Albert Speer was born on March 19, 1905, to an upper middle class family in Manhein, Germany. The second of three sons, he followed the family tradition when, in 1925, he enrolled at the Institute of Technology in Berlin-Charlottenburg and became a third-generation Neo-Classical architect. He was greatly influenced by his professor at that time, Heinrich Tessenow, and upon graduation, two years later, became his assistant. After reading Spengler's 'Decline of the West', Spear became greatly discouraged, convinced …showed first 75 words of 714 total…

…showed last 75 words of 714 total…in order to boost anti-aircraft production and to engage in the 'Scorched Earth' policy, and in November 1944 privately to Goebbels that it was unrealistic to believe in a German victory. In January 1945 he publicly admitted that even the secret weapons, the V1 and V2 rocket bombs, would not save Germany. Albert Speer had a profound impact on German history between 1918 and 1945, both in his role as Nazi Party Chief Architect and as Reichsminister for Armaments.