Germania - The new Berlin
· In January 1937 Speer was given the title of Generalbauinspektor (Inspector General of buildings for construction) or G.B.I
· With this title came the task of translating Hitler’s dream of a Berlin worthy of the ‘thousand year’ Reich which would be called Germania.
· This appointment made Speer a State Secretary meaning that he had a place at every important government meeting.
· Speer constructed huge scale models of the proposed layout of the city. It was to be greater then any other capital city in the world with underground railways and an avenue that ran longer then Paris’s famous Champs Elysee's
· On each end there was to be two standout structures, an Arch of Triumph memorialising the Veterans of WWI and a Great hall crowned with the largest dome in the world.
(The images below show the meticulously detailed models Speer made in order to convey his concepts to Hitler. Speer and Hitler can be seen in the far right hand image discussing blueprints)
· With this title came the task of translating Hitler’s dream of a Berlin worthy of the ‘thousand year’ Reich which would be called Germania.
· This appointment made Speer a State Secretary meaning that he had a place at every important government meeting.
· Speer constructed huge scale models of the proposed layout of the city. It was to be greater then any other capital city in the world with underground railways and an avenue that ran longer then Paris’s famous Champs Elysee's
· On each end there was to be two standout structures, an Arch of Triumph memorialising the Veterans of WWI and a Great hall crowned with the largest dome in the world.
(The images below show the meticulously detailed models Speer made in order to convey his concepts to Hitler. Speer and Hitler can be seen in the far right hand image discussing blueprints)
The outbreak of war 1939-1945
· Germany’s declaration of war in 1939 caused a temporary halt that was lifted by Hitler himself by the summer of 1940
· 1940 saw the advent of the use of concentration camp labour to quarry the stones needed for Speer’s multiple projects with some camps even being purposely built near quarries
· In 1942 all of Speer’s projects finally ceased
· By 1945 Berlin was in ruins and there was little to no progress on any of Speer’s other projects. The only traces of his work in modern Berlin are a few streetlights
· 1940 saw the advent of the use of concentration camp labour to quarry the stones needed for Speer’s multiple projects with some camps even being purposely built near quarries
· In 1942 all of Speer’s projects finally ceased
· By 1945 Berlin was in ruins and there was little to no progress on any of Speer’s other projects. The only traces of his work in modern Berlin are a few streetlights
The Jewish flats
· To construct Germania, many of the apartments situated in Berlin had to be demolished and the residents resettled.
· in order to do this, in January 1939 Speer established the Main Resettlement Division and under direct G.B.I leadership new accommodation was found for all the residents within the construction zone.
· In the case of Berlin’s Jews this meant that Non-Jews were given preference in housing and in 1941 Speer gave a personal directive for the clearance of 5000 Jews.
· This displacement of Jews was heightened by the constant air raiding of Berlin leaving even less accommodation for the cities population
· Joseph Goebbels had at this point begun his “final solution” to the “Jewish Question” and many of the Jews displaced by Germania boarded trains to the extermination camps.
· The extent to which Speer knew about the implementation of the ‘Final Solution’ is still one full of controversy
· in order to do this, in January 1939 Speer established the Main Resettlement Division and under direct G.B.I leadership new accommodation was found for all the residents within the construction zone.
· In the case of Berlin’s Jews this meant that Non-Jews were given preference in housing and in 1941 Speer gave a personal directive for the clearance of 5000 Jews.
· This displacement of Jews was heightened by the constant air raiding of Berlin leaving even less accommodation for the cities population
· Joseph Goebbels had at this point begun his “final solution” to the “Jewish Question” and many of the Jews displaced by Germania boarded trains to the extermination camps.
· The extent to which Speer knew about the implementation of the ‘Final Solution’ is still one full of controversy