By spoiling Speer’s plans, the war saved Berlin from one destruction while subjecting it to another. The pressing needs of war slowed and eventually stopped all work, although the demolition of buildings continued as late as 1942. By then many blocks had been cleared to make way for the north-south axis, and British bombers were supplementing the work of Speer’s crews. The journal of his office sardonically described the air raids as “valuable preparation for the goal of reorganization.”11 Visitors as well as Berliners usually blame wartime bombing for the utter desolation of the areas north
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