ppened in the past to the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. There is nothing to be done about that. (Memoirs 11)
It is interesting to note Speer's early disinterest in race as a cause of Germany's troubled economy prior to Hilter's ascention. He later was to deny any knowledge of Hitler's plans for the Final Solution, although most scholars would find probable cause to doubt his claim; here, however, was early "proof" that race was not an issue for Speer.
In his Adolf Hitler, John Toland wrote in 1976, that Speer (in his own words) knew nothing of the Final Solution. According to Toland, "Some scholars have accused him of attending Himmler's speech [discussing the Final Solution] since during it the Reichsfuhrer specifically addressed him (Speer)" (768). Toland recounts that Speer insists he left for Rastenburg immediately after his own speech (768). Toland insists, "Granted that Speer was not present, it is difficult to believe he did not know of the concentration camps. From the text of Himmler's speech, it is clear that he thought he was talking directly to Speer--and assuming that he was one of the high-ranking conspirators" (768) During his youth, at the same time that Speer appeared to be at least ambivalent, if not completely disinterested in the question of race, he does admit, at that time, to having a blind belief in the school's authority to impose its doctrine and discipline on students. He recounts, "In school, there could be no criticism of courses or subject matter, let alone of the ruling powers of the state. Unconditioned faith in the authority of the school was required" (Memoirs 8).
At about the age of seventeen, as Speer remembers it, he was learning nothing about psychology or the critical thinking which would have enabled him to come to his own political judgements; in fact, in school, German class assignments called solely for essays on literary subjects, which actually "prevented us from givi...