He was the self-proclaimed 'good Nazi', the man who cleared his reputation despite being Adolf Hitler's 'only friend' for years.
Albert Speer, Nazi Germany's chief architect who became armaments minister, spent 20 years in prison after being found guilty of war crimes in Nuremberg.
But he went on to recast himself in a bestselling memoir, claiming he had no knowledge of the plan for the Holocaust.
Yet a new documentary aired on Sky History reveals how these claims were false, by showing that he directed the expansion of Auschwitz, including the construction of gas chambers where Jews were murdered.
Speer's apparent contrition and remorse saw him come to London for an interview with the BBC in 1973, amid intense controversy that led to him being held at Heathrow Airport for eight hours.
And he was in London – the city hit by bombs made under his direction – when he collapsed and died while making a documentary for the BBC in September 1981.
Albert Speer was the self-proclaimed 'good Nazi', the man who cleared his reputation despite spending years at Adolf Hitler's side. Above: Speer (right) with Hitler in 1937
Speer first came into contact with Hitler in 1933, when he was site manager for the renovation of the chancellery in Berlin.
The married father of six quickly built a close bond with the Nazi leader and was put in charge of rebuilding Berlin to make it a 'world capital'.
The grandiose new Chancellery he built for Hitler had a hall 140 meters long and a polished stone floor.
The stone for the projects was mined under appalling conditions by 10,000 concentration camp slaves.
Speer later said of this fact: “The Yids became accustomed to making bricks during their captivity in Egypt.”
When his gigantic projects required the demolition of houses, 23,000 Jewish apartments were confiscated and the residents sent to extermination camps.
Speer was allowed into Britain for 48 hours in 1973 after being held at Heathrow Airport for eight hours while the Home Secretary decided whether to let him in. Above: Speer pictured outside what is now Shepherd's Bush Market station in west London during his visit
He was pictured by the BBC reading a newspaper outside Windsor Castle for TV program Midweek
Speer is seen outside Windsor Castle in another publicity photo released by the BBC
Speer looks at a rack of postcards in London during his visit in 1973
The architects were appointed Minister of Armaments by Hitler in 1942, three years after the Second World War.
Initially he had dramatic success, dramatically increasing the production of weapons.
But he did this by using prisoners of war and millions of slave laborers.
Yet vital factories, raw materials and supplies were lost as Allied bombing intensified and the Russians continued their advance into Germany.
Speer was then ordered to concentrate on weapons such as the V1 flying bombs and V2 rockets.
Slave laborers were once again put to work in appalling conditions, toiling 72 hours a week on a meager diet of 1,100 calories.
When he was brought to trial at Nuremberg after Germany's defeat, he accepted full responsibility for his actions but claimed ignorance of the murder of Jews.
This display contrasted with the unrelenting and remorseful fanaticism of the other leading Nazis. It allowed him to escape a death sentence.
Instead, he was sent to Spandau Prison, where he was held alone for twenty years. Rich friends smuggled him delicacies, including champagne and caviar.
After his release in 1966, he published his memoirs, Inside the Third Reich. The book, which was a huge success, earned him a fortune in royalties.
Sky History program Hitler's Engineers reveals the plans Speer oversaw for the expansion of Auschwitz
He oversaw the construction of gas chambers and crematoria in the infamous death camp
The book portrayed him as 'The good Nazi', who had no knowledge of the murder of six million Jews.
But after his death, the evidence against him mounted.
In addition to his expulsion of Jews from Berlin and his brutal use of slave labor, he was known to have been present when Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, said it was necessary to exterminate the Jews and their children to prevent future revenge.
Speer announced his attendance at the speech in a letter he wrote to the wife of a Belgian resistance leader who was murdered by the Nazis.
He said in the 1971 letter, which was published in 2007: “There is no doubt about it: I was present when Himmler announced on October 6, 1943 that all Jews would be murdered.”
Speer had previously claimed that he left the conference before Himmler gave his speech.
The Sky History program Hitler's Engineers shows the plans he oversaw for the expansion of Auschwitz in occupied Poland so that it could house thousands more Jewish prisoners.
Speer is seen in Nazi uniform along with other prominent officials during his time as a key ally of Hitler
Adolf Hitler looks at some papers with architect and minister of armaments Albert Speer
Albert Speer (left) and Hitler are seen together at Hitler's field headquarters in Rastenburg in 1942
Albert Speer with Karl Doenitz and General Alfred Jodl at the time of their arrest in Flensburg in 1945
They also detailed the construction of gas chambers and crematoria.
Speer was interviewed by the BBC's Midweek program in 1973.
After being cleared to enter Britain for 48 hours by the Home Secretary, he was pictured in BBC promotional photos reading a newspaper outside Windsor Castle and was also seen in Shepherd's Bush, west London.
Speaking about the moment he was detained at Heathrow, he said: 'I wasn't ashamed of the fuss. I thought it was pretty hilarious.
'It was a bit boring, but I'm used to that. After all, I was in prison for twenty years.”
He added: 'I survived to remain a normal human being. But I could have been destroyed by my sentence, like many of my contemporaries.”
He said he had “made it clear” his regrets from the Nazi period.
The Daily Mail's report on Speer's visit to London in 1973. He was initially held at Heathrow Airport for eight hours
The Daily Mail's report on Speer's death, in September 1981. He was in Britain filming a documentary with the BBC
The former high-ranking Nazi also claimed: 'I didn't want to try to destroy London. I didn't see the point in such warfare on either side.
“Now that I've seen the city, I'm glad that so many old buildings survived the destruction.”
He was also interviewed on the Thames TV program This Week in 1975. He called Hitler “eccentric” and spoke of the moment he was released from Spandau prison.
On the day he died in 1981, he had spent time on the set of a new BBC documentary about Hitler's plans to plunder Europe's art treasures.
After returning to his hotel in Bayswater, he collapsed and died a few hours later at St Mary's Hospital.
Hitler's Engineers airs tonight at 9pm on Sky History.