Adolf Hitler

Hermann Giesler on left; Albert Speer on right,

The Contradictious Speer

 From Hermann Giesler’s memoir Ein Anderer Hitler
Der zwiespältige Speer, pages 332-339
1977 edition, Druffel-Verlag

Translated  by Wilhelm Kriessmann and Carolyn Yeager
copyright Carolyn Yeager 2014

This section from Giesler's memoir Ein Anderer Hitler deals with his correction of Albert Speer’s insulting statements about the Fuehrer at occasions when Giesler was present or knew differently because of his own experience with Hitler.

To add some perspective to Giesler’s account, we remind you that Speer’s biographer Gitta Sereny titled her book, Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth.

In addition, Nicolaus von Below, Hitler’s Luftwaffe adjutant from 1937-45, wrote in his memoir At Hitler’s Side about an incident of seeing a striking red color appear in the sky while in the company of Hitler on the terrace at Obersaltzberg in Aug. 1939. He told Hitler it augured a “bloody war.” He said he “recounted this conversation to Speer in 1967 but later he (Speer) attributed my remark erroneously to Hitler in his book Erinnerungen.”1

July 3, 2014

Hitler calls Heinrich Himmler "our Ignatius de Loyola" who "with intelligence and obstinacy forged the instrument of the SS" to become "that extraordinary body of men."

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the dinner table monologues by the German Leader from Jan. 1st to 5th, 1942, as taken down by trusted aide Heinrich Heim.  Included in this episode:

• The importance of that which transcends understanding and the inspiration received at Obersalzberg; 

• The sacrifice demanded of the SS and other elite forces and the extraordinary qualities of Heinrich Himmler;

• The personality of Sepp Dietrich and the leadership of Goering and Viktor Lutze;

• The importance of optimism and comparison of the American, English and Russian soldier;

• The meaning and importance of the title "Fuehrer";

• The three great mistakes of the Italian High Command and the future of tank warfare.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

June 30, 2014

Of the Winterhilfswerk Hitler said, “This great campaign against hunger and cold is governed by this principle: We have broken the international solidarity of the proletariat. We want to build the living national solidarity of the German people!” 

National-Socialism cannot easily be separated from Adolf Hitler and the German Third Reich even though some try to do it. To put it in biblical language, Many say they are National-Socialist, but few there are who can truly demonstrate it.

• Four examples in as many days of those claiming to be N-S when Carolyn thinks they don't quite fit the bill;
• The foundations of National-Socialism lie in the German Volkisch nationalist movement combined with the anti-communist Freicorps paramilitary culture following the World War, plus the humiliation of Versailles;
• Where and how Fascism and Nat-Soc veer away from each other;
• Idealism is a characteristic attributed to Germans in particular which is abused by the Jewish spirit of selfishness and materialism;
• Scientific racism and antisemitism are essential to protect the Folk, otherwise it's only economic theory;
• Carolyn reads off some of her family genealogy and talks a little bit about her family culture.
  

June 26, 2014

Adolf Hitler in pre-Chancellor days, signs something for Julius Streicher, NSDAP Gauleiter of Nuremberg.

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the Dec. 17-31, 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Some highlights of this episode:

• Hitler tells stories about Karl Lueger and Georg von Schoenerer of Vienna, plus other mayors of German cities;

• The difficulty of building an art collection when Jews are dishonest dealers - finding the Bordone Venus;

• More on how cooked food causes disease, and the achievements of the Party men;

• Hitler defends Julius Streicher, who has been removed as Gauleiter of Nuremberg - says Dietrich Eckart had also thought men like Streicher were necessary;

• Hitler treats his political opponents well;

• Ruhr industrial district - the need for increased production of coal and iron;

• Some thoughts on the Japanese.

June 23, 2014

Carolyn goes for a three-hour show because Speer is such an interesting character! Some highlights:

• How Architect Speer found work with the NS Party, came to the attention of Hitler and designed the Zeppelin Field Stadium;
• After the death of Fritz Todt; Speer becomes Reich Minister of Armaments in 1942;
• Speer's Final Statement at the Nuremberg Tribunal reveals his strategy of total cooperation with his captors
• Former assistant and friend Rudolf Wolters disapproves of Speer's increasing harshness toward Hitler and insistence on piling guilt upon himself, and breaks the relationship;
• Speer goes out of his way [scroll to June 15, 1977] to support the Jewish fable of extermination of Jews in concentration camps;
  
• Hermann Giesler points out lies and/or total contadictions told by Speer about Adolf Hitler in times when he (Giesler) was present;
• Speer seemed totally bent on regaining the respect of the world by professing total disrespect for everything about the Third Reich he had served.

Image: Albert Speer enjoys the confidence of Adolf Hitler during a walk at Wolf's Lair military headquarters in East Prussia. Enlarge

Hermann Giesler on left; Albert Speer on right, both in their NSDAP uniform and wearing the Golden Party Badge.

In his memoir about the Adolf Hitler he knew (Ein Anderer Hitler), Hermann Giesler devoted a section to his difficult relationship with architect Albert Speer. Divided into six parts, it covers 42 pages, from pg. 318 to 360. Wilhelm Kriessmann translated the entire section in 201l, but we decided not to include it as part of our series from Ein Anderer Hitler, but to publish it separately. However, Willis Carto never decided to buy the right to publish it in The Barnes Review, as he did the others, even after we condensed only selected parts of it.

Thus it is that now, several years later, I am finally getting back to this project and putting what I consider the most relevant parts of Giesler's commentary on Speer into shape for publication on my website. I will first post these parts separately in the blog, and then archive them under Ein Anderer Hitler on the sidebar.

June 19, 2014

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the Nov. 19th-Dec. 14th 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Topics included in this episode:

• The Struggle for Power, the necessity to follow Nature's laws, and the peculiar German sense of duty;

• Hitler tells stories about the Party's trip to Coburg in 1922, the Volkischer Beobachter NSDAP newspaper, and the reason for uniforms;

• On Germans married to Jews, and the Jewish role as a destroyer;

• Highest aim of every man should be the preservation of the species;

• Catholic Church better at appreciating culture and beauty than the Protestant.

Image: Hitler ordered the Coburg Badge to be struck on October 14, 1932 to memorialize the event which took place ten years earlier. In Nov. 1936, he listed the top NSDAP awards  in this order: 1. Coburg Badge; 2. Nürnberg Party Badge of 1929; 3. SA Treffen at Brunswick 1931; 4. Golden Party Badge; 5. The Blood Order

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

June 12, 2014

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the November 11th-16th, 1941 dinner table conversations and monologues by the German Leader, taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim.  Some highlights of this episode:

• Monarchy is an out-of-date form - example, the Thuringian Royal House lived off the state;
• Keeping the friendship of the Church is too costly, but we're glad to have its cultural monuments - the great Cathedrals;
• Frederick the Great's reaction against the Church in defense of the State was definitive;
• The Germanic Spirit will penetrate the East and bring the people all they need;
• The success of the Four Year Plan is explained by setting everybody to work within a closed circle economy, not by rearmament;
• Too many officials, too much paperwork - Hitler wants more local autonomy;
• Legal system is too lenient; there are no "extenuating circumstances" for treason.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

June 9, 2014

Carolyn looks at the members of the anti-Hitler faction in Germany, dominated by high-level military officers, and asks how they got away with their assassination plots for so long. She also asks: Can a consensus of opinion ever be reached, even among similar people? Some ideas covered:

• What makes a traitor?
• Of 30 top leaders, 20 held high military rank (Colonel or above) and 10 were diplomats and Chiefs of Police;
• It's all in how you view it -to them, they were the loyalists and Hitler was the traitor;
• While they didn't want the Jews around, they also didn't want to harm them;
• They believed Germany's enemies were only against Hitler, and wanted the same things they, as Germans, did;
• Their efforts to remain undetected may have hampered their success in achieving their goal.

Image: At Rastenburg on 15 July 1944. Stauffenberg at left, Hitler center, Keitel on right. The person shaking hands with Hitler is General Karl Bodenschatz, who was seriously wounded five days later, by Stauffenberg's bomb. Enlarge