He first renovated Hanke house in Berlin and through Hanke was given the task of renovating the party headquarters in Berlin in 1932. In 1933 having impressed the Nazi leadership Speer was invited by Goebbels to rebuild the propaganda ministry building, after completing the task in record time, Speer began to gain a reputation not only as an creative architect but also as an efficient organiser. In 1933 he organised and design the decorations for the May Day rally at the Tempelhof airfield in Berlin. His design of a giant eagle overlooking the Zeppelin Field impressed Hitler. Also in 1933 Hitler ordered the renovation of the Chancellor’s residence in Berlin. The task was given to Hitler’s architect Paul Troost however Speer was put in charge of supervision of the work. During the renovation Hitler would visit the work site and during these visits Hitler would get to know more about Speer. Hitler was impress with Speer architectural skills and in the way he spoke about design. Hitler saw in Speer the architect that he wish he could have been. A friendship/bromance developed between the two. As Speer said during the Nuremberg trials ‘If Hitler had any friends, I would have been his friend’ Speer early work for the Nazi Party was one of the significant factors that resulted in his rise to …show more content…
It was influenced by the Ancient Greeks Pergamon Altar, 400 metres long and 24 metres high and could accommodate 340 000 people. Speer also designed the Nuremberg parade grounds which was used in Leni Riefenstahl's propaganda film "The Triumph of the Will". For additional dramatic effect Speer surrounded the airfield with 130 anti-aircraft searchlights shining them up 8000 metres into the sky. British Ambassador Sir Neville Henderson declared it was like being in a cathedral made of ice but Speer preferred to describe it as a cathedral of light. Later Hitler commissioned Speer to build new and permanent structures at Nuremberg. His plans included a horseshoe shaped Great Stadium and Congress Hall. The Great Stadium was to be three times the size of the Great Pyramid able to seat 400 000 and Congress Hall to seat 50 000. These buildings were to glorify and magnify Hitler's pride. However none of these buildings were completed, by 1940 only the foundations were made, as World War Two had started. In 1937 Speer designed the German pavilion for the World Fair held in Paris. Speer’s building was seen as a monument and a symbol of German pride and achievement under the Nazis. With Speer appointment as ‘First Architect of the Reich’ it resulted in the rise of his