BARNES & NOBLE | Hitler's Engineers: Fritz Todt and Albert Speer - Master Builders of the Third Reich by Blaine Taylor, Casemate Publishers

Hitler's Engineers: Fritz Todt and Albert Speer - Master Builders of the Third Reich

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Hitler's Engineers: Fritz Todt and Albert Speer - Master Builders of the Third Reich Pub. Date: 7/19/2010 Publisher: Casemate Publishers

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Overview

Copiously illustrated and carefully described, this is the first full treatment of two of the Third Reich's most important figures. While Nazi Germany's temporary ascendancy owed much to military skill, the talent of its engineers not only buoyed the regime but allowed it to survive longer than would normally be expected. This unique work focusing on Dr. Fritz Todt and Albert Speer, based on many previously-unpublished photographs and artwork from captured Nazi records, describes how engineering, as well as military skill, allowed the Third Reich to survive.

Dr. Todt was the brilliant builder of the world's first superhighway system (the Autobahn) that still exists today, as well as the architect of the German West Wall (Siegfried Line) that predated the later Atlantic and East Walls. The builder, also, of each of the wartime "Fuhrer Headquarters," as well as the submarine pens, Dr. Todt was killed in a still-mysterious airplane crash that may well have been a Nazi death plot, though he was given a State Funeral by Hitler,

Todt was succeeded in death as German Minister of Armaments and War Production by the Fuhrer's longtime personal architect (actually one of several), Albert Speer, who was credited by the Allies after the war as having prolonged the conflict by at least a year. Called a genius by Hitler himself, Speer designed and built the prewar Nuremberg Nazi Party Congress rally stands and buildings, many of which can still be visited.

More importantly, under the constant rain of Allied bombs and the encroachment of Soviet advances from the East, Speer managed to keep the German industrial machine running until the spring of 1945, though it was driven ever further underground. He also allocated resources to fortifications and counterattacks (the V-missile installations) against both West and East, in attempts to stave off defeat. Convicted as a war criminal at Nuremberg, Speer served his entire 20 year-long sentence at Spandau Prison, then went on to become a best-selling author as a Nazi apologist who died in London suddenly in the arms of his lover on Sept. 1, 1981, the anniversary of the German invasion of Poland.

Together, Todt and Speer were the pillars that supported the Third Reich throughout the vicissitudes of battlefield fortune. With over 300 photographs, this is the first work that examines their unique role in history's most terrible war.

BLAINE TAYLOR is the author of eight previous photographic studies on the World War II era. The winner of six awards for writing and editing, he is a veteran of the US Army's 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam, and has 12 medals and decorations, including the Combat Infantryman's Badge. An international magazine writer, Mr. Taylor lives and works in Towson, Maryland.

Editorial Reviews

Classic Military Vehicles

“Copiously illustrated and carefully described, this is the first full treatment of two of the Third Reich’s most important figures…”

Midwest Book Review

“…a heavily illustrated popular work engagingly balancing biography, major Nazi engineering, architectural and industrial projects, a profile of Hitler’s leadership regarding such projects, and the complexities and rivalries of the Nazi hierarchy closest to Hitler…”

More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews

Military Modeling

“…essential reading for anyone with an interest in Second World War history and is recommended.”

WWII History/Military Heritage

...an intriguing account of two of Nazi Germany's top architects

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781932033687
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Publication date: 7/19/2010
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 537,079
Product dimensions: 8.80 (w) x 11.10 (h) x 0.90 (d)

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Henry_Berry

Posted October 25, 2010

heavily-illustrated popular work on top Nazi architects

Todt is not so well known as Speer. Speer took his position after Todt died in a plane crash in 1942. With the exact cause of the crash unknown, sabotage was suspected; though never proven. While he was alive, Todt was Hitler's preferred chief engineer, and a member of his inner circle. In this position, Todt was responsible for the German autobahn, the Siegfried defensive line in western Germany, and German war material production. He was named Minister of Armaments and Munitions in 1940.

Holding this position until Germany's defeat, Speer was captured, held in Spandau Prison with other high German officials, and tried as a war criminal at Nuremberg and given a 20-year prison sentence. In captivity and after release, he wrote several bestselling books which kept him in the public eye before he died in 1981. Speer was known for his construction of German underground armament factories allowing Germany to prolong the war despite Allied bombardments and involvement in the German rockets whose development was cut off in its early stages by the Allied victory.

Both Todt and Speer were also architects of monumental projects meant to glorify the Third Reich and German infrastructure such as roads and public facilities. Taylor's focus is on their works as fundamental, invaluable parts of Nazi Germany enabling it to successively engage in warfare during the first part of the Nazi regime and then--what is even more interesting under Speer--continue to wage war against far superior Allied and Russian armies after devastating defeats.

Detailed biographies and studies focusing only on production plans and engineering and architectural feats can be found elsewhere. This book by an author with a military background is a heavily-illustrated popular work engagingly balancing biography, major Nazi engineering, architectural, and industrial projects, a profile of Hitler's leadership regarding such projects, and the complexities and rivalries of the Nazi hierarchy closest to Hitler which Todt and Speer had to content with to achieve and hold their high positions.
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