How much did they know?

Yes, but I don't think it was his concern for the Jewish people that drove him to do that but more along the lines that he wanted to negotiate to save his own neck.

 

Yes, but I don't think it was his concern for the Jewish people that drove him to do that but more along the lines that he wanted to negotiate to save his own neck. </font>[/QUOTE]Clear cut case Himmler playing his last card and hoping it would save him, fat chance.

 

What was Himmler thinking anyway? Killing millions and then say "sorry"? What did he have to offer anyway to save his ass? I don't think he was in position to negociate. Eichmann contunued the killing as long as he could because he knew that if was caught there would be no mercy for him. If he had "changed his mind" it would just have accelerated his capture and he would have been hung at Nuremberg.

 

It worked for Speer.

 

i dont think speer was as horrible as himmler, with himmler, he could probrably surrender, but there would not be any mercy there either...

 

I know Speer was Hitler's architect .Did he commit war crimes?

 

He was Hitler's architect but also took over as armaments minister. His crime was against humanity in the form of slave labour used in the armaments industry.

"At the Nuremberg Trials, Speer was one of the few officials to express remorse. He was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment in Spandau Prison, West Berlin, largely for his use of slave labour. At the trials, the prosecution introduced as evidence a photograph of Speer visiting the Mauthausen concentration camp, where he is shown surrounded by prisoners. The prosecution claimed this proved Speer was well aware of the Holocaust. However, Speer held that he was only given a "V.I.P." tour of the concentration camp, meaning he was never shown the more vile side of the camp's purpose."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Speer#Nuremberg_trials

 

Thanks for this interesting link PzJgr , Speer really deserved more than 20 years then.

 

Speer was very lucky to escape with his life ; Sauckel ( who was subordinate to Speer and acting on his direct orders ) was hanged.

Just goes to show that good looks and personal charm can be useful in life....

 

Clearly not your case (or mine )

 

Yes - I should have added....' ... or so I'm reliably informed....'

 

well I guess things haven't changed much, the boss does the wrong thing and the employee gets the sack for it. I don't Pity Sauckel but Speer should have been hung with him.

 

Agreed. Speer knew definitely about the crimes, he could not miss them really. Maybe he made a deal which saved him.

I mean how could someone like Bach-Zelewski make a deal as well??

 

I read that Speer almost started an architecture business after he was released, but both his partners died, so he gave up the idea. It would have been interesting to see him design new buildings.

 

Yeah, I heard he went into the movie business





[ 15. December 2006, 10:57 AM: Message edited by: PzJgr ]

 

he never shaved again and changed his name . They say they call him Chubaka now.

 

im not defending speer, but is it not true that he "employed" the use of people that were already in concentration camps? i personnally think he simply made use of resources, but i do think the idea of slave labor was wrong, and he took part in it....so i guess i could say he may be as guilty as the others....to an extent

 

That was the point, he employed slave labour: prisioners of war and people forced to come to Germany to work. What you are saying is that "Well, if everyone is kicking the dog it's no harm if I put in a kick as well".

In fact, if it weren't Speer it would be someone else using those people, but the fact is that he did and he might find personnel elsewhere, like women or people from the protected classes.

 

I would also agree. Granted, he did make attempts to better the working conditions including meals but he was still using the slave labour. I reckon he got a "light" sentence because he was the only one on trial that was apologetic and showed remorse.

 

I don't think his remorse was sincere. After his release he used to hang out with revisionists.