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{{refimprove|date=December 2008}}
{{inline|date=December 2008}}
{{for|the Swiss Nobel laureate|Walter Rudolf Hess}}
{{Infobox Politician
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Rudolf Hess
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Rudolf hess portrait.jpg
| imagesize = 220px
| caption =
| office = „Stellvertreter des Führers“<br />Deputy to Adolf Hitler
| term_start = 21 April 1933
| term_end = May 1941
| lieutenant2 = [[Karl Gerland]]
| lieutenant3 = [[Martin Bormann]]
| predecessor = none
| successor = [[Martin Bormann]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1894|4|26|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Alexandria]], [[Egypt]], [[Ottoman Empire]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1987|8|17|1894|4|26}}
| death_place = [[Berlin]], [[West Germany]]
| nationality = German
| party = [[National Socialist German Workers' Party]] (NSDAP)<br> (Since 1920)
| spouse = Ilse Pröhl (22 June 1900 - 7 September 1995) married 20 December 1927
| relations =
| children = Wolf Rüdiger Hess (18 November 1937 - 14 October 2001).
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[University of Munich]]
| occupation =
| profession = ''Reichsminister''
| footnotes = German spelling is Heß
}}

'''Rudolf Walter Richard Hess''' (''Heß'' in [[German language|German]]) (26 April 1894 &ndash; 17 August 1987) was a prominent figure in [[Nazi Germany]], acting as [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[Deputy Führer|Deputy]] in the [[Nazi Party]]. On the eve of war with the [[Soviet Union]], he flew solo to [[Scotland]] in an attempt to negotiate peace with the [[United Kingdom]], but instead was arrested. He was [[Nuremberg Trials|tried at Nuremberg]] and sentenced to [[life in prison]] at [[Spandau Prison]] and died there in 1987.

Hess's attempt to negotiate peace and subsequent lifelong imprisonment have given rise to many theories about his motivation for flying to Scotland, and [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] about why he remained imprisoned alone at Spandau, long after all other convicts had been released. On 27 September and 28 September 2007, numerous [[United Kingdom|British]] news services published descriptions of conflict between his [[Western Allies|Western]] and [[Soviet]] captors over his treatment and how the Soviet captors were steadfast in denying repeated entreaties for his release on humanitarian grounds during his last years.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2178948,00.html] [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2547568.ece</ref><ref>http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3007142.ece] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7017191.stm</ref><ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/28/whess128.xml] [http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL2785983520070927</ref>

Hess has become a figure of veneration among [[neo-Nazis]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1142780.stm ''"Neo-Nazis held for Oslo 'racist' murder.''" BBC, 29 January 2001]</ref><ref>[http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2007/02/26/311856/neo-nazi-bid-to-buy-hotel-in-rudolf-hess-birthplace.html "''Neo-Nazi bid to buy hotel in Rudolf Hess birthplace blocked.''" caterersearch.com 26 February 2007]</ref><ref>[http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=223&id=1404932003"''Skinhead jailed for neo-Nazi lyrics in songs.''" The Scotsman, 13 May 2007]</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life===
[[Image:Hitler1924.jpg|thumb|175px|Hitler with [[Emil Maurice|Maurice]], [[Hermann Kriebel]], [[Rudolf Heß|Heß]] and [[Friedrich Weber]] in Landsberg Fortress (1924)]]
Hess was born in [[Alexandria]], [[Egypt]], the eldest of four children, to Fritz H. Hess, a [[German people|German]] [[Lutheran]] importer/exporter from [[Bavaria]] and Klara Münch. His mother was of [[Greek people|Greek]] descent, of the [[Georgiadis family of Alexandria]] (where traditionally there had been a vibrant and rich [[Greek people|Greek]] community). The family moved to Germany in 1908, where Rudolf was subsequently enrolled in boarding school. Although he expressed interest in being an [[astronomy|astronomer]], his father convinced him to study business in [[Switzerland]]. At the onset of [[World War I]] he enlisted in the 7th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment, became an infantryman, and was awarded the [[Iron Cross]], second class. After numerous injuries, including a chest wound severe enough that he was not allowed to return to the front as an infantryman, he transferred to the Imperial Air Corps (after being rejected once). He then took aeronautical training and served in an operational squadron, Jasta 35b (Bavarian), with the rank of [[lieutenant]], from 16 October 1918. He had no victories.

On 20 December 1927 Hess married 27-year-old Ilse Pröhl (22 June 1900–7 September 1995) from Hannover. Together they had a son, [[Wolf Rüdiger Hess]] (18 November 1937–24 October 2001).

===Hitler's deputy===
After the war Hess went to [[Munich]] and joined the ''[[Freikorps]]'' and ''[[Eiserne Faust]]'' (Iron Fist)<ref name="el">[http://el.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%CE%A1%CE%BF%CF%8D%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%BB%CF%86_%CE%95%CF%82_(%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%B9%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8C%CF%82)&oldid=1109889]</ref>. He also joined the [[Thule Society]], a [[Völkisch movement|''völkisch'']] [[occult]]-[[mysticism|mystical]] organization.<ref>The occult historian [[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke|Goodrick-Clarke]] (2003: 114) now affirms Hess's membership in the Thule Society. It should be noted that Dr. Goodrick-Clarke had previously (1985: 149) maintained that Hess was no more than a guest to whom the Thule Society extended hospitality during the [[Bavarian Soviet Republic|Bavarian revolution of 1918]].</ref> Hess enrolled in the [[University of Munich]] where he studied [[political science]], [[history]], [[economics]], and [[geopolitics]] under Professor [[Karl Haushofer]]. After hearing Hitler speak in May 1920, he became completely devoted to him. For commanding an [[Sturmabteilung|SA]] [[battalion]] during the [[Beer Hall Putsch]], Hess served seven-and-a-half months in [[Landsberg prison]]. Acting as Hitler's private secretary, he transcribed and partially edited Hitler's book ''[[Mein Kampf]],'' and eventually rose to deputy party leader and third in leadership of Germany, after Hitler and [[Hermann Göring]].

Hess had a privileged position as Hitler's deputy in the early years of the Nazi movement, but was increasingly marginalized throughout the 1930s as Hitler and other Nazi leaders consolidated political power. Hess also played a prominent part in the creation of the [[Nuremberg Laws]] in 1935. Hitler biographer [[John Toland (author)|John Toland]] described Hess's political insight and abilities as somewhat limited. The alienation of Hess increased during the early years of the war, as attention and glory were focused on military leaders, along with Göring, [[Joseph Goebbels]], and [[Heinrich Himmler]]. Hess worshipped Hitler more than did Göring, Goebbels, and Himmler, but he was not ambitious, and did not crave power like those others did.

Hess had a strong interest in [[herbalism]] and [[organic farming]].{{Fact|date=October 2008}}

===Flight to Scotland===
[[Image:Rudolf Hess - Bf 110D Werk Nr 3869 - Wreckage - Bonnyton Moor.jpg|thumb|right|The wreckage of Hess's Bf 110]]
[[Image:Rudolf Hess Engine-Daimler Benz DB601 From Hess's Messerschmitt BF110 1941.jpg|thumb|right|One of the engines from Hess's plane on display at the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian, [[Scotland]].]]
Like Goebbels, Hess was privately distressed by the war with Britain. Hess may have hoped to score a diplomatic victory by sealing a peace between the [[Third Reich]] and Britain,<ref>{{cite book |last=Shirer |first=William L. |title=The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich}}</ref> e.g., by implementing the behind-the-scenes move of the [[Geopolitics#Other theories |Haushofers]]{{Clarifyme}} in Nazi Germany to contact the [[Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton|Duke of Hamilton]] in Scotland.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bird |first=Eugene K. |authorlink=Eugene K. Bird |year=1974 |title=Prisoner #7: Rudolf Hess |page=235 |publisher=The Viking Press}} '''NOTE''': Bird showed the Haushofer Letters in the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] in Washington D. C. </ref>

On May 10, 1941 at about 6pm Hess took off from Augsburg in a [[Messerschmitt Bf 110]], and Hitler ordered the [[Adolf Galland|General of the Fighter Arm]] to stop Hess (squadron leaders were ordered to scramble only one or two fighters since Hess's particular aircraft could not be distinguished from others).<ref name=Galland/> Hess parachuted over [[Renfrewshire]], Scotland on 10 May and landed (breaking his ankle) at Floors Farm near [[Eaglesham]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}} In a [[newsreel]] clip, farmhand David McLean claims to have arrested Hess with his pitchfork.<ref name=Galland>{{cite book |last=Galland |first=Adolf |authorlink=Adolf Galland |origdate=1954 |year=1968 Ninth Printing - paperbound |title=The First and the Last: The Rise and Fall of the German Fighter Forces, 1938-1945 |location=New York |publisher=Ballantine Books |page=56}}</ref>

During discussions among Hitler's staff about Hess's flight it was said - under an oath of silence - that Hess had been carrying with him a memorandum outlining peace terms. Hess had drawn them up, and Hitler had approved them. The most important was that Britain would grant Germany a free hand in the Soviet Union, and in return would be guaranteed its colonial possessions and hegemony in the Mediterranean. Apart from that the memorandum laid down plans for an alliance between the 'great power of Germany' and the 'great sea power of Britain' that would rule the whole world. Since February 1941 Hess had been working on economic and political proposals that would form the basis for negotiations with Britain. Hess had left Germany with Hitler's approval and support, and had bailed out voluntarily over Scotland with the plan, planning to meet with the Duke of Hamilton, a political rival of Churchill. The Duke, of course, denied that he knew Hess. At that Hitler directed Dietrich to describe the flight in the German press as an act of insanity. Hitler ordered the planes up to intercept Hess' plane as a cover for the story. There is no evidence that Hess had been cut out of Hitler's inner circle, and in fact was chosen for the mission because he was second in command after Hitler. Hess's wife was not arrested, but remained living on her estate. Hitler decreed that she be paid a considerable amount of money. She nonetheless corresponded with her husband, the letters passed under the eyes of Martin Bormann. <The Hitler Book, published in Great Britain, 2005, translated from German by MacDonogh, and edited by Eberle and Uhl>

It appears that Hess believed Hamilton to be an opponent of [[Winston Churchill]], whom he held responsible for the outbreak of the war. His proposal of peace included returning all the western European countries conquered by Germany to their own national governments, but German police would remain in position. Germany would also pay back the cost of rebuilding these countries. In return, Britain would have to support the war against Soviet Russia. Hess's strange behavior and unilateral proposals quickly discredited him as a serious negotiator (especially after it became obvious he did not officially represent the German government [However, according to "The Hitler Book, Ibid, Hitler had approved the mission and sent his second in command to negotiate]. Churchill and [[Stewart Menzies]], head of [[MI6]], felt that Hess might have useful military intelligence.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

After being held in the [[Maryhill]] army barracks, he was transferred to Mytchett Place near [[Aldershot]]. The house was fitted out with microphones and sound recording equipment. [[Frank Foley]] and two other MI6 officers were given the job of debriefing Hess — or "Jonathan", as he was now known. Churchill's instructions were that Hess should be strictly isolated, and that every effort should be taken to get any information out of him that might be useful.<ref name="Foley">''Foley'': Michael Smith, Hodder & Stoughton, 1999</ref>

Hess became increasingly agitated as his conviction grew that he would be [[murder]]ed. Mealtimes were difficult, since Hess suspected that his food might be poisoned, and the MI6 officers had to exchange their food with his to reassure him. Gradually, their conviction grew that Hess was [[insane]].

Hess was interviewed by [[psychiatry|psychiatrist]] [[John Rawlings Rees]] who had worked at the [[Tavistock Clinic]] prior to becoming a Brigadier in the Army. Rees concluded that he was not insane, but certainly mentally ill and suffering from [[clinical depression|depression]] &mdash; probably due to the failure of his mission.<ref name="Foley"/> Hess's diaries from his imprisonment in Britain after 1941 make many references to visits from Rees, whom he did not like and accused of poisoning him and "[[hypnosis|mesmerizing]]" him. Rees took part in the Nuremberg trial of 1945.

Taken by surprise, Hitler had Hess's staff arrested, then spread word throughout Germany that Hess had gone insane and acted of his own accord. Hearing this, Hess began claiming to his interrogators that as part of a pre-arranged diplomatic cover story, Hitler had agreed to announce to the German people that his deputy Führer was insane.{{Fact|date=August 2008}} Meanwhile Hitler granted Hess's wife a [[pension]]. [[Martin Bormann]] succeeded Hess as deputy under a newly-created title.

{{cquote|''My coming to England in this way is, as I realize, so unusual that nobody will easily understand it. I was confronted by a very hard decision. I do not think I could have arrived at my final choice unless I had continually kept before my eyes the vision of an endless line of children's coffins with weeping mothers behind them, both English and German, and another line of coffins of mothers with mourning children.''|2px|2px|10 June 1941 (from ''Rudolf Hess: Prisoner of Peace'' by his wife, Ilse Hess)}}

===Trial and imprisonment===
[[File:Rudolf Hess at Nuremberg prison.jpg|thumb|Hess in his cell at the Nuremberg prison while on trial.]]
[[Image:Nuremberg-1-.jpg|thumb|Rudolf Hess (first row, second from left), in the defendant's box at the Nuremberg Trials.]]
[[Image:Goring&Hess.gif|right|thumb|Göring and Hess during trials]]

Hess was detained by the British for the remainder of the war, for most of the time at Maindiff Court Military Hospital in [[Abergavenny]], [[Wales]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/40/a5279240.shtml BBC - WW2 People's War - Marjorie's War<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He then became a defendant at the [[Nuremberg Trials]] of the International Military Tribunal, where he was found guilty on two of four counts and given a life sentence.

He was declared guilty of "crimes against peace" ("planning and preparation of aggressive war") and "[[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]]" with other German leaders to commit crimes. Hess was found not guilty of "[[war crime]]s" or "[[crimes against humanity]]."

Some of his last words before the tribunal were, "I do not regret anything." For decades he was addressed only as ''prisoner number seven''. Throughout the investigations prior to trial Hess claimed [[amnesia]], insisting that he had no memory of his role in the Nazi Party. He went on to pretend not to recognise even Hermann Göring &mdash; who was as convinced as the psychiatric team that Hess had lost his mind. Hess then addressed the court, several weeks into hearing evidence, to announce that his memory had returned &mdash; thereby destroying his defence of diminished responsibility. He later confessed to having enjoyed pulling the wool over the eyes of the investigative psychiatric team.

Hess was considered to be the most mentally unstable of all the defendants. He would be seen talking to himself in court, counting on his fingers, laughing for no obvious reason. Such behaviour was a source of great annoyance to Göring, who made clear his desire to be seated apart from him. The request was denied.

Following the release in 1966 of [[Baldur von Schirach]] and [[Albert Speer]], Hess was the sole remaining inmate of [[Spandau Prison]], partly at the insistence of the Soviets. Guards reportedly said he degenerated mentally and lost most of his memory. For two decades, his main companion was warden [[Eugene K. Bird]], with whom he formed a close friendship. Bird wrote a 1974 book titled ''The Loneliest Man in the World: The Inside Story of the 30-Year Imprisonment of Rudolf Hess'' about his relationship with Hess.

Many historians and legal commentators have expressed opinions that his long imprisonment was an injustice. In his book, ''The Second World War Part III,'' [[Winston Churchill]] wrote,

{{cquote|''Reflecting upon the whole of the story, I am glad not to be responsible for the way in which Hess has been and is being treated. Whatever may be the moral guilt of a German who stood near to Hitler, Hess had, in my view, atoned for this by his completely devoted and frantic deed of lunatic benevolence. He came to us of his own free will, and, though without authority, had something of the quality of an envoy. He was a medical and not a criminal case, and should be so regarded.''}}

In the early 1970s, the [[U.S. government|U.S.]], [[British government|British]] and [[French government]]s had approached the Soviet government to propose that Hess be released on humanitarian grounds due to his age. The Soviet official response was apparently to reject these attempts and reportedly "refused to consider any reduction in Hess's life sentence."<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_re_eu/britain_rudolf_hess_1]{{Dead link|date=June 2008}}</ref> [[U.S. President]] [[Richard Nixon]] was in favor of releasing Hess and stated that the U.S., Britain, and France should continue to entreat the Soviet Union for his release.

In 1977, Britain's chief prosecutor at Nuremberg, Sir [[Hartley Shawcross]], characterized Hess's continued imprisonment as a "scandal."{{Fact|date=May 2008}} In 1987, the new Soviet leadership agreed that Hess should be set free on humanitarian grounds. Hess was aware of that decision.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}

===Death and legacy===
On 17 July 1987, Hess died while under [[Four-Power Authorities|Four Power]] imprisonment at [[Spandau Prison]] in [[West Berlin]], at the age of 93. He was found in a summer house in a garden located in a secure area of the prison with an electrical cord wrapped around his neck. His death was ruled a [[suicide]] by self-asphyxiation, accomplished by tying the cord to a window latch in the summer house, but there has been much dispute over this, with his family claiming that Hess was in fact murdered.<ref> Guido Knopp: Hitler´s Henchmen. London, Sutton Publishers, 2000</ref> He was buried in [[Wunsiedel]], and Spandau Prison was subsequently demolished to prevent it from becoming a shrine.<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= | |title= Hess Dies at 93; Hitler's Last Lieutenant |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFDE1338F930A1575BC0A961948260 |quote=Walter Richard Rudolf Hess, the last of Hitler's lieutenants, died last week in Spandau Prison in West Berlin in characteristically murky circumstances. Allied officials said Hess had committed suicide, as did his long-dead fellow Nazis - Hitler, Goring, Goebbels and Himmler, strangling himself with an electric cord. They said he left a note pointing to suicide. But a lawyer for the partially blind 93-year-old prisoner suggested there might have been foul play. |publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=23 August 1987 |accessdate=2007-07-21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Germany The Inmate of Spandau's Last Wish |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965331,00.html |quote=Nearly every day for four decades, the prisoner took a stroll through a tiny garden inside West Berlin's forbidding Spandau fortress. He was never without a keeper and his gait had slowed to a shuffle over the years, but he rarely missed the opportunity for fresh air. Last Monday a guard left him alone briefly in a small cottage at the garden's edge. A few minutes later the guard returned to find the sole inmate of Spandau slumped over, an electrical cord wound tightly around his neck. Rushed to the nearby British Military Hospital, 93-year-old Hess was pronounced dead at 4:10 p.m. An autopsy showed that he had died of asphyxiation. |publisher=[[Time (magazine)]] |date=31 August 1987 |accessdate=2007-08-21 }}</ref>

After Hess's death, [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazis]] from Germany and the rest of [[Europe]] gathered in [[Wunsiedel]] for a memorial march and similar demonstrations took place every year around the anniversary of Hess's death. These gatherings were banned from 1991 to 2000 and neo-Nazis tried to assemble in other cities and countries (such as the [[Netherlands]] and [[Denmark]]). Demonstrations in Wunsiedel were again legalised in 2001. Over 5,000 neo-Nazis marched in 2003, with over 9,000 in 2004, marking some of the biggest Nazi demonstrations in Germany since 1945. After stricter German legislation regarding demonstrations by neo-Nazis was enacted in March 2005 the demonstrations were banned again.

==Speculation on his flight to Britain==
===''The Queen's Lost Uncle''===
Related claims were made in ''The Queen's Lost Uncle'', a [[television programme]] broadcast in November 2003 and March 2005 on Britain's [[Channel 4]]. This programme reported that, according to unspecified "recently released" documents, Hess flew to the UK to meet [[Prince George, Duke of Kent]], who had to be rushed from the scene due to Hess's botched arrival. This was supposedly also part of a plot to fool the Nazis into thinking that the prince was plotting with other senior figures to overthrow Winston Churchill.

===Lured into a trap?===
In May 1943, the ''American Mercury'' magazine published a story from an anonymous source which indicated that Hess was lured to Scotland by the British secret service. The article posited that Hess had come to Britain in the belief that he was meeting with the Duke of Hamilton, and that when he was intercepted by farmer David McLean, he admitted to home guardsmen that "he had come from Germany and was hunting the private airdrome on the Duke of Hamilton's estate, ten miles away." The Duke was a member of the Anglo-German Fellowship Association. According to the source, British Secret Service agents had intercepted the correspondence to the Duke, which had been brought from Germany by an "eminent diplomat", and had begun responding in the Duke's name and handwriting. Thus encouraged, Hitler sent Hess to propose an accommodation which would reverse German gains in the west in exchange for a free hand in dealing with the Soviet Union in the east. This was a month before Germany attacked the Soviet Union, breaking their non-aggression/neutrality pact.

[[Violet Roberts]], whose nephew Walter was a close relative of the [[Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton|Duke of Hamilton]] and was working in the political intelligence and [[propaganda]] branch of the [[Secret Intelligence Service]] ([[Political Warfare Executive|SO1/PWE]]), was friends with Hess's mentor [[Karl Haushofer]]. He wrote a letter to Haushofer, which Hess took great interest in prior to his flight. Haushofer replied to Violet Roberts, suggesting a post office box in [[Portugal]] for further correspondence. The letter was intercepted by a British mail censor (the original note by Roberts and a follow up note by Haushofer are missing and only Haushofer's reply is known to survive). Certain documents Hess brought with him to Britain were to remain sealed until 2017. However, when the seal was broken in 1991-92, they were missing. [[Edvard Beneš]], head of the [[Czechoslovakia: World War II (1939 - 1945)#Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile|Czechoslovak Government in Exile]] and his intelligence chief [[František Moravec]], who worked with SO1/PWE, speculated that British Intelligence used Haushofer's reply to Violet Roberts as a means to trap Hess. <ref>McBlain and Trow (2000), "Hess: the British Conspiracy"</ref>

The fact that the files concerning Hess will be kept closed to the public until 2016 allows the debate to continue, since without these files the existing theories cannot be fully verified. Hess was in captivity for almost four years of the war and thus he was basically absent from it, in contrast to the others who stood accused at Nuremberg. According to data published in a book about [[Wilhelm Canaris]], a number of contacts between Britain and Germany were kept during the war.<ref>Richard Basset (2005), "Hitler’s Spy Chief"</ref> It cannot be known, however, whether these were direct contacts on specific affairs or an intentional confusion created between secret services for the purpose of deception. [[Martin Allen (writer)|Martin Allen's]] book about the background of the flight is based on forged documents in the British National Archives (see the article by E. Haiger).

===Hess's Parachute landing===
After Hess's [[Bf 110]] was detected on [[radar]], a number of pilots were scrambled to meet it, but none made contact. (The tail and one engine of the Bf 110 can be seen in the [[Imperial War Museum]] in [[London]]; the other engine is on display at the [[National Museum of Flight]] in East Lothian).

Some witnesses in the nearby [[suburb]] of Clarkston claimed Hess's plane landed smoothly in a field near Carnbooth House. They reported seeing the gunners of a nearby [[QF 3.75 inch AA|heavy anti-aircraft artillery battery]] drag Hess out of the aircraft, causing the injury to his leg. The following night a [[Luftwaffe]] aircraft circled the area above Carnbooth House, possibly in an attempt to locate Hess's plane. It was shot down.

The witness accounts are said to uncover various insights. Hess's flight path implies that he was looking for the home of [[Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton|Duke of Hamilton and Brandon]], a large house on the River Cart. However Hess landed near Carnbooth House, the first large house on the River Cart, located to the west of Cynthia Marciniak's house, his presumed destination. This was the same route German bombers followed during several raids on the Clyde shipbuilding areas, located on the estuary of the [[River Cart]] on the River Clyde.

== Murder conspiracy theories==

[[Wolf Rudiger Hess]] and Hess' Nuremberg lawyer [[Alfred Seidl]] claim that Hess was murdered by two [[MI 6]] agents in the garden of Spandau prison. They point out that the prisoner was in very bad medical condition, even unable to do up his shoes because of arthritis in his fingers and needed regular help by his male nurse. So, they say, Hess could technically never have strangled himself. Also, his suicidal note was forged, they allege. <ref>Wolf Rudiger Hess/ Alfred Seidl: Who Murdered My Father Rudolf Hess? My Father's Mysterious Death in Spandau. Reporter Press, 1989</ref> They point at the second autopsy which the family had insisted on, carried out by Munich forensic pathologists. In this autopsy, several errors of the British military's autopsy report were corrected, and the Munich doctors said that the marks around Hess' neck didn't look like those found in a usual suicide by [[strangulation]]. However, Prof. Gerhard Spann, who was in charge of the second autopsy publicly stated that "''we can't prove a third hand participated in the death of Rudolf Hess''".<ref> Guido Knopp: Hitler´s Henchmen. London, Sutton Publishers, 2000</ref> Therefore, medical evidence for the murder theory is thin.

The motive for the murder, the authors say, was the pending release of Hess from Spandau prison. Soviet resistance to a release ceased after [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] came to power. The British feared, so the theory alleges, that Hess could tell details about his negotiations about peace with them in 1941, which would damage the credibility of [[Winston S. Churchill|Churchill's]] policy of no peace with the Nazis without [[unconditional surrender]].

==Portrayal in popular culture==
===Film and television===
Rudolf Hess has been portrayed by the following actors in film, television and theater productions;<ref name="imdb">{{cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0042374/ | title = Rudolf Hess (Character) | accessdate = 8 May | accessdaymonth = | accessmonthday = | accessyear = 2008 | author = | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | date = | year = | month = | format = | work = | publisher = [[IMDb.com]] | pages = | doi = | archiveurl = | archivedate = | quote = }}</ref>
* [[George Lynn]] in the 1943 [[United States]] short documentary film ''Plan for Destruction''.
* [[Victor Varconi]] in the 1944 United States film ''The Hitler Gang''
* [[Carroll O'Connor]] in the 1960 ''Engineer of Death: The Eichmann Story'' episode of the United States T.V. series ''[[Armstrong Circle Theatre]]''
* [[Predrag Lakovic]] in the 1971 [[Yugoslavia]]n television production ''[[Nirnberski epilog]]''
* [[Maurice Roëves]] in the 1982 United States television production ''[[Inside the Third Reich#Movie|Inside the Third Reich]]''
* [[Laurence Olivier]] in the 1985 United States action film ''[[The Wild Geese|Wild Geese II]]''
* [[Richard Edson]] in the 1997 United States drama ''[[Snide and Prejudice]]''
* [[Roc LaFortune]] in the 2000 [[Canada|Canadian]]/U.S. T.V. production ''Nuremberg''
* [[James Babson]] in the 2003 Canadian/U.S. T.V. production ''Hitler: The Rise of Evil''
* [[Conor Timmis]] in the 2004 United States documentary ''Hitler's Lost Plan''.
* [[Horst-Günter Marx]] in the 2005 British television series ''[[Auschwitz: The Nazis and the 'Final Solution']]''
* [[André Hennicke]] in the 2005 German T.V. miniseries ''[[Speer und Er]]''
* [[Victor Wagner]] in the 2005 ''Caso Mengele'' episode of the [[Brazil]]lian T.V. series ''[[Linha Direta]]''
* [[Ben Cross]] in the 2006 British/U.S. television production ''[[Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial]]''
* [[Attila Harsányi]] in the 2008 Romanian theatre production ''[[The Ten Commandements of Rudolf Hess]]''

Hess is also the inspiration for the German General broken out of an allied prison by [[Telly Savalas]] in the 1975 film [[Inside Out (1975 film)|Inside Out]]

===Literature===
Rudolf Hess has been portrayed in literary works by the following authors;
* [[Upton Sinclair]] in his ''[[Lanny Budd Series]]''
* [[Eric Knight]] in 1942 novel ''[[Sam Small Flies Again]]''
* [[Timothy Findley]] in 1981 novel ''[[Famous Last Words (novel)|Famous Last Words]]''
* [[Daniel Carney]] in 1982 novel ''[[The Square Circle]]''
* [[Katherine Kurtz]] in 1992 novel ''[[The Lodge of the Lynx]]''
* [[Greg Iles]] in 1993 [[thriller novel]] ''[[Spandau Phoenix]]''
* [[Christopher Priest (novelist)|Christopher Priest]] in the 2002 novel ''[[The Separation]]''
* [[David Edgar]] in 2000 play ''Albert Speer''
* [[Michael Moorcock]] in 2001 novel ''[[The Dreamthief's Daughter]]''
* [[Peter Ho Davies]] in 2007 novel ''[[The Welsh Girl]]''
* [[Ethan Mordden]] in 2008 novel ''[[The Jewcatcher]]''

===Other===
*Hess's symbolism to the Far Right is the central topic in [[Chumbawamba]]'s song "On the Day the Nazi Died". It was covered by several artists, mainly from the [[anarcho-punk]] spectrum, like [[Across The Border]] or [[Stockholms Anarkafeministkör]].
*In [[Joy Division]]'s song "Warsaw", lyrics include reference to Hess' prison number, 31G-350125, and many believe the song to be about Hess.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References and further reading==
* Allen, Peter. ''The Crown and the Swastika: Hitler, Hess, and the Duke of Windsor''.
* Brenton, Howard. ''H.I.D.: Hess Is Dead''.
* Churchill, Winston S. ''The Second World War; Volume 3: The Grand Alliance'' (Cassell & Co., 1950)
* [[John Costello|Costello, John]]. ''Ten Days to Destiny: The Secret Story of the Hess Peace Initiative and British Efforts to Strike a Deal With Hitler''. Also published as ''Ten Days That Saved the West''.
* Douglas-Hamilton, James. ''Motive for a Mission: The Story Behind Rudolf Hess's Flight to Britain''.
* Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas. ''The Occult Roots of Nazism: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany 1890-1935''. (Wellingborough, England: Aquarian Press, 1985, ISBN 0-85030-402-4)
* Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas. ''[[Black Sun (Goodrick-Clarke book)|Black Sun]]: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity''. (New York University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-8147-3124-4. Paperback 2003, ISBN 0-8147-3155-4)
* Hess, Ilse. ''Prisoner of Peace''.
* Hess, Rudolf. ''Selected speeches''.
* Hess, Wolf Ruidger. ''My Father Rudolf Hess''.
* Hutton, Joseph Bernard. ''Hess: The Man and His Mission''.
* [[David John Cawdell Irving|Irving, David John Cawdell]]. ''Hess: The Missing Years 1941–1945''.
* Le Tissier, Tony. ''Farewell to Spandau''.
* [[Guido Knopp|Knopp, Guido]] for ZDF ''Hitlers helfer - Hess, der Stellvertreter''. (German TV, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-3781-5)
* Kilzer, Louis C. ''Churchill's Deception: The Dark Secret That Destroyed Nazi Germany''.
* Leasor, James ''The Uninvited Envoy''.
* [[Lothar Machtan|Machtan, Lothar]]. ''[[The Hidden Hitler]]''. (2001) ISBN 0-465-04308-9
* [[Roger Manvell|Manvell, Roger]]. ''Hess: A Biography''.
* [[David M. Moriarty|Moriarty, David M.]] ''Rudolf Hess, Deputy Fuhrer: A Psychological Study''.
* Nesbit, Roy Conyers, and Georges Van Acker. ''The Flight of Rudolf Hess: Myths and Reality''.
* Padfield, Peter. ''Hess: Flight for the Führer''.
* [[Peter Padfield|Padfield, Peter]]. ''Hess: The Fuhrer's Disciple''.
* Picknett, Lynn, Clive Prince, and Stephen Prior. ''Double Standards The Rudolf Hess Cover-Up''. ISBN 0-7515-3220-7
* Pile, G. ''Rudolf Hess: Prisoner of Peace''.
* Rees, John R., and Henry Victor Dicks. ''The Case of Rudolf Hess; A Problem in diagnosis and forensic psychiatry''.
* [[Philip Rees|Rees, Philip]], editor. ''[[Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890]]''. (1991, ISBN 0-13-089301-3)
* Royce, William Hobart ''The Behest of Hess's''.
* [[Alfred Smith (historian)|Smith, Alfred]]. ''Rudolf Hess and Germany's Reluctant War, 1939-41''.
* Tuccille, Jerome, and Philip S. Jacobs. ''The Mission''. (Dutton Adult, 1991 novel, ISBN 1-55611-199-1)
* Thomas, Hugh. ''The Murder of Rudolf Hess'' (republished as ''Hess: A Tale of Two Murders'').
* [[Wulf Schwarzwäller|Schwarzwäller, Wulf]]. ''Rudolf Hess, the Last Nazi''. (A Zenith edition)
* [[Ernst Haiger]] ''Fiction, Facts, and Forgeries: The 'Revelations' of Peter and Martin Allen about the History of the Second World War''. The Journal of Intelligence History, Vol 6 no. 1 (Summer 2006 [published in 2007]), pp. 105–117.
* [[Cornell University]] Law Library<ref name="lawschool1">[http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/donovan/hitler/]{{Dead link|date=June 2008}}</ref> - "''[[Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler]]''" [[Cornell University]] lawschool. Readers can download a [[PDF]] version of the whole document<ref name="lawschool1"/>
* Hess:The British Conspiracy by John Harris

==External links==
{{commons|Rudolf Hess}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Britannica|9040284}}
* [http://heritage.scotsman.com/videos.cfm?vid=110 Interview with eyewitness of Hess's crash-landing outside Glasgow]
* [http://www.defendingsteiner.com/pers/Hess.php Rudolf Hess's relationship to Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy]
* [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7737066&queryType=1&resultcount=168 Correspondence on Rudolph Hess's incarceration held by the National Archives of the United Kingdom]
* [http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSPAT25009520080522? Mail firm issues stamps of Hitler deputy] [[Reuters]] 22 May 2008

{{Main Nuremberg defendants}}

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Revision as of 17:23, 9 January 2009

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