Speers vision on Australia

[Roddoss72]

I had read a book on Albert Speer many, many years back, title of the book escapes me, and as i read the book i was shocked to see a drawing of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with a massive German Eagle on both sides, i had to do a double take on the drawing, but it was none the less the Sydney Harbour Bridge, my question did Albert Speer have a world grand vision and not just focussing on Germany, are there examples of Albert Speers vision of a conquered Britain or France?

[dcmatkins]

In my opinion, perhaps Speer had delusions of grandeur. Whether it be in Germany or elsewhere.

[stumpjumper]

I suggest that Speer's 'political' architecture was in general in the contemporary neo-classical style used across Europe. There were many other practitioners of the style, including Lutyens in the UK and others in Russia, Germany etc. Speer's designs were also more or less conventional in construction, but were often larger in scale than much similar work. Speer was better resourced than most.

I at any rate am not aware of any particular interest Speer had in Australia or anywhere outside the German realm. A good book to start with on Speer is 'Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth' by Gita Sereny (ISBN-13: 978-0679768128). It is a good platform from which to move on to Speer's own books and others on him and his role and work.

[Geoff Walden]

When reading Gita Sereny's book, one should bear in mind that she apparently had an axe to grind. Granted that one should also bear in mind that Speer was not 100% accurate in his own books, and in fact played a little loose with the truth (as Sereny points out); but still, Sereny's book is far from an unbiased look at Speer.

This is, of course, my own opinion, and others' mileage may vary.

Geoff Walden

[DarkSock]

Whilst tangentially relevant to the issue of Speer's designs on Australia, I firmly believe that 1.) any such illustration implies an assumption of eventual 3rd Reich mastery over their Pacific counterparts in the Axis, and 2.) Many anagrams resulting in "I peed in a horse once" also subsume the word "Speer". This resultant nexus between my keen interest in the mechanics of the second world war and human/equine micturation issues (non-erotic, of course) will be the topic of my seventh in an ongoing series of missives to the leading living authority of all things WW2 - Tom Hanks (former co-star of the popular 80's sitcom "Bosom Buddies", which, like many of you, piqued my interest in the horrors of the 2nd Great War.

[Fait Accompli]

I agree, Sereny's book is uneven. Probably the best book about Speer is Joachim Fest's, Speer: The Final Verdict. It's an entertaining, mostly unbiased read, although Fest does seem somewhat sympathetic to Speer. Perhaps his sympathy was justified; Speer was a fascinating character, after all.

[ghostsoldier]

I agree, Sereny's book is uneven. Probably the best book about Speer is Joachim Fest's, Speer: The Final Verdict. It's an entertaining, mostly unbiased read, although Fest does seem somewhat sympathetic to Speer. Perhaps his sympathy was justified; Speer was a fascinating character, after all.

Agreed.
Rob

[duke22]

There are many more sources than what i've read on the matter, but I haven't come across anything beyond plans for the Russian frontier. You might have seen it in an old magazine, or in the Leon Krier book (no longer in print).

[Max]

Perhaps it ammused him that the bridge was opened on the anniversary of his birth - 19th March.

Max