Joachim Fest

Joachim Clemens Fest (8 December 1926 – 11 September 2006) was a German historian, journalist, critic and editor who was best known for his writings and public commentary on Nazi Germany, including a biography of Adolf Hitler and books about Albert Speer and German resistance to Nazism. He was a leading figure in the debate among German historians about the Nazi era. In recent years his writings have earned both praise and strong criticism. Fest's biography of Hitler has been praised for its literary qualities and described as a milestone in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. Others have criticized it as weakly researched and too dependent on dubious testimony by Albert Speer. Fest has been accused of helping Speer create legends about his role during the war. Winfried Heinemann, a retired army German officer and military historian, has described Fest's works as an example of a class of publications that influenced German public opinion that should in retrospect be considered very problematic (in a text about German anti-Nazi resistance).