The World Cup in Qatar has been the cause of controversy outside of sports, from the issue of the closed and discriminatory Qatari society to the position of the FIFA as his protector. There is another theme, perhaps not so controversial, but curious, that mixes history with architecture.
In the 30’s, albert speer he became the architect of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Monumental works such as the Zeppelin Field, the Cathedral of Light and the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, among others that sought to visually magnify the regime.
However, with the outbreak of World War II, Speer became Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production. The production of combat planes and other heavy weapons for the continuation of the conflict, always using forced laborers, was under his command.
At the Nuremberg Trials, Speer was ranked among the 24 “major war criminals.” However, unlike other leaders of Nazism, he was not sentenced to death, but 20 years in prison. By 1966, Spandau prisoner number 5 was released. He would die in London in 1981.
The surname Speer and the World Cup in Qatar 2022
What is the link between the World Cup in Qatar and Albert Speer? That his son, Albert Speer Jr., was the architect of several of the stadiums for the tournament that FIFA celebrates today.
Ideologically diametrically opposed to his father, Speer Jr. was born in Berlin in 1934 and died in Frankfurt am Main in 2017. De Speer senior was left with not only the physical resemblance, but also the passion for architecture.
A graduate of the University of Munich, since the 1960s Speer Jr. has worked on design and architecture projects both in Europe and Asia. In 1964 he won his first international prize, also founding his firm AS&P (Albert Speer & Partners).
As his main projects stand out the World Expo of the year 2000 in Hannover, the International Automobile City in Shanghai and the new complex for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
But in 2010, with the designation of Qatar as the venue for the 2022 World Cup, he began working on new targets: the Lusail, Al Bayt and Al Janoub stadiums in the Emirati country, of which we spoke previously. Get to know the World Cup stadiums in Qatar at this link.
The controversy of the World Cup in Qatar 2022
With the XL Weekly portal He talked at the time about the World Cup. He said: “It is legitimate for Qatar and the Arab world to hold a World Cup. To think that football belongs to us Europeans is very arrogant. In addition, the Russian project for 2018 is not more efficient: between some venues there are 2,400 kilometers. It’s crazy.”
“The one in Qatar will be the World Cup for short distances. In Germany, only Beckenbauer (the German soccer legend) could go by helicopter to see the afternoon game in one stadium and the night game in another. In Qatar, everyone will be able to do it.”
Speer Jr. also spoke on the issue of workers killed in stadium construction. But he did it without biting his tongue.
“I think it’s great that more attention is paid to these aspects thanks to the World Cup and that things change. Whenever a project is proposed to us, we ask ourselves, are we doing the right thing? We have the feeling that we are doing something positive for the country and its people. That is the scale by which we govern ourselves. Also in Qatar.
When asked about the existence of political prisoners and the validity of the death penalty, he replied:
“You mean the United States and Guantanamo?
Speer’s relationship with Hitler and Nazism
Speer Jr. also responded, in the interview with XL Semanal, to various questions about his father’s ties to Nazism. He left a couple of weighty sentences:
“From a child’s perspective, Hitler was like family, like a nice guy. My father brought us up very strictly. By contrast, going to see Hitler was almost a festive event. They let me play with the dogs, they gave me sweets…”.
“They always ask me about my father. And, honestly, it is very annoying. All my life I’ve tried to differentiate myself from him.”