Albert Speer Personality Essay

Personality Study: Albert Speer “Describe THREE key events that were influential in the rise to prominence of the personality you have studied.” Albert Speer joined the Nazi party due to an intense reaction to the personal nature of Hitler's call to arms. While Speer was working at a university in Berlin, Hitler came to address the students and teachers. Speer was immediately impressed by the blue suit Hitler wore because how he presented himself was completely different to the militaristic depiction portrayed in Nazi propaganda. Speer was not only impressed by Hitler’s appearance but also by the content of the speech. The beginning of Hitler’s talk was a history lecture, rather than a speech and this piqued Speer’s interest. Hitler’s charm began to enthral Speer and he was completely captivated by the “hypnotic persuasiveness” (Speer, 1969) set by the speech and its orator. This first interaction with Hitler was deeply impressed on Speer’s psyche and a few weeks later, after hearing a speech by Dr. Goebbels, he was convinced to join the Nazi Party. Speer cited that it was Hitler’s ability to mould the crowd into a homogenous mob, and channel their greatest fears and desires as his reason for joining. Speer’s early work for the Nazi Party began his ascent to prominence. One of his first major responsibilities was working on the 1st May Tempelhof Field Night Rally. He …show more content…
Self interest, when ruthlessly pursued for the means of self advancement, easily overrides any ideology that a person may hold. This argument is illustrated by the life of Albert Speer whose constant striving for self-gain trumps any key principle or belief. This is evidenced in the way Speer joined the Nazi Party, his work for the Party; as an architect and a reichsminister, and finally by his life following the war during both the Nuremberg Trials and after