Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer

Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer

(March 19th 1905 – September 1st 1981)

To What Extent was the verdict and sentence of

Albert Speer at the Nuremburg Trials appropriate?

Debates over the Second World War still continue long after the event has passed. The event itself affected every corner of the world and its implications were far reaching. Over sixty million people died as a direct consequence of the war. However at the conclusion of the war, during the famous Nuremberg Trials, most of the senior Nazi leaders were handed death sentences, however, Albert Speer, Hitler's Minister for Armaments and War Production, was not, and escaped with a twenty year sentence, charged with Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes. Why was this so?

At the Nuremburg trials, Speer was tried on four counts. These were:

1. Conspiracy to commit crimes against peace.

2. Crimes against peace.

3. Crimes against humanity.

4. War crimes.

The first two charges did not have sufficient backing as Speer was not a major contributor or figure in the Third Reich until 1942 – well into the war. In the trails, he explained that once he was Armaments Minister, he did his best to maximise Germany's war productions, and argued that this was not a crime, as many other ministers from other countries in similar positions were doing the same thing. However he was found guilty on the last two counts because of his extensive use and involvement in slave labour. The first half of this essay will focus on the verdict of the Trials in relation to Speer and his knowledge of the Holocaust, whereas the second half will focus on the sentence of twenty years and whether or not this was the appropriate judgement to make.

The Verdict

Crimes against Peace, Humanity and War Crimes (The Use of Forced Labour)

Speer was officially charged with counts three and four. The evidence against him consisted entirely of his participation and involvement in the slave labour programme, during the war. He did not deny the use of slave labourers in the war effort, particularly in the various concentration camps. His defence was that he only used these labourers because he was put under pressure to deliver great projects on schedule and on budget. The demand for labourers was enormous, as Hitler grew more and more fanatical about his ‘Germania' and other war projects, that were meant to help win the war. However, Speer did aim to provide the labourers with sufficient food, water, shelter and working conditions.

Whether