They Asked Speer When Germany’s War Was Doomed. He Named One Date.

Albert Speer never forgot the 12th of May, 1944. Twenty-five years later, from Spandau prison, he wrote that on that day the fate of the technological war was decided. But Speer did not always tell the truth, so we checked his claim against the records: the American bomber crews who flew that day, and the papers Speer wrote at the time. This is the story of one raid on the German fuel plants, a B-17 crew from Thorpe Abbotts, and a man from Ambridge, Pennsylvania, named Alexander Kinder. CHAPTERS 0:00 The date Speer never forgot 0:21 How we will check his claim 0:30 5 a.m. briefing at Thorpe Abbotts 1:11 Why Germany's oil mattered 1:24 Spaatz vs. Eisenhower 2:00 Friday, the 12th of May 2:52 Flak over Brüx 3:22 Kinder's bomber 4:07 The debriefing and LeMay's call 4:32 The real cost of the raid 4:58 Nine of ten, ten of ten 5:30 Speer back in Berlin 6:25 Oil can be repaired, so the Americans came back 7:21 The numbers: 175,000 tons to 5,000 8:42 What it did to Germany 9:51 Was Speer right about the 12th of May? 11:07 Back to that airfield 11:22 One more thing about that day Watched our story about Göring's interrogation? [add link to the Göring video] If your father or grandfather flew a B-17 out of England, tell us his story in the comments. Subscribe to World War 2 Desk so you don't miss the next one. SOURCES - Albert Speer, "Inside the Third Reich" (1970 English edition) and "Spandau: The Secret Diaries" - Speer's testimony and documents, International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg (Avalon Project, Yale Law School) - United States Strategic Bombing Survey, Oil Division: Final Report (1945) - W. F. Craven and J. L. Cate (eds.), "The Army Air Forces in World War II, Vol. 3: Europe: Argument to V-E Day" - 100th Bomb Group Foundation, mission records for 12 May 1944 (100thbg.com) - National Archives (NARA): WWII POW data file and Eighth Air Force mission records - Gitta Sereny, "Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth" (1995) #WW2 #WorldWarII #AlbertSpeer #B17 #EighthAirForce #WW2History