Copiously illustrated and carefully described, this is the first full treatment of two of the Third Reich's most important figures. While Nazi Germany's ascendancy owed much to military skill, the talent of its engineers allowed it to survive longer than would normally be expected. This unique work focusing on Dr. Fritz Todt and Albert Speer, based on many previously-unpublished photographs and artwork from captured Nazi records, describes how this was possible. Dr. Todt was the builder of the world's first superhighway system (the Autobahn), as well as the architect of the German West Wall (Siegfried Line). The builder of each of the wartime Fuhrer Headquarters, as well as the submarine pens, Dr. Todt was killed in a mysterious aeroplane crash that may have been a Nazi death plot, though Hitler gave him a state funeral. Todt was succeeded by the Fuhrer's long-time personal architect, Albert Speer, who was credited by the Allies after the war as having prolonged the conflict by at least a year. Called a genius by Hitler himself, Speer designed and built the pre-war Nuremberg Nazi Party Congress rally stands and buildings, many of which can still be visited. Together, Todt and Speer were the pillars that supported the Third Reich. This is the first work that examines their unique role in history's most terrible war. About the Author Blaine Taylor is the author of four previous photographic studies on the World War II era. He is a veteran of the US Army's 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam and has 12 medals and decorations, including the Combat Infantryman's Badge.