The rationale for this study is Albert Speer's unique value as a source of information concerning the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler. Although there is a wealth of information available on Nazi Germany and Hitler, the observations of this intelligent man who was an important official of the regime and a close associate of Hitler himself carry weight that no other report can match. He was a well-educated, intellectual, and articulate man who left behind three comprehensive books and many articles and interviews. In addition to such publications, there are, in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., many records of interviews with Speer conducted by Allied personnel immediately following the war. Those documents have been used extensively in this study.There is no attempt either to indict or to vindicate Speer, as many authors have done, but rather the purpose is to present in narrative form an analytical study of the relationship between the two men. The central focus throughout examines Speer and Hitler in juxtaposition and forms conclusions on the nature of their complex and compelling attachment. In the process, historical events form the backdrop as Speer describes them for us. It is always Speer, not Hitler, with whom the primary interest lies.The question of how anyone of Speer's background and intelligence could have given his life to a regime devoted to gutter politics, conquest of a continent, and genocide always arises in any study of Speer. The strange hold the Nazis exert on the world's imagination seems to ebb and flow, but does not die out, nor does the awful suspicion that something similar could happen again. Speer used his writings to describe the process and warn against its resurrection, especially in light of the tremendous leap in technology we have seen. Do not look for monsters, he counseled, for monsters are easily identified and avoided. Beware the manipulators who orchestrate on a national scale those policies which bring harm to whole populations, men who loudly proclaim their humanness and ordinariness.This inquiry is not an attempt to prove a predetermined hypothesis, since it embodies a historical approach rather than an experimental one. Information is drawn from the books and papers of Speer, as well as official documents, but secondary works to corroborate the basic sources are cited at times. There is still no definitive biography of Speer, although he appears as a central figure in many works. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that the Speer family has put his personal papers in Heidelberg beyond the reach of anyone until 1999, probably as a result of his negative treatment in various publications.The technical papers from the Ministry of Armaments and War Production are housed in the Bundesarchiv at Koblenz, but were not pertinent to this study. The Institut fur Zeitgeschichte in Munich houses official papers, as does the Berlin Document Center, while the Washington has the transcripts of Library of Congress in Hitler's Table Talks, some parts of which are used in this study. Speer's books and published material give an extensive look at his part in the Third Reich, his relationship with Hitler, and his own feelings and observations concerning both. The International Military Tribunal records from Nuremberg are both extensive and enlightening. One may also view the collection of Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler's personal photographer, in the Special Collections section at Bracken Library.Chapter I deals with Speer in the pre-war years as he rose to fame and became part of Hitler's inner circle, while Chapter II views the war years through Speer's experiences. In Chapter III the early relationship between Speer and Hitler is developed, and in Chapter IV the war, the collapse of the Third Reich, and the attendant disasters are covered.

The functioning and apparent successes of the political leadership in Nazi Germany, has for long presented political scientists with a very complex and seemingly ambiguous system to interpret and explain. This study addresses this very matter by firstly identifying the ideological environment within which it functioned as one in which an effective leader with effective leadership tactics was vital. Secondly, two factors are identified as key to the understanding and explanation of political leadership in the Third Reich. These factors are the 'Hitler myth' as a vibrant leadership cult that stood at the centre of Adolf Hitler's relationship with the German people and thus formed the base of Hitler's authority, and the 'Fahrer Prinzip' as expression of the totalitarian style of leadership present in the Nazi movement and the Nazi State, especially regarding the role of Hitler as Fahrer of the Nazi Party and later also of the Nazi State. / Dissertation (MA (Political Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

The right of national independence, which came to be called the principle of self-determination, is, in general terms, the belief that each nation has a right to constitute an independent state and determine its own government. It will be the thesis of this paper to show that the Nazi regime under the rule of Adolph Hitler took this principle as its own insofar as its relations with other nations were concerned, but while they paid lip service to the principle, it was in fact being prostituted to the fullest degree in the case of Austria and the Anschluss of 1938.

Universiẗat, Diss.--Kiel, 2006.

Zugl.: Turku, Univ., Diss., 2007

Kreuz und Hakenkreuz.In den dreißiger Jahren des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts treffen mit dem Symbol des Christentums und der Swastika zwei Symbole aufeinander, die für eigentlich höchst unterschiedliche und gegensätzliche Weltanschauungen stehen. Warum und in welcher Art und Weise ein Miteinander oder gar eine Symbiose beider Kreuze sich entwickelte, soll zentraler Aspekt dieser Arbeit sein. So unterschiedlich die völkisch-nationale Bewegung und das nationale protestantische Christentum doch waren, im Hitler'schen Antisemitismus und dem Antijudaismus der nationalen Christlichen Bewegungen hatten sich ein fatales Zwillingspaar gefunden. / Aim of this termpaper was to analyse the circumstances of the "unholy alliance" of the protestant church and the NAZI-Movement in the 1930s.

Adolf Hitler advocated total control of the press for many years before he was elected Führer. Almost immediately after he assumed power in 1932, Hitler began writing new laws and regulations that totally exorcised all freedoms from the German press. This study follows the path that Hitler took to control the German press from 1920 until the end of World War II. It utilized translations of documents and statements by men whom Hitler appointed to control the press and books written by experts in the fields of communications as well as men who prosecuted Nazi war criminals after World War II. The study found that the control of the press was indeed a very necessary ingredient in Hitler's climb to power and remained crucial during his reign as Führer.

No description available.