It's early 1942, and Nazi Germany is now up against the industrial might
of Soviet Russia and the United States. [Roger] This is a nightmare scenario for
Germany's military and political planners. They're faced with a two-front war against enemies on both sides who can
out-produce them in every sphere. Hitler needs a man to revolutionise
the German war machine. But no one expects the Führer
to choose his friend, Albert Speer. [Sönke] Speer was an architect,
he was not a manager, he was not an engineer,
he was not even a general. It's a promotion that soon stirs up a rat's nest of inner-circle jealousy
and intrigue. It's a very public humiliation for Göring
and a very public success for Speer. [Guy]
And that kind of success makes him an immediate target
for other members of the inner circle. [Emma]
He's got Bormann briefing against him, Himmler jostling for power. It's a confrontation
that might even threaten Speer's life. This raises
the kind of tantalising prospect that members of Hitler's inner circle
are actually trying to murder each other. This is the inside story
of Hitler's henchmen, the power struggles,
blind ambition and fawning sycophants that would create a monster and fuel the
most brutal horrors of the Third Reich. In the snow around Moscow, the rapid advance
of the Nazi war machine has been halted. This time, Blitzkrieg tactics
have failed to deliver a swift victory. Once the Blitzkrieg ground to a halt
in the Soviet Union in 1942, the nature of the war itself changed, and Germany found itself effectively in a
war of attrition, in a war of production, which is an extremely difficult prospect. It has to out-produce
the economic might of the Soviet Union. Nazi Germany needs
more tanks and guns fast but its economy isn't ready
for a long drawn-out war, and to make things worse,
a plane crash has led to the death of the very man Hitler needs
to arm and supply his war machine. Minister of Armaments Fritz Todt. [Sönke] Todt was a well-known man, a capable man and the big question
is who will be the successor. It's a chance to save the Nazi war effort. For Hitler's number two, Hermann Göring, this is an ideal opportunity
to repair a once-glittering reputation. By 1942, there had been
some big setbacks for Göring. Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the
Luftwaffe is not the force it once was. Göring's star is on the wane. Göring's career may be in the doldrums but he has good reason to believe
that he is the obvious choice. Göring, you have to remember,
is in charge of the four-year plan. The four-year plan is basically the office that's been created to rearm Germany
and when Fritz Todt dies, he is fully expecting that either he
or one of his men will fill that position. Göring is banking on being put
in full control of the supply and manufacture
of armaments. But when he arrives
at the Führer's office, he gets a nasty surprise. Hitler has already found a new man
to rearm Germany, his chief architect Albert Speer. When Speer is appointed, you know, this is an absolute shock
and a bolt from the blue. [Sönke] Everyone knew Speer
as Hitler's architect but everyone was surprised
that he was the successor of Todt because he was not an engineer,
he wasn't even a general, he had no idea about weapons...
weapons industry whatsoever. But a move like this should come
as no surprise to Göring as Hitler likes to keep
his inner circle in check by keeping those closest to him
on the back foot. Hitler likes to surround himself
with people who say yes. He therefore has a habit
of giving people jobs for which they have
no background knowledge, no experience, and are unlikely candidates
for those jobs. Now, Speer thought that he himself was the only thing approaching a friend
that Hitler ever had. Hail victory! Hail victory! Albert Speer had first met Hitler
almost a decade earlier, when,
as a relatively inexperienced architect, he was asked to submit designs
for the Nuremberg rally. It's Speer's idea
for the Nuremberg rallies, these absolutely astonishing
cathedrals of light with all these anti-aircraft lights
shining up into the air. They just would absolutely wow
and impress the crowds and everyone
attending these rallies. But they also impress Hitler himself. To the young architect's surprise
and excitement, the Führer invited him
to regular luncheons to discuss his own architectural dreams
for a new Germany. Speer and Hitler
have this immediate rapport, because they both have
this kind of artistic sensibility, and they would spend hours, you know, looking over models or architects' plans
and drawing up ideas. There was a lot of sort of intimacy
between them. They were like pals. Speer would soon show that
he could also undertake major projects including Hitler's new Reich Chancellery,
which was built within a year. The architect may have no experience
of armament production, but so far, in the eyes of the Führer,
he hasn't put a foot wrong. [James Holland]
I think he thinks here's someone who is... not tainted by anything
that's come before. He's not been tainted by the failures
in the Soviet Union the previous year. He's not Göring. He's someone new. He's someone I can trust
and I think he's worth a punt. But Speer's appointment
is a massive gamble. With the United States entering the war,
the future of Nazi Germany is now dependent on knocking out
the Soviet Union before it's too late. They've got one more chance. And that is in
the summer-campaigning season of 1942. They've got this last chance
to defeat the Soviet Union. But of course, their factories are
also pumping out more tanks and machinery and now Britain and the United States are also supplying them
through Arctic convoys as well with more and more material.
So the race is on. It's a daunting challenge but Speer's first hurdle is to deal
with the very man who wanted his job. Speer, travelling to see Göring
soon after his appointment, would have been expecting
something of a showdown. Speer now finds himself thrust into
the bear pit of Hitler's inner circle, surrounded by dangerous men who
all jealously guard their grip on power. And Göring is itching to put
the young upstart in his place. [James Holland] Speer knows
that he's completely in above his head. Yes, he's been in the inner court, but he's always been just some guy
who builds buildings. He hasn't actually been involved
on a kind of day-to-day basis of the political machinations of the
Third Reich, so suddenly he's saying, I have to sink or swim with the big boys
and they don't get bigger than Göring. Hitler's number two receives Speer
like a pompous patrician telling the newbie just to follow his lead
and all will be well. Göring just wants to go, OK, fine, you're now going to be consumed into
the four-year plan we're going to set up. And, you know,
you'll just basically do what I say. [Roger] Göring outlined the areas
beyond which Speer was not to tread and Speer realises at that point
that he's being... set up. [James Holland] This is kind of
heartstopping moments for him and he's got to show Göring
right from the outset that he's not going to be pushed around. Speer may be a political novice
but he has come prepared. He can't push Göring around,
but Hitler can. He reveals
a decree from the Führer himself. Hitler says that these new areas as far
as armaments production was concerned, it was all to be under Speer's competence. It was to be taken away from Göring's
competence as head of the four-year plan and was to be given to Speer. Speer is playing his trump card. His personal bond with the Führer. [James Holland]
What he has managed to get out of Hitler is a concession
that he can go straight to him. He has a direct access to the Führer and the Führer says,
“I will back you up on anything." And Göring just has
to kind of suck on that. With Göring out of the way,
Speer gets to work. And as an outsider,
he brings some much needed reforms. For a Nazi Germany
where everybody is enmeshed in bureaucracy
and overlapping hierarchies, and nobody can get anything done, Speer comes in and he sets up
these new, clean lines of control on a more business-like basis. [Roger] The German war economy had
never really been properly rationalised. So first of all,
that's what Speer begins to do. So he tries as far as is possible to ensure that each individual factory
produces one product, whether it be a rifle
or an artillery piece or whatever it is. And at the same time,
he's banging heads together and people that don't toe the line
and do the right thing are removed. Crucially,
Speer has good news for his Führer. He expects production of armoured vehicles
to double by the end of the year. Speer's star is growing ever brighter. For Speer, it's an absolute dream, and he describes how they would have
a monthly phone call in which he would report to Hitler how things were going
and he would get praise. And he would begin by saying
"Heil Hitler," and Hitler would reply "Heil Speer," and just to have that sort of jokey respect
from the Führer was extraordinary. However, this unique friendship
is being watched enviously. Speer's relationship with Hitler
is very threatening to Martin Bormann. Bormann is the Head of the Nazi Party
Chancellery and Hitler's closest aide. Bormann is a man of very base origins
who is a creature of Hitler, who is someone who is in it for himself
and he's absolutely ruthless. This wily bureaucrat
has made it his life's work to become the Führer's official shadow. [Emma] All his power
comes from his proximity to Hitler... and to controlling
who has access to Hitler and suddenly this glamorous man
comes along and Hitler just accepts his calls
and overrides Bormann. Over and above the daily access, it's Speer's emotional connection
with the Führer that hurts most. [Emma] Hitler seems to like Speer, to be excited about the conversations
that they can have, but Bormann is
kind of like a lapdog or something. He's very, very useful to Hitler, but it's all
entirely practical instructions that go from Hitler to Bormann. Through his unique relationship
with the Führer, Speer has made a dangerous enemy
in Bormann. But the realities of war soon present more pressing problems
for Hitler's new minister. Summer 1942,
Operation Case Blue is under way. It's the Führer's grand plan to finally
knock Soviet Russia out of the war. But as more and more men
are sent to the front, there are fewer left
to work in Speer's factories. Speer knows where he can find labour,
but it means dealing with the most feared and fanatical member
of Hitler's inner circle, SS boss Heinrich Himmler. Heinrich Himmler is the head of the SS,
which we conventionally think of as the architects of the Holocaust,
but it's often forgotten that the SS is the largest economic player
in the Third Reich as well. Although names like Auschwitz
and Dachau are synonymous with the extermination of millions of Jews
and other political prisoners, Himmler's vast network of concentration
camps are also a vital source of labour. The problem is, he wants to keep them
for himself. Himmler is very keen to expand
the economic enterprises of the SS and actually have munitions factories
set up within concentration camps, using all of that, to him, free labour,
to make munitions and everything else. Speer disagrees with this,
because he sees this as being fundamentally an inefficient way
of making arms. He wanted to have the established
armaments factories staffed with concentration-camp labour
to build armaments. With Himmler reluctant to cooperate, Speer
is keen to find other sources of labour. Luckily, there is a man
with a mutual interest, itching to get back into
the Führer's thoughts: Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels is the Nazi head of propaganda and one of Hitler's
most devoted followers. But the spin master
has recently found himself drifting from the centre of power. Goebbels' job as propaganda minister became more and more difficult
as the war went on. Because when you report successes
and conquests and great victories, that's fairly easy
and fairly straightforward. When the war began to turn more sour, this becomes much more difficult
to represent. However, Goebbels has found inspiration
from an unlikely source, someone who has made a virtue
out of stoicism and self-sacrifice. [Churchill on radio] We have before us
an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many,
long months of struggle and of suffering. Goebbels was enormously impressed
by Churchill's public speaking in Britain's hour of crisis, and although
he loathed and detested Churchill, he recognised in him a fellow orator. [Churchill] I would say to the House as I said to those who have joined
this government, I have nothing to offer
but blood, toil, tears and sweat. [narrator] Goebbels believes that he too
can inspire the German people to join the war effort on every front. And he sees a potential ally
in Albert Speer. Goebbels pitches
a programme of austerity measures, one of which could solve
Speer's labour problem. Goebbels and Speer
develop a kind of alliance, because both of them believe
that all Germany's energy should go towards the war effort, and they believe that women should be
working in armaments factories and so on, as they are in the countries
of their enemies, such as Britain. The conscription of German women onto
the factory floor is an obvious solution, but they both know Hitler
will take some convincing. LABOR SERVICE FOR THE REICH! After months of discussion, Speer
and Goebbels present their new plan. It's called Total War. However, Hitler is reluctant to accept
the need for women to build munitions or do anything that might bring the war
closer to home. Hitler is very worried
about losing the home front. He always has one eye
on protecting German civilians from the realities
and the hardships of war. This stems from the circumstances
of the end of the First World War, which is when effectively the home front
was lost and that led to the collapse
of German armies in the field. And Hitler said right from the outset
of his political career that would never happen again. And the idea of German women
working in factories also goes against Hitler's ideological... WORKING MEN ARE BOLD, CHEERFUL SOLDIERS ...goals for a Germanic master race. Another element is
Germany's breeding programme. Hitler wants German women
to focus on breeding and producing a new, strong generation
of Aryans to dominate Europe. Despite Hitler's reservations,
Speer and Goebbels don't give up. Too much is at stake. [Emma] Speer and Goebbels
know the situation is desperate and give it everything
and Hitler gives some ground, but he tells them
that they will have to work on the Total War project
with Martin Bormann. This is devastating news
for Speer and Goebbels. They must now share control of their
project with a major inner circle rival. One of the problems that affects
the inner circle all the time is the uncanny ability of Martin Bormann to pour bureaucratic treacle
into anybody else's gearbox. Every time a project ends up with Bormann, it ends up being slowed down
by committees, meetings, and it's a source of constant frustration, but, of course, it's all about Bormann
seizing as much power as he can. [Emma] For Bormann, a project like this
is a win-win because if it fails, he will be able to cast it
as Goebbels and Speer's kind of... irresponsible, unpractical efforts. But if it succeeds, then, of course,
he can take part of the credit. While Bormann gets his claws into
Goebbels' and Speer's Total War project, a beleaguered Hermann Göring
spies a way to exploit a developing crisis
in the East. Stalingrad. As the Russian winter returns, the Führer's Sixth Army has found itself
surrounded by Stalin's troops. But Hitler will not allow
a tactical withdrawal. His men must hold the city
as a matter of principle. Because it bears the name of Stalin, Hitler becomes fanatically committed
to the idea Stalingrad must be taken. Now, militarily, that makes no sense. The original plan had been to focus
on destroying the industrial capacity of the city
and control its river, the Volga, a crucial supply route
to the Russian heartland. The Germans reached the Volga
in August '42, and by reaching the Volga
north of Stalingrad, they cut off one of the most important
lifelines of the Soviet economy. But from August '42 onwards, the Germans
pushed more and more resources into Stalingrad to conquer the town, but conquering the town
was not really important. But now after months of being
bogged down in bloody streetfighting, his army
is in desperate need of supplies. One man, however, has a plan to save
the day and salvage his own reputation. Göring, fascinatingly,
saw in the impending crisis a way of elevating himself
in the estimation of the Führer. Göring proposes an audacious plan
to use his Luftwaffe to create an air bridge
to supply the besieged troops. He puts on a very good show, he says, mein Führer, I can do this, the Luftwaffe
is ready and is able to perform this duty. Stalingrad will be taken, mein Führer,
your dream will be realised. The Führer couldn't turn that down. Faced with ice, snow and freezing fog,
Göring's pilots begin what his own senior staff
already fear is an impossible task. [Roger] The estimate that was given
was that it would require something like 800 tons daily
to keep those soldiers supplied. The reality was that they managed
under a hundred tons per day. As days turn into weeks,
without fuel or food, the Sixth Army is losing as many soldiers by starvation and cold
as it is by enemy bullets. Göring's promise has proven to be
a catastrophically empty one. In reality, he had neither the aircraft
nor the pilots to fulfil that task. So the supply of the German soldiers
in Stalingrad was simply, you know, an air bridge too far
for the German air force. THE WAR CITY OF BERLIN
SALUTES THE FÜHRER! GREETINGS TO GERMANY'S FIRST WORKING MAN:
ADOLF HITLER! FÜHRER, YOU COMMAND, WE FOLLOW! On the anniversary of the Führer's
accession to power, Göring,
in an attempt to disguise his own failure, tells the German troops
perishing in the snow their sacrifice will not be forgotten. [as Göring] One day it will be said
when you come to Germany, tell them you have seen us
lay down our lives at Stalingrad, as the law, that is to say the law
of the security of our people commanded. [Guy] This much-vaunted air bridge that was supposed to bring relief
to Stalingrad has been an utter failure. And then Göring has the gall,
the utter temerity, to make this speech. And to them, it just sounds
like their funeral oration. [air-raid sirens] But Göring's own humiliation
is only just beginning. As he starts his speech,
the sirens wail over Berlin. What makes this worse still, doubly
ironic, is when this speech goes out, British Mosquitoes are flying over
to bomb Berlin. For the first time,
the Allies feel confident enough to attack Berlin in broad daylight. It's a humiliating reminder
of another promise Göring failed to keep. He says, if ever a British bomb falls
on Berlin, you can call me Herr Meyer. Which is a bit like saying,
"You can just call me Mr Smith." You know, just write me off
as an ordinary person. Of course, very, very shortly after that,
British bombs do start falling on Berlin, and so amongst the German population,
he is, you know, called Herr Meyer. [sirens] [explosions] As bombs rain down on Berlin, the Führer is reeling from the loss
of over 200,000 men in Stalingrad. In front of his staff, Hitler blames the Italians, Romanians and Hungarians
fighting alongside his Sixth Army. But within the inner circle, everyone
knows Göring is the real fall guy. This is just another one
of Göring's failures, which had all started
at the Battle of Britain, and then you've got the failure
at Stalingrad, and it's absolutely clear to Hitler
that Göring is just not up to the job. Yes, in his day, he was a brilliant pilot. But he is not a brilliant Reichsmarschall. Humiliated, the once-heroic fighter ace
soon slips back into old habits. Göring had been
this kind of complete hero, ace pilot, kind of glamorous sort of figure
emerging from the First World War, but he had also suffered injuries
after the Beer Hall Putsch. Back in 1923, during the Nazis'
first failed attempt to seize power, Göring had been shot
and severely wounded. [Guy] He's shot in the leg. They manage to get him to a hospital,
but when he's recovering from his wounds, he starts developing
an extremely serious morphine addiction. And now, as his addiction
once again rears its head, the old fighter is losing his appetite
to be Hitler's number two and successor. Martin Bormann's power, however,
continues to grow as he cynically exploits Hitler's
preoccupation with the Eastern Front. [Guy] Bormann, by now,
is an increasingly important figure. It's a constant fight in the inner circle to try and get Hitler's ear
and get Bormann out of the way. Even though the Stalingrad crisis
has prompted Hitler to allow Speer and Goebbels to enact
some of their Total War measures, Bormann is continually looking
to minimise their scope and impact. Bormann doesn't really think
independently. Goebbels and Speer are thinking
independently about what's best for Germany. They're considering the situation. Bormann only thinks about what's best in terms of maintaining my relationship
with Hitler and my hold on power. But for Joseph Goebbels,
the king of propaganda, there is another way to bypass Bormann and show Hitler that Germany
is ready for Total war. Go public and let the people decide. TOTAL WAR IS THE SHORTEST WAR I ask you: Are you resolved to follow the Führer,
stand behind the fighting troops as the phalanx of the homeland, and fight this battle with grim resolve through all turns of fate, until victory is ours? In front of a carefully selected audience,
Goebbels seizes the opportunity to turn Stalingrad
into a story of heroic sacrifice and tell the German people that it's now
their turn to join the war effort. In a way, it was Goebbels' finest hour in that he recognised
the gravity of the occasion. He realised that this was a defeat
which could not be glossed over. But this wasn't
just a Churchillian call to arms. Goebbels wants to show Hitler that all Germans are ready
to do whatever it takes. I ask you: Are you resolved to follow the Führer
on the way to victory, through thick and thin,
and are you willing to accept the heaviest personal burdens? Hail victory! Hail victory! Führer, you command, we follow you! Führer, you command, we follow you! The speech has put Speer and Goebbels'
plans back on track. Thousands of German women
register for work, and, vitally, the Führer is impressed. [Roger] Goebbels then followed this up,
looking for the opportunity to get a firmer grip
on the German war effort. [soundtrack only] Now is the time to target Bormann and they think they've found a chink
in his bureaucratic armour, a way to beat the schemer
at his own game. [Roger] They get together as many
likeminded individuals as possible to resurrect the defence council,
which was something that had been place up until 1939
but was effectively moribund. Though this defence council
had been lying dormant, its powers are still in place. And if resurrected, it could be used to bypass Bormann's bureaucratic
barricade around the Führer. But there's a hitch. The man in charge of this dormant agency
is also out of action. This is the problem. The head of the
defence council was Herman Göring. Speer and Goebbels need Göring on side, but it's uncertain
that he's up to the job. [Roger]
Göring himself is still rather unreliable. He still has
a rather nasty morphine habit. He's actually rather adverse
to doing anything to actually solve the problems
that Germany is facing. Someone needs to snap Göring
out of his slump. But he's not even talking to Goebbels
because Total War measures have led to the closure
of Göring's favourite restaurant. So it falls to Speer to coax
the old fighter back into the ring. [Michael] Speer claimed that he wasn't
really a political animal, but he was indeed political when he needed
to be and this is one of the instances where he plays upon
Göring's sensitivity over Bormann. Speer takes full advantage of their
mutual dislike and distrust for Bormann. [Emma] Speer and Göring come from
a very different background to Bormann. They both look down on him,
but they are also kind of very aware of his ways of operating, and there's this moment
where Speer is reminding Göring of the drip-drip of Bormann's technique. He's always there with the Führer
and he will brief against them. And the final damning of Bormann
in the eyes of Göring is Speer's statement to the effect, he's after your job, he wants to be
number two in the party and in the nation, and you stand in his way,
and that for Göring is the clincher. The two men agree a plan to chip away
at Bormann's influence. The first step, to target and discredit one of his stooges at a meeting over
the still-vital issue of labour supply. As head of the resurrected council,
Göring will lead the attack. What happens is very similar to what
might have happened in a medieval court. It was an interpersonal attack, not going directly for Bormann himself. For a man new to politics, Speer has put
together an unlikely coalition. Together with Goebbels and Göring, they can finally take Bormann down
a peg or two. But as Speer arrives,
something's not right. Goebbels is nowhere to be seen,
and Bormann has a new friend. Heinrich Himmler. So, one can imagine
when Speer walks into the room and sees Bormann sitting next to
Heinrich Himmler, he probably told himself that this perhaps was a meeting
that wasn't going to end well. And it soon gets worse. Göring goes off script and starts
attacking Speer's deputy. Speer is really bewildered
at Göring's behaviour. He just can't make sense of that and Speer is worried that forces
had aligned themselves against him. With Goebbels absent
and Göring's about-face, it's clear Speer has been betrayed. For Göring, the realisation
that Himmler was lining up on side with Bormann
against Speer and his group, that he perhaps thought that this was
the side that he should also be on. For Himmler, still jealously guarding
his control of concentration-camp labour, any attempt by Speer to gain more power
is a potential threat. [Roger] Himmler is very keen to not allow
Speer to grow his own influence much more than it already is, and what
you could interpret this meeting as is Himmler just reasserting his influence
on the economic sphere and reminding Speer
of who is actually the bigger player. For Speer, it's a painful reminder that
his inner-circle rivals will do anything to protect their personal positions
over and above the crisis Germany faces. But he's learning fast, his battle for
control of the war economy isn't over yet. Summer 1943. The world witnesses
the biggest tank battle in history but also Nazi Germany's last strategic
offensive on the eastern front. Until the summer of 1943, the Germans still believed
they could win this war but then Germany loses the Battle of Kursk
in Russia, which, in many ways, was a more important
battle for the Germans than Stalingrad. Nazi Germany is now fighting for survival. And while Allied Bombs pummel
its industrial heartland, Speer is still battling to convince Hitler
to fully mobilize the home front. [Roger] And this is the problem:
they're still making products for the home front
for domestic consumption. They still haven't gone
over to a war footing. That should have happened in 1940
and it hasn't happened even in 1943. Speer wants every factory
to be turned over to the war effort. No more luxuries or non-essential goods. The war is now on everyone's doorstep. Speer thinks domestic conditions should
virtually mirror those at the front, that those civilians living at home
should have essentially the same food and the same wherewithal
as soldiers at the front. To do this, Speer needs dictatorial
control over Germany's economy. And it appears the message
is finally hitting home. [Craigie] Speer gets a further promotion. His title is
Armaments and Production Minister. And that makes him
potentially more threatening to Bormann. Speer has risen from political novice
to a position of immense power. But he knows that his austerity
measures will not be popular among many senior Nazis
and that Bormann is waiting to pounce. [Roger] Bormann is a conduit
for all the complaints that come from the Nazi gauleiters, the regional commanders
across Germany and beyond. And many of them
had local commercial concerns and many of them also were not keen to reduce the living standard
on the home front. But this time, Speer is
not going to be outmanoeuvred. In autumn 1943, Speer present
his new plan, but also a new partner. It's interesting that in
these shifting alliances and power plays between the senior Nazis
that almost from one month to the next, you could be a rival with someone and then
forge a temporary alliance with them. And that happens with Himmler and Speer. Speer's old adversary appears
to have had a change of heart. Himmler, if he has eyes in his head, is certainly aware that the war has turned
very decisively against Germany. But also we have to bear in mind
that Himmler is the arch loyalist. He is someone who's absolutely loyal
to Hitler's words. So, if Hitler has given this added remit
to Speer's portfolio, then Himmler's thinking is probably, well, that's perhaps
where I need to align myself as well. Speer announces that the SS will ensure that production of all non-essential
consumer goods will stop within two weeks. No more radio sets,
refrigerators or cosmetics. It's an all-out war against what Speer
calls... the skivers and the malingerers. [Roger] It's a very tough message for many of those local party bigwigs
to handle. They're being told
that unless they toe the line, they will be potentially falling foul
of the SS and the Gestapo. But the lectures are not over. What follows is one of the few recorded
speeches by a senior Nazi regarding what will become the single
worst crime against humanity. The Holocaust. [Guy] The meetings at Posen are unique because they're a very vocal expression of the intention to eradicate a people. Himmler said someone's got to do
this dirty work, someone's got to kill all these people, all these Jews, all these homosexuals,
all these political enemies, someone's got to kill them
to get rid of them, so that humanity is saved
from their so-called malignancy. So therefore, they could say you've got
to commit an evil act in order to do good. [soundtrack only] In his efforts to secure victory,
Speer has made a pact with the Devil. Yet he would later claim
that he hadn't stayed to hear his new ally's
incriminating words. I am very wary of any of Speer's claims. He spends his entire life,
from 1945 until the year he dies, distancing himself from the Third Reich. He is trying to show that, actually,
he was very much the anti-Nazi. A kind of good Nazi. But in reality,
Speer has never had any moral qualms about using
Jewish and foreign slave labour. And now with SS cooperation,
tens of thousands of people will be worked to death building roads,
fortifications and new weapons in his bid to save the Nazi regime. [Roger] Speer is not at all sentimental about concentration-camp labour. He's not particularly bothered about the conditions
that concentration-camp inmates live in. Perversely, Speer would claim that
his workers at least had a chance to live. However, the death rate of those building
his new secret weapon, the V2, was the highest in
the entire Nazi concentration-camp system. [Roger] He's merely concerned with
the weapons that he needs to produce are produced as efficiently as possible. So it's not a human concern
that they'll be better treated in his factories
versus the concentration camps. It's purely about the outcome. However, new wonder weapons alone
are not going to save Nazi Germany. Despite Allied bombing
and dwindling resources, Speer's factories continue
to build more and more tanks and planes. But by January 1944,
as the Soviets begin to enter Poland and the Allies move up
the Italian peninsula, the stark reality is Germany no longer
has the soldiers to use its new resources. [Roger] Crucially, it all came
rather too little, too late. The shift to a Total War economy
had come far too late in the day, and by that stage,
the war is all but lost. The constellation of power
ranged against Germany is so vast that Germany really is in no position to expect any sort of positive outcome
by that point. Whereas the Führer refuses
to accept any notion of defeat, the reality of situation is taking
its toll on his most able minister. Speer is now
in a very difficult situation. The reality
of Germany's military situation, of Hitler insisting on offensives
which were impossible, plus he's got Bormann
briefing against him, Himmler jostling for power, it just becomes
an absolutely unmanageable situation in which all he can do is fail. Stress and anxiety is pushing Speer
to breaking point. Speer is run down with exhaustion
and this incessant, insane workload have made him just in his late thirties
feel like an old man. [Roger] Speer is fighting on all fronts. So not only is he trying to rationalise
the German war economy, he's also having to fight
constant rearguard actions against his fellow Nazis and rivals. And this inevitably has an effect. Speer in mid-January 1944 has what appears to be
some sort of psychological collapse. Exhausted, Speer admits himself
into the SS clinic at Hohenlychen. Initially, he has an inflamed knee
and is hospitalised for that but then he's subsequently kept
in hospital for exhaustion. The clinic is run by a physician
with a rather dubious reputation. During that time, he was treated
by one of Himmler's pet doctors, by the name of Karl Gebhardt,
who was something of a quack. For example, one of the treatments
that he prescribed for Speer was a massage with bee venom. Quite what that was supposed to achieve,
I'm not sure. Speer develops depression and his anxiety
increases as he refuses to stop working. [Michael] He calls people to see him,
he writes reports and reads reports. But he feels vulnerable. He wants to get back to the office,
to the desk, as soon as he can. Speer's concerns are justified as rumours soon start spreading within
his own ministry that he is incurably ill. Being ill is very bad news for any Nazi. When someone's being pushed from power, the official message given out
will usually be that they're ill. In an almost pathetic cry for help, he writes to the Führer complaining that
his own staff are scheming against him. [Roger] So Speer is in really desperate
straits, he's confined to a SS clinic, and he's having to write to Hitler
to request that his underlings
be relieved of their duties. But as his condition deteriorates, there are concerns that Speer's rivals
want to kill off more than his career. [Guy] He's getting more and more ill. And another doctor is summoned who says,
hang on a minute, you were in here with a knee complaint,
you're spitting up blood, you've got an embolism,
how has this happened? How Speer got so close to death
is mystifying but his long-serving secretary,
Anne-Marie Kempf, would claim that it wasn't an accident. She overhears this conversation
going on between two men, and she hears the name Speer mentioned. So she does what all kind of eavesdroppers
do and she puts her ear to the door. And she is amazed when she realises that one of the voices is that
of none other than Heinrich Himmler. And she hears Himmler go,
"Is he dead yet?" Gebhardt just is about to start replying,
and then Himmler just cuts him off and says, "The less said, the better." Whatever Himmler's intentions were,
Speer does eventually recover, suggesting this conspiracy theory is more of a devious creation
by its supposed victim. [Roger] It's another example, I think,
of Speer rewriting the history very subtly to make himself look better than he was
and that he too was a victim of the Nazis. That here was Heinrich Himmler,
the head of the SS, the head of this wicked organisation, who not only was
trying to exterminate the Jews, he was also trying to do away
with Albert Speer. What is certain is that illness has enabled Speer's rivals
to continue to undermine him. Bormann in particular has been busy. Speer's aggressive speech
to the senior Nazi district leaders has created a severe backlash. The focal point
for all of that discontent is Bormann and he collects up those complaints
from the local party leaders and as he has the ear of Hitler, he's
feeding little snippets of information, negative pieces of publicity,
negative reports to drive a wedge
between Speer and Hitler. [Emma] Bormann uses this
to promote the idea that Speer is going too far and damaging morale in the country. He's trying to bring Speer down,
and it works. Speer is no longer in the, kind of,
Führer's golden glow. Bormann has finally won. Speer's monthly phone calls with Hitler
are now a distant memory. Absence and a willingness
to push against vested interests has led to Speer losing what matters most: the confidence and authority
of his Führer. [Roger] The problem for Speer is
at the end of the day, like a medieval lord serving his master, Speer is almost entirely almost dependent
on Hitler's whim and Hitler's say-so. So, it's clear to Speer
that the relationship with Hitler has fundamentally changed. And he's much diminished from the figure
he had been two years earlier. As Nazi Germany faces a final showdown
against Soviet Russia and the Allies, Speer's inner circle rivals remain
focused on their own push for power. GERMANY WAKE UP Goebbels' campaign
to become minister for Total War is gaining new impetus every day. And with Speer neutralised, Himmler can continue building up
and supplying his own army of SS fanatics. As for Speer, he is down but not out. Nobody stays within the inner circle
of the Third Reich for the duration of the war without
themselves being incredibly devious. And Speer himself is devious. In what will become a fight for survival, Speer will implicate himself
in the ultimate act of treachery. The betrayal of the Führer himself.
