Rudolf Hess: Devoted to the Devil
I’m going to go out on a limb here. The Nazis were all batshit crazy. They were completely evil, totally insane and all pushed the boundaries of intellectual delusion. To reach the upper echelons of the Nazi Party you had to lack any sense of morality and be in possession of at least one of the following characteristics: ruthless, conniving, ambitious, cunning, or unwaveringly devoted to Adolf Hitler. Rudolf Hess was far from cunning and, comparative to his colleagues, was toothless and lacked the ambition required to push his own career forward. In fact, the only qualifying trait he did possess was his ultimate loyalty to Adolf Hitler.
Love at First Sight
On 1st July 1920, Hess became the sixteenth person to join the Nazi Party. The decision was made after watching one Hitler’s speeches in a small Munich beer hall. From that moment on, Hess was completely obsessed with the Führer. Speaking after his first meeting with Hitler, Hess said he felt ‘overcome by a vision.’ The pair became very well acquainted, with Hess acting as Hitler’s cheerleader at every opportunity. In November 1923 Hess stood alongside Hitler in what would become known as the Munich (or Beer Hall depending on who you ask) Putsch – The Nazi Party’s failed attempt to seize power in Munich through force. Following the failed coup, Hitler was arrested at sent to Landsberg prison, in the German state of Bavaria. Hess initially escaped arrest by successfully fleeing to Austria. He was soon suffering from Adolf Hitler withdrawal syndrome though, so voluntarily handed himself over to the police to get another large hit of the Austrian.
Perhaps the biggest impact Rudolf Hess was able to make on the political shape of Nazism came whilst inside Landsberg prison. Hess, a well-educated man, (alumnus of the University of Munich) was just the person Adolf Hitler needed to put into words the political doctrine whizzing around his twisted mind. Therefore, it fell to Hess to assist Landsberg prison’s most famous prisoner. Whilst much of the work required of him was to simply listen and write, he did have some input. It is believed Hess had an influence over Hitler’s arguments about the relationship Germany should pursue with the British Empire. Hess also had some influence over Hitler’s opinion on some of the organisational aspects of the Nazi Party going forward. Finally, he contributed to one of the most significant arguments Hitler raised in Mein Kampf, Lebensraum.
Upon their release from prison, Hitler made Hess his private secretary. His position as an influential figure in the Nazi regime was solidified. Whilst his association with the Nazi Party and Hitler had begun just five years earlier, Hess was no stranger to far-right, anti-Semitic ideology. After World War One, a war which saw Hess serve in both the army and the air force, Hess joined the Freikorps, a right-wing paramilitary mercenary organisation made up of former soldiers. During his time at University, Hess came under the influence of Professor Karl Haushofer, an ex-general whose theories on both race and expansionism moulded the concept that would become Lebensraum. It was also at the University of Munich that he became part of the Thule Society, a secret and extremely anti-Semitic group who believed in Nordic Supremacy. It is no wonder then, that when Rudolf Hess heard Hitler speak in that beer hall in Munich, he would become totally committed to Hitler’s cause.
Snakes and Ladders: The Nazi Party edition
Hess served as Hitler’s private secretary until April 1933 when he was promoted to deputy party leader. By December the same year he was a member of Hitler’s secret cabinet. Despite writing the Nazi manual, Hess lacked any understanding of how the Nazi Party functioned in practice. He was also incapable of acting on his own initiative. He was totally subservient to his Führer. While the Goering’s and the Himmler’s of the party jostled for more power and influence, Hess was able to maintain his position as a high-ranking Nazi through blind obedience. To the horror of many high-ranking Nazi’s, in 1939 Rudolf Hess was named Hitler’s successor after Hermann Goering. Hess had enjoyed too many days as Hitler’s confidant; the power-hungry Nazi officials who Hitler had just side-lined were ready to act.
The man who took a leading role in bringing Hess down was his own secretary, Martin Bormann. Seeking Hitler’s ear, Bormann had begun his plan to eventually undermine his boss back in 1935 when it became clear to him that Hess lacked the intelligence to stop a well thought out and patient plan. By the time World War Two had arrived Bormann’s efforts to undermine Hess were in full flow. Whilst Himmler was jostling for power against the fiendishly stubborn Goering and the intelligent and manipulative Goebbels, Bormann’s direct opponent was a far less challenging obstacle. Going increasingly above Hess’ head, Bormann began talking with Hitler directly. Hitler eventually took a shine to the supremely organised and obedient Bormann and Hess suddenly found himself out of favour. The perplexed Hess had not seen the cold shoulder from his beloved leader coming and with every failed attempt to return to Hitler’s side his desperation grew.
The Flight and the Fallout
The big conundrum for Hitler’s war effort was the obstinance of Britain. Getting them out of the war would allow all focus to be turned onto the Soviet Union. Hitler had tried the negotiating table. Initially that had seemed like a viable way of getting them out of the war. Once Winston Churchill became Prime Minister however, the chance of Britain entertaining a peace deal became nil. The attempt to defeat them in the air during the Battle of Britain had failed. Hitler wanted nothing more than to begin the invasion of the Soviet Union, but that would mean a war on two fronts. This was something he preferred to avoid. If Hess could solve this conundrum for Hitler, there was no way the Führer could continue to ignore him.
On the night of 10 May 1941, Rudolf Hess headed to Augsburg, commandeered a Messerschmitt Bf 110 and flew across the North Sea. When he reached Scotland, Hess began his descent. Once he was at 6,000 feet in the air, Hess jumped out of the plane and parachuted to the ground. The Messerschmitt crash-landed in a field belonging to farmer David McLean. With the sky lit up by the flames roaring off the Bf 110’s burning carcass, it didn’t take the bewildered Scot long to identify the plane’s pilot parachuting down. Hess was invited into the farmer’s house and was sharing a pot of tea with McLean’s mother before the night was out. Once indoors, Hess demanded to see the Duke of Hamilton, a man he had met briefly during the 1936 Olympic Games and the person he intended to make his peace offer too. When a driver came to pick Hess up though, it wasn’t Hamilton’s estate he was taken to, it was to the headquarters of the local Home Guard unit, in East Renfrewshire. His Dad’s Army cameo was brief, moving that same night to a police station in Giffnock (a town in East Renfrewshire). After further interrogation Hess was moved to Maryhill Barracks. There he was treated for a foot injury he had sustained whilst landing his parachute. Hess continued with his demands and the following day Hamilton met with the German. Hess, who until then had been using the alias Alfred Horn, disclosed everything to Hamilton. Hess believed he was making ground in his one man peace mission, in reality he was playing the lead role in the world’s easiest intelligence gathering mission. The information he gave Britain offered them hope. Hess confirmed to the British that Hitler was hell-bent on waging war against the Soviets. It would soon be a war on two fronts for the Germans, exactly what Britain and the allies needed.
The day following Hess’ flight he was front page news. In Germany, Hitler had to denounced Hess as suffering from ‘pacifist delusions.’ But no matter how much Hitler tried to distance himself from Hess’ actions, the fact that second in line to replace Hitler as the Nazi Party’s leader had just voluntarily handed himself over to the enemy was nothing short of a national embarrassment.
Unwittingly, Hess had betrayed his beloved Hitler. Fitting then, that on 17 May 1941, the accidental traitor was driven in secret to the Tower of London. After three days in the Tower, Hess was taken to Mytchett Place in Surrey. While there, army psychiatrist Henry Dicks was tasked with studying Hess. Speaking in an interview with the BBC some years after the war, Dicks described Hess as looking like ‘a very sick man, staring into the distance, lacking all social grace.’ In the early hours of 15 June 1942, Hess requested to see Dicks. Dressed in his Luftwaffe uniform, Hess took his chance. Following Dicks’ arrival Hess ran out of his room and jumped over a balcony. Rushing down the stairs Dicks and the guards could hear the groans of a man in serious pain. Hess’ suicide attempt had failed, but he had managed to break his femur. Twelve weeks of intensive rehab followed and fearing another suicidal incident he was moved to a secure base in Cardiff.
After his initial assessment of the German, Dicks concluded that Hess was a paranoid schizophrenic. Speaking more broadly about Nazism, Dicks said he saw ‘Nazism not as a political choice but a mental disease that fed on the needs of rudderless nothings like Hess to identify with an omnipotent saviour’. That seems, to me at least, to let them off the hook a little. Dicks is absolutely fair in his description of Hess as a rudderless nothing and it’s clear that his devotion to Hitler was equivalent to a mental disease. But he held similar views before he joined the party. He, and the other Nazis, joined the party freely. They heard the political ramblings of Hitler and decided he was their man. While the party’s policies undoubtedly engulfed them psychologically, they did not catch Nazism; they chose it.
Back to Bavaria
Hess remained a PoW for the remainder of the war. In October 1945 he was shipped over to Germany, where he stood trial with the other high-ranking Nazi’s that had not already committed suicide or been able to escape. The infamous Nuremburg Trials were not held in Nuremburg by coincidence. Many of the Nazi Party’s rallies were held in Nuremburg, with the rallies being an annual event between 1933-1938. These rallies were a chance to display the might of the Nazi Party’s military strength. But they were also filled with some of the most hateful speeches performed in human history. In 1935, the Nuremburg Laws were declared at the rally. While anti-Semitism had been on the rise before the conference, the Laws announced on 15 September 1935 exacerbated the suffering of the German Jewish community incalculably. It was fitting then, for the trials of the men who played a key role in the greatest human rights violation in history to take place in the town it was given the green light.
Rudolf Hess was found guilty of crimes against peace for his role in the planning for war. He was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit crimes alongside other German leaders. He was found not guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. His sentence was life in prison. There is no doubt that had Hess been in Germany for the duration of the war, he would have gone along enthusiastically with all the plans put forward by Hitler. The truth is his desperate devotion to the Führer and his lunacy to think his one-man peace envoy could stop the war spared Hess his life. Of the 23 Nazi’s tried in the first stage of the Nuremburg, seven avoided the death penalty. Following the conclusion of the trial, Rudolf Hess was escorted to Spandau Prison along with the six other convicted Nazis. The Allied Powers of Britain, France, USA & The USSR shared the responsibility of looking after the inmates. Rudolf Hess spent the remainder of his days locked up. Unrepentant, he remained committed to Nazism until his bitter end.
On 17 August 1987, Hess was found dead in the prison’s reading room. Taking an extension cord from a lamp, he threw it over a window latch, tied it round his neck and hanged himself. At the age of 93, Rudolf Hess was dead at last. He left behind a legacy of hopeless devotion to a man who oversaw the most sickening genocide in history. While his life may have been spared by an act of pure desperation so ridiculous that it bordered on hilarious, he had to live it in the knowledge that his beloved Adolf Hitler had rejected him. While some demanded he receive the death penalty at the Nuremberg Trials, for Rudolf Hess, perhaps that was the most fitting punishment of all.
Sources:
Podcast: The Psychiatrist and Rudolf Hess – Witness History: World War 2 collection
https://www.historynet.com/rudolf-hess-flight-of-fancy.htm
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rudolf-Hess
https://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/biographies/apr-hess-cal.htm
Cover Image:
Credit: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1987-0313-507 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons
