speer, hitlers architect and later his minister of armaments. His battle with truth, is a book of major importance about a man and an era that the world must never forget.

Speer was a fascinating man and the book is very aptly subtitled. His battle with truth is wellwritten meticulously researched opus on the colorful life, memorable tribulations and profound ethical conflicts of the formed minister of armament and productions, beloved architect and one. Gitta attributed her fascination with evil to her own experiences of nazism as a child of central europe in the early 20th century. Albert speer was not only hitlers architect and armaments minister, but the fuhrers closest friend his unhappy love. His battle with truth gitta serenys detailed and scholarly examination of one of the key figures in hitlers leadership is also extremely readable and powerful, two qualities rare in biography. Albert speer was the epitome of the intelligent technocrat who loyally serves a totalitarian regime. Gitta sereny was an austrian born journalist, biographer and historian.

But the immense wealth of important information she brings to the discussion of speer and the third reich is unquestioned. Both attempts are as exasperating as they are exhaustive. Gitta sereny, through twelve years of research and through many conversations with speer, his friends and colleagues, reveals how speer came to terms with his own acts and failures to act, his progress from moral extinction to moral selfeducation and the question of his real culpability in the nazi. Aside from speers own writings, which sereny proves to be deliberately misleading in a few crucial areas, it is probably the most insightful account of speers life and of his involvement with the. His battle with truth main market by sereny, gitta isbn. Albert speer, hitlers architect and the minister of armaments and war production after his predecessors death in 1942, is the only highranking nazi official who accepted, really, any blame for the third reichs systematic slaughter of the jews, poles, romanis, russians, political dissidents, etc. Speer was one of the few defendants at the nuremberg trials to take. Speer was one of the few defendants at the nuremberg trials to take responsibility for nazi war crimes, even as he denied knowledge of the holocaust. Sep 19, 1995 albert speer, hitlers architect and the minister of armaments and war production after his predecessors death in 1942, is the only highranking nazi official who accepted, really, any blame for the third reichs systematic slaughter of the jews, poles, romanis, russians, political dissidents, etc. Gitta sereny, through twelve years of research and through many conversations with speer, his friends and colleagues, reveals how speer came to terms with his own acts and failures to act, his progress from moral extinction to moral selfeducation and the question of his real culpability.

A superb book by gitta sereny and an indepth look at speer and his knowledge of the holocaust and other issues within nazi germany. His battle with truth paperback october 29, 1996 by gitta sereny author. His battle with truth by sereny, gitta and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Internationally she is best known as the daughter of the german architect and highranked nazi party official albert speer 19051981, and the younger sister of albert speer jr. Albert speer, the hitler henchman who enabled the holocaust. His battle with truth by gitta sereny online at alibris.