Early work for the Nazis 1932-1934
Albert Speer was an unemployed architect until he received a phone call from Karl Hanke, head of organization in the Nazi Party in Berlin. Speer was asked to renovate and remodel Karl Hanke’s home and through Hanke, Speer was given a more challenging task to rebuild and remodel the party headquarters in Berlin. Speer completed the task and impressed the Nazi leadership.
In early 1933 propaganda leader Goebbels had commissioned Speer to remodel his ministerial residence. The architect ensured that the task would be completed in two months. Goebbels told Hitler about the tight schedule, Hitler regarded it as impossible. Speer completed the task and was finished on time. Speer was gaining a reputation not only through the completion of the task and Speer’s architectural skill but also Speer as an efficient organizer.
In 1933 Speer was asked to design the decoration for the Nazi Party Rally held at Nuremberg. Speer designed a gigantic eagle that dominated the rally; Speer’s talent impressed Hitler himself.
In 1933 the German leader ordered the reservation of the chancellor’s residence in Berlin, and the world was conducted by Hitler’s own architect, Paul Ludwig Troost. However Speer’s work had been noticed by Hitler, thus leading to Speer being put in charge of the overall supervision of the work.
Hitler had a genuine interest in design, art and architecture, as he persuaded art in his earlier years, but nothing came of it. Speer impressed Hitler, not only for his architectural skill and for being efficient but also how he spoke his mind on matters of design. Hitler saw in Speer a skilled and creative architect that he had dreamed of being. They shared a common bond and a friendship flourished.
Albert Speer was an unemployed architect until he received a phone call from Karl Hanke, head of organization in the Nazi Party in Berlin. Speer was asked to renovate and remodel Karl Hanke’s home and through Hanke, Speer was given a more challenging task to rebuild and remodel the party headquarters in Berlin. Speer completed the task and impressed the Nazi leadership.
In early 1933 propaganda leader Goebbels had commissioned Speer to remodel his ministerial residence. The architect ensured that the task would be completed in two months. Goebbels told Hitler about the tight schedule, Hitler regarded it as impossible. Speer completed the task and was finished on time. Speer was gaining a reputation not only through the completion of the task and Speer’s architectural skill but also Speer as an efficient organizer.
In 1933 Speer was asked to design the decoration for the Nazi Party Rally held at Nuremberg. Speer designed a gigantic eagle that dominated the rally; Speer’s talent impressed Hitler himself.
In 1933 the German leader ordered the reservation of the chancellor’s residence in Berlin, and the world was conducted by Hitler’s own architect, Paul Ludwig Troost. However Speer’s work had been noticed by Hitler, thus leading to Speer being put in charge of the overall supervision of the work.
Hitler had a genuine interest in design, art and architecture, as he persuaded art in his earlier years, but nothing came of it. Speer impressed Hitler, not only for his architectural skill and for being efficient but also how he spoke his mind on matters of design. Hitler saw in Speer a skilled and creative architect that he had dreamed of being. They shared a common bond and a friendship flourished.
“If Hitler had any friends, I would have been his friend”. Albert Speer (J.Fest, Hitler, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1973, p.523)