Organisation Todt from Autobahns to Atlantic Wall: Building the Third Reich

Founded by the charismatic Fritz Todt, the engineering organization which bore his name built Germany’s Autobahn network before the war and went on to construct major defensive works across occupied Europe; from the Siegfried Line – know to the Germans as the Westwall – to the Atlantic Wall which stretched from Norway and down the Atlantic coast of France to keep the Allies out of occupied Europe. Like ancient monuments many of these massive structures survive to this day. Todt died in a flying accident in 1942 and Hitler appointed Albert Speer, the Minister of Armaments, to take his place. The OT remains controversial because of its widespread use of enforced local and slave labor.