Amidst the drastic economic strain of the 1930s, without doubt, the emergence of a prospering career empowered Albert Speer in shaping the course of the 20th century. Thus, to a significant extent, it is subsequent to an individual’s procurement of power that stimulates their profound influence on history. With the onset of the Great Depression prompting Speer’s membership with the Nazi Party, it opened up doors of selective employment. Like so, he was able to welcome Nazism into his life for greater architectural opportunities to ultimately adopting the persona of an apolitical technocrat at the Nuremberg Trials. Hence, while initially influenced by his historical context, it consequently equipped him the capability to remarkably shape history.…show more content… Speer, an “arch manipulator” as Van der Vat puts it, differentiated himself from the other Nazi leaders by following an unprecedented line of argument in claiming collective responsibility. In doing so, he accepted full responsibility for carrying out Hitler’s orders, albeit Speer disobeyed him in mentioning that he attempted to save the German infrastructure from Hitler’s ‘scorched earth’ policy. Therefore, allowing Speer to sculpt his image in which he worked for the interests of the German people and consequently repudiated the anti-Semitism and destructive views of Hitler, sustaining how his maneuvers enabled him to influence his own circumstances. By mentioning such events to his advantage, he sets forth himself to the world as a sympathetic and apologetic Nazi. Furthermore, although he acknowledged his guilt for the forced labour programs, he denied any knowledge of mass extermination of the Jewish people. From this, he was sentenced to 20 years in Spandau prison where his confession and remorse characterised him as ’the penitent Nazi’. Hence, by using such events, Speer attempted to paint the ‘good Nazi’ in comparison to his alleged image of a liar and hypocrite. Thus, Speer was the epitome of using events to his advantage to subsequently shape his prominent role in Nazi
