Rating: 
Summary: A Confused subordianate
Review: As someone who has been interested in the events surrounding the Third Reich, and who was also born into a disjointed political system, it was fascinating to read about the manner in which a despot went about to mobilise an entire nation in order to achieve his goals.What Gitta Sereny's book clearly illustrates, is that Hitler's magnetism was not only limited to the general man in the street, but that Germany's obsession with Hitler engulfed German intellegentsia as well. Albert Speer was one of those. Sereny puts forth an extremely detailed account of the extraordinary relationship between Speer and Hitler, the reasons for their mutual admiration of each other, and also attempts to explain why a man of his esteem and intelligence was able to ignore the inevetable consequences of the Fuhrer's rule. She attempts to probe Speer on the reasons and nature of their relationship, which she cites as one that "...bordered on love." Speer's description of Hitler's last days and the chaotic time immediateley after the war must be one of the most compelling pieces of WWII literature ever written. What makes Sereny's book outstanding, is that it is the recollections of one of the most important men in Germany during that period, and Sereny questions Speer on many subjects, including the holocaust. She offers arguments, and he replies, but at he end, the reader is left to make his own judgement. I would recommend this excellent piece of work to anyone wanting to understand the reasons why a whole nation was prepared to follow Hitler to the grave--and this through the eyes of someone Hitler described as indespensable, Albert Speer. Sereny succeeds brilliantly to weave Speer's personal story with that of the Reich, and her style makes the book a delight to read.
Rating: 
Summary: examination of guilt and repentence
Review: Gita Sereny's "Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth" is well-written 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 of the only real friends Adolf Hitler ever had. "You are Hitler's unrequited love" somebody comments to Speer and the emotional connection between the monster and his servant was profound, complex and infinitely important to both parties. In Speer Hitler found realization of his artistic and romantic dreams, his only sense of real creation outside of the realm of politics and organization, non-threatening acceptance by the men of superior social upbringing based not on fear but on the profound unity of artistic mission. For Speer, Hitler of course brought the position of power, influence and the oracle of truth, possibility of realization of himself for which any architect would've been prepared for a Faustian bargain. From 1932 to 1944 Speer served Hitler with his heart and his soul. After the crisis in his personal life, illness and realization of the war being lost, came a time for Speer to gradually realize that he was serving and evil man. As always in the relationship, this was colored in profoundly personal terms, and due to his calling and upbringing matched into romantic showdown (I am referring to Speer's famous confession in the bunker on the eve of the demise of the Third Reich, which the author implies might not even had happened.) At Nuremberg, Speer was the only defendant who accepted a principle of collective responsibility unconditionally, versed however in smart and carefully terms which might've saved his neck in the long term. There we see the beginning of the personal struggle with guilt and a difficult road to truth. Gita Sereny's analysis is touches on all aspects of Speer's life - childhood, love life, upbringing, social conditions for the upper middle class German of his generation, his years in the helm of power, 20 years in prison and 15 years as a writer, researcher and apologist for his own past. A picture of profoundly disturbed man emerges, a man who becomes "morally extinguished" as the horror outside unravels. Speer was serving his sentence for the rest of his life, unable to live anywhere but in his past, partially lamenting, partially horrified by it, unable to relate very well to his family sacrificed perhaps as a part of his bargain. Profound conflict in Speer's life, his inability to admit or even realize that he was aware of the Final Solution and have done nothing, a horrible mistake of omission hunted him for the rest of his life. This book is a fascinating read, all 750+ pages of it. Some of the material is a didactic repetition of events in Speer's life which can be gotten from his books, but I would not suggest skipping it since Sereny often compares multiple drafts and cross references it with other sources. You have to be committed to this book, but once the commitment is made, you are up for a treat! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Masterful unmasking of Albert Speer
Review: Gitta Sereny is not only a prodigious researcher, she also writes beautifully. This is an amazing book, the product of years of interviews with Speer, who heretofore had been regarded as a sort of "good Nazi." Sereny exposes the truth: that he knew about Nazi genocide and was the mastermind behind German's brutal slave labor between 1941-45. Sereny beautifully weaves her story, throwing in wonderful ancillary observations about the Nazi hierarchy. She includes Speer's disingenuous criticisms of Hitler (whom he actually worshipped), as well as his opinions on Goering, Goebbels and Hitler's other minions. Sereny includes details of Speer's love affair late in life with a much-younger blonde woman and the dumping of his long-suffering wife after 50 years of marriage. Most important was Speer's assiduous and desperate attempt to disguise the fact that he knew about Auschwitz and successfully (until Sereny) hid it from the world. Sereny deserved the Pulitzer for this book. Read it and you won't be able to put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Serenys Saint, Speer the Sinner
Review: Gitta Sereny writes about Albert Speer in this biography as a deeply honest, moral, misled person trying to come to terms with the evil he has become embroiled in. Some simple facts that have come to light since Speers death show this to be a fallacy.
The details of Speers diary from his time working on Berlins regeneration hid his complicity in the removal of Jewish inhabitants and his use of concentration camp labour for munitions projects is now well documented. Despite this, many were fooled by the "repentant" Speer attemting to cleanse his soul of any knowledge of evil. Most historians tried to push Speer into admitting some knowledge of attrocities that he may have subconciously buried and this is Serenys self-appointed task. Few looked at the possibility that Speer may be as guilty as Saukel or Kaltenbrunner and more guilty than Streicher, Jodl or Keitel as a perpetrator of peoples suffering.
Serenys book does have its good points. This is the best book for showing the public Speer, the semi-private Speer and in a few unguarded moments, the private Speer as he cannot be observed now.
Sereny herself is quite an interesting charachter. She made her name writing a book similarly posthumously of Franz Paul Stangl, commondant of Treblinka, the Speer book after his death and just after the death of his personal secretary, Annemarie Kempf fourteen years later (fourteen years preperation?) and caused controversy here in Great Britain when she wrote the story of a child murderer ("Cries Unheard"), Mary Bell. The great controversy was because Mary Bell may get royalties from the book and profit from her crime.
Sereny should stick to dead people, they don't argue!
Rating:
Summary: Superb: The Best Biography of Speer to Date
Review: Gitta Sereny's"Albert Speer: His Battle with the Truth" is the most comprehensive biography of Hitler's architect and minister of armaments to date. Aside from Speer's own writings, which Sereny proves to be deliberately misleading in a few crucial areas, it is probably the most insightful account of Speer's life and of his involvement with the Holocaust. Sereny's investigation of Speer draws upon numerous interviews she conducted with Speer himself, his friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances and scores of other individuals and authorities. Although Sereny explores many fascinating aspects of Speer's life, such as his tormented childhood, his desperate need for Hitler's approval, his perspective of the infighting among key members of Hitler's inner circle, his genius for organization, and his surprising emergence as a possible successor to Hitler, the central focus of her investigation is Speer's knowledge of the Holocaust. Sereny provides overwhelming evidence that within months of Speer's becoming Hitler's minister of armaments it was impossible for him not to have been aware of Nazi genocidal policies including the murder of millions of Jews. Sereny concludes that during his years of service to Hitler, Speer did not "officially" know about the Holocaust, though in reality it was impossible for him not to have known. Speer managed to translate his official ignorance to a claim of actual innocence at Nuremburg, which saved his life. Meticulously researched and superbly written, Sereny's book is enjoyable as an historical analysis, a biography, a psychological study, and as an ethical investigation.
Rating:
Summary: As good a portrait of Speer as you will find
Review: Historians and WWII seem to only paint Nazis, especially high ranking ones, with a few brushes. Sereny does a very good job of assembling a picture of Albert Speer from a variety of sources. These include personal interviews with Speer, his notes from Spandau, interviews with colleagues/friends/aquaintances and other historical sources. Where Inside The Third Reich is very much what Speer wants to tell you, Sereny's book often is not. I believe she liked Speer and in fact does not paint him as an evil man. Rather you get a picture of a man whoose morals were not strong enough to cast aside his ambition, Hitler's cult of personality and friendship, war, perspective and duty to country. It also shows many fo Speers good qualities, which many WWII historians like to forget. It is as complete a picture of Albert Speer as you are to find, save for perhaps reading his Spandau diary. A definite must for people seriously interested in WWII and who are prepared not to find ALL (save for Hitler, Goebbels, Himler and the like) Nazi's heroic or demonic, but simply people not unlike ourselves or people we might know.
Rating:
Summary: As good a portrait of Speer as you will find
Review: Historians and WWII seem to only paint Nazis, especially high ranking ones, with a few brushes. Sereny does a very good job of assembling a picture of Albert Speer from a variety of sources. These include personal interviews with Speer, his notes from Spandau, interviews with colleagues/friends/aquaintances and other historical sources. Where Inside The Third Reich is very much what Speer wants to tell you, Sereny's book often is not. I believe she liked Speer and in fact does not paint him as an evil man. Rather you get a picture of a man whoose morals were not strong enough to cast aside his ambition, Hitler's cult of personality and friendship, war, perspective and duty to country. It also shows many fo Speers good qualities, which many WWII historians like to forget. It is as complete a picture of Albert Speer as you are to find, save for perhaps reading his Spandau diary. A definite must for people seriously interested in WWII and who are prepared not to find ALL (save for Hitler, Goebbels, Himler and the like) Nazi's heroic or demonic, but simply people not unlike ourselves or people we might know.
Rating:
Summary: Albert Speer: Neither godlike nor demonic
Review: I loved this book so much that I find it difficult even to review it. There is little I can add to what previous reviewers have said--Sereny's biography is meticulous, always intriguing, and sometimes breathtaking. The two most outstanding aspects of the book were Sereny's close contact with the older Speer and the completely fascinating subject, Speer himself. Sereny manages to do the impossible--get close enough to the subject to occasionally shock the reader, while retaining a sort of neutrality. Sereny, who actually lived in Speer's home over a period of several weeks and maintained a friendship with him for the last few years of his life, readily acknowledges that she liked Speer, and her vivid portrayal of Speer's charming, elusive personality and profoud intellect shows why. At the same time, she is utterly honest about confronting the darkest aspects of Speer's life and his involvement in the Holocaust. This is a biography that almost reads like a novel, particularly the scenes of interaction between Sereny and Speer, in which she gradually and tantalizingly brings him closer to admitting the truth. While it is true that Sereny occasionally goes off on tangents, I did not find this aspect of the book to be a negative, and certainly not enough to warrant anything less than a five star rating. While I primarily read the book to learn about Albert Speer, Sereny's writing and analysis are so good that I didn't mind seeing them applied to other aspects of a very compelling period of history. In many ways, this biography is something of a history of the Third Reich from the perspective of Albert Speer, particularly highlighting his important role. Sereny ultimately presents a portrait of a man whom the reader cannot help but empathize with; however, she is honest enough that the reader also cannot help but disapprove of him. She maintains a careful balance between these two aspects, and avoids falling into the same unfortunate trap as many Nazi biographers of glorifying the subject matter. At the same time, she avoids the temptation to take the easy way out and present an outright condemnation of one of the highest ranking Nazis in Germany. Sereny's Speer is neither godlike nor demonic; he is profoundly human, and her portrayal of his humanity is a magnificent achievement.
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing account of the Third Reich
Review: In the December issue of American Spectator there is a "Books for Christmas" list of recommendations that I always use as a guide for my reading in the upcoming year.
James Rosen (Fox News White House correspondent) recommended this book as "the best nonfiction book I have ever read on any subject." And while I don't necessarily agree entirely with this characterization I can heartily recommend this book as one you will not soon forget. Sereny is an Austrian native who actually saw the 1934 Nuremberg rally which was captured unforgettably by Leni Reifenstahl in her Triumph of Will.
Sereny gained the confidence of Albert Speer over many years and had basically unfettered access to him throughout her research, and it shows. The insights thus gained allow for an unusual glimpse into the inner workings of the Third Reich and all of its principal players.
Sereny conducted interviews with numerous "players" in the life of Albert Speer and the Third Reich. Her meticulous research methods and eye for detail allow for a glimpse into the heart of darkness the likes of which you will likely never again see.
She avoids the pitfalls of many who succumb to the temptation to oversimplify, mis-characterize, or accept the prevailing facile dismissals of those who participated in the "Final Solution." She attempts, at least partially successfully, to gain a broader understanding of just how such evil as occurred in the Third Reich came about. But she fails, as we all must eventually, in penetrating this odious darkness.
At the end of the day, the light of her analysis falls upon the black hole of evil which absorbs nearly all attempts to understand it. I enjoyed this book tremendously, but it is difficult slogging. Of one thing there can be no doubt however, Albert Speer did obviously have knowledge of the evil that surrounded him. That he could have remained oblivious to all that transpired is simply not credible. Even the effort not to confront this evil was, in itself, a tacit acknowledgment of what was transpiring. He used forced labor in his enormously successful efforts to keep the German war production going despite overwhelming losses to Allied bombing.
My wife, who reads to me on road trips, could not bear to read this book. It is not for the faint of heart. But it is well worth the effort. I heartily recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting look at Speer - the Nazi with a conscience.
Review: Sereny takes the reader on an interesting and unique trip into the heart and soul of one of the Third Reich's most interesting survivors. Written in the form of a biography, "Albert Speer - His Battle With Truth" details the life of one of Adolf Hitler's most able and competent followers,Albert Speer. From a childhood devoid of love, to his first fateful meeting with his 'Fuhrer' until his eventual trial and rehabilitation back into society, Sereny has seen Speer as few others have been able to do. Sereny makes no excuses for Speer's short-comings and attempts to uncover the true feelings of this once powerful and complex man. A must book for historians of the Third Reich.
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