Hitler knew nothing about his enemies and even refused to use the information that was available to him. Instead, he trusted his inspirations, no matter how inherently contradictory they may be and these inspirations were governed by extreme contempt and underestimation of the others.

Speer also oversaw the construction of buildings for the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe and developed a considerable organization to deal with this work. Speer would also receive from Hitler Youth Leader and later fellow Spandau prisoner Baldur von Schirach the Golden Hitler Youth Honor Badge with oak leaves. Wolters did not destroy the Chronicle and as his friendship with Speer deteriorated allowed access to the original Chronicle to doctoral student Matthias Schmidt (who after obtaining his doctorate developed his thesis into a book Albert Speer: The End of a Myth).

His level of involvement in the persecution of the Jews and his level of knowledge of the Holocaust remain matters of dispute. Speer died of natural causes in 1981 while on a visit to London.