Albert Speer
| Albert Speer | |
|---|---|
   | |
| Details | |
| Date of Birth | 19th March 1905 |
| Place of Birth | Mannheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire |
| Age at start | 56 |
| Nationality |  German |
| Role | Reichswirtschaftsminister |
| Political Party | NSDAP - Reform Faction |
| Ideology |  Reformed National Socialism |
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (born 19 March 1905) is a German architect who serves as the Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production, and can potentially become Führer of the Greater Germanic Reich. He joined the NSDAP in 1931, becoming a member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle, as well as one of Hitler's closest personal allies. In the post-war years, and especially after the collapse of the German economy (and its subsequent reorganising as a slave-based system), he became a large proponent of economic liberalization, leading the Reformist faction of the NSDAP.
In-Game Description
As a member of Hitler's Cabinet
Albert Speer is a silver-tongued politician, knowing what to say on just the right occasion; an expert in getting people over to his side with honeyed words and promises tempered by his background as Minister of Armaments and War Production in the Second World War. Under his reign as the Minister of Economics, however, the economy has seen a steady decline, from the massively inefficient post-war economic system of slavery showing its undeniable flaws, to the general sensation of stagnation in Nazi policies. Yet, even though Speer was arguably one of if not the most important man responsible for engineering the mass slavery in Germany's colonies, today he speaks against the same creation he partook in and encouraged.
After a period of moderate obscurity in the '50s, Speer began an intensive campaign of rallying his support. His supporters are the apathetic men and women who lost their jobs or had their family killed in wars, the technocrats and the reform-minded NSDAP members, the disillusioned National Socialists who were not awarded their promised Aryan utopia, and as a token yet active minority, and the small but slowly growing group of students banking on Speer as their only hope for more radical reform. Each hopes for a different facet of Speer's promises, but nevertheless create a shaky united front of 'reformed' National Socialists.
Biography
Early Life
Speer was born in Mannheim, as the second of three sons in an upper-middle-class family. In 1918, the family leased their Mannheim residence and moved to a home they had in Heidelberg. Speer studied architecture, assuming the same profession as his father and grandfather.
Speer would study architecture at multiple universities, before finally transferring to the Technical University of Berlin in 1925, where he studied under Heinrich Tessenow. After passing his exams in 1927, Speer became Tessenow's assistant, a high honor for a man of 22. As such, Speer taught some of his classes while continuing his own postgraduate studies.
In 1922, Speer began courting Margarete Weber, the daughter of a successful craftsman. The two married in Berlin on 28 August 1928. The couple would have six children together, but Albert Speer grew increasingly distant from his family after 1933, focusing more on his role as an architect and politician.
Joining the NSDAP & Second World War
After joining the Nazi party, Speer ended up giving up his position as Tessenow's assistant, and only became known within the party in 1933, where he submitted designs for the Nuremburg Rally. These designs were reviewed by Hitler, who appointed Speer as head of the Chief Office for Construction in 1934. Rebuilding the chancellery and many other large buildings and stadiums, Speer would become known as the architect of the Reich.
During the war, he lead the war production effort, and ended up using a large amount of forced labour to achieve the high production that helped Germany win the war. With the victory in the war, Speer would become the leading architect of the entire nation, rebuilding Berlin as Germania in Hitler's vision, with such buildings as the Volkshalle.
Post-War
With the collapse of the German economy and the end of the West Russian War, the German economy became far more dependent on slave labour from the eastern Reichskommisariats. This would turn Speer away from the slave labour system that he used during the war, and instead became a proponent of liberalizing the German economy, becoming the leader of the reformist faction, contenting with less extreme NSDAP members on one side, and the more radical Gang of Four on the other, a collection of leading liberally-minded politicians.
In-Game
When going down Speer's path in the game, the player will be tasked with reforming the Reich, but implementation can vary. There are three main paths. If the player fails to appease the party, Speer's government can collapse, as real power comes into the hands of Theodor Oberländer, who will turn the NSDAP more reactionary. If the player fails to keep the Gang of Four under control, the GO4 can also seize control over the levers of state power, liberalizing the Reich to a far greater degree than what Speer (and much of the reformist faction) intended, with Germany becoming an authoritarian democracy. If the player keeps Speer in power, state power remains firmly within the Nazi party, but Speer's reforms can be fully implemented.
Slave Revolt
Not seen in the paths of other leaders of Germany, if Albert Speer wins the German Civil War, a major slave revolt will break out in most of the eastern Reichskommissariats. How the player chooses to engage with the revolting slaves depends on the path they take, with peaceful resolutions in the GO4, and forceful reconquests in the Oberländer path.