The history of Nazi Germany is similar to a swamp, in which all real facts are drowning. Difficulties are thrown up by former allies, who are vitally interested in hiding many unpleasant events. Once upon a time there lived one Nazi, to whom all of the above can be applied in full. His name is Rudolf Hess.
Who was he?
He was a faithful ally of Adolf Hitler, a devoted member of the NSDAP. He was sentenced by decision of the Nuremberg Tribunal to life imprisonment. This is the only Nazi of such a level that reached 1987. And this is strange - at the beginning of the same year, the Soviet Union proposed to release the old man âfor reasons of humanityâ, after which he suddenly âcommitted suicideâ (according to the British and Americans). There is something else. Some people think that Rudolf Hess is the commandant of Auschwitz. In fact, he was Rudolf Höss, who had nothing to do with the hero of our article.
Here are just his relatives - a number of German, Soviet, and subsequently Russian authors - believe that he was simply eliminated when there was a danger that the old man could tell the whole world about the real goals of the negotiations that he conducted with the British government. Rudolf Hessâs son, Wolf RĂŒdiger Hess, speaks of the same thing: âI know that forensic experts spoke about the double strangulation of my father. So, did he hang himself twice? â
The mystery of "suicide"
Materials on his so-called suicide can only be declassified in 2017, and there is no doubt that most of the information will simply be extinct from the papers. The information on his interrogations is generally classified until 2040 with the possibility of extension, so we are unlikely to ever find out what the British are actually hiding.
short biography
So, Rudolf Hess (1894-1987) was born into a hereditary trading family, studied as a businessman in Switzerland. During the First World War, he finally broke up with his father's case, and volunteered for the front. At first he commanded a platoon, then became a pilot. Among his commanders was the infamous G. Goering. Awarded the Iron Cross. He ended the war as a lieutenant, and by that time he had received two more Iron Crosses. Even opponents of Nazism say that Rudolf Hess at that time was a devoted son of Germany and honestly fought for it. After that, he joins the secret society "Thule", becomes a member of one of the volunteer battalions.
In 1920, he joined the NSDAP. Studying in Munich. His scientific teacher was the famous
Karl Haushofer, who created the German geopolitical school. In 1923 he was a member of the Beer Coup, fled to Austria, was captured and sat in the same cell with Hitler himself. Two years later he became his personal secretary. In 1933, he was appointed his deputy in the party. Who invented the Zig Heil? Rudolph Hess! The Hitler Youth is also his brainchild. In a word, he was not the last person ...
In 1939, the FĂŒhrer appoints him as his possible successor (after Goering). In May 1941, on a private plane, he secretly flies to England, again captured. This time he will sit in a cell until the very end of his life ... We can assume that the biography of Rudolf Hess is over. But he left behind too many questions.
Significant flight
It should be remembered that May 10, 1941 can rightfully be considered no less significant date than June 21 of the same year. Allegedly, Rudolf Hess steals from the military airfield "Messerschmitt-110", after which he flies to England to it. In world history, such cases have occurred, but extremely rarely.
Just think about it: the man whom Hitler officially named his successor two years before, suddenly âescapesâ to Great Britain, with which Germany has been struggling, but still has been fighting for two years! It is strange to think that the man who fanatically shouted âSieg Heil!â, Rudolf Hess, decided to betray his Fuhrer.
Officially, Hitler immediately called his successor crazy, Stalin expressed deep doubts about the chance of flight, and the British themselves can not say anything intelligible for 70 years. World experts have strong suspicions that they will not say anything further. And the forthcoming declassification of the dossier does not play any role, since anything can happen to these papers âsuddenlyâ.
Official flight history
So, on a warm May evening, having "stolen" a completely new aircraft in perfect technical condition, it flies on it towards Scotland, without encountering the slightest (!) Opposition from the air defense forces. Nobody is chasing him, which also leads to thoughts ...
Flying in those parts where the duke of Hamilton was supposed to reside, he jumps with a parachute, sending the plane into free fall. In the life of 48-year-old Hess, such extreme entertainment was not mentioned before that it played a role in the landing. He breaks his ankle and seriously injures his spine. Having hardly hobbled to the nearest farm, Rudolf Hess (whose photo is in the article) reports that he must urgently see the Duke Hamilton. He is being taken into custody and transferred to the army authorities.
Unusual oddities ...
It is noteworthy that the âNazi number 2â does not at the same time ask for political asylum quite natural in this case. He constantly emphasizes the outstanding role of his mission. It is very difficult to believe in the official version of the UK. According to her, only "small clerical clerks" communicated with him. So that only bureaucratic âcogsâ bother to talk to Hitlerâs deputy himself ?!
So what is the secret of Rudolf Hess? Why did he fly to England, although he did not need asylum and did not renounce his important mission in any way? What made him leave his native Vaterland and, risking his life, go to England, where no one was waiting for him? Or ... were they really waiting? As they say, âhe left his grandmother and grandfatherâ: he was not shot down by either the German or the English air defense system, there was no pursuit of him. He was far from the best pilot; catching Hess would not have been difficult. What to pay attention to such "trifles" that in those parts where "Nazi No. 2" went, the network of radar stations was almost the most dense on Foggy Albion. Of course, "no one noticed him."
About "democratic" interrogation methods
The Nuremberg Tribunal admitted that Hess was bringing to England some important proposals for a draft peace treaty, which was approved by Hitler himself. And further. Today it is known for certain that the significant flight took place a couple of weeks after the exact date of the attack on our country ... But an even more interesting fact was recorded in the transcript of the tribunal itself. At the end of August 1946, Hess nevertheless decided to disclose some information about the real goals of his mission. Only he managed to say: "In the spring of 1941 ...", as he was instantly interrupted by the chairman from the English side, Lawrence. The secret of Rudolf Hess was not revealed.
Immediately after that, Hess stopped talking. Moreover, he immediately began to play the demented, who completely lost his memory. Simply put, the British shut up their protĂ©gĂ© so that he didnât have time to say what he shouldnât talk about in any case. Note that not only Rudolf Hess was interrogated in this way. Auschwitz, led by Rudolf Höss, also keeps many of its terrible secrets only because many of its staff members simply fled to the same England and the USA, where they found reliable shelter from the prosecution of the NKVD.
So why did he fly to England?
Most likely, in 1941 the deputy Adolf Hitler brought such an offer that the UK could not refuse (and did not want, apparently). The essence of the proposal, it is not difficult to guess, is to abandon Operation Sea Lion in exchange for the cessation of hostilities on the British side. Hitler needed this world to start a war with the USSR. The British wanted the same ... So Rudolf Hess, whose quotes were used everywhere in the Reich Chancellery, was definitely not a traitor to Germany, flying to the camp of the âworst enemyâ.
Treacherous world
A statement by the notorious Allen Dulles, who later became director of the CIA, says the same. In 1948, Dulles openly declared that in the early 1940s, British intelligence in Berlin came to Hess himself with the aim of negotiating with the Fuhrer. At the same time, Hitler's deputy was informed that, subject to an attack on the USSR, England would not intervene and cease hostilities. Most likely, in May 1941, Hess brought to Britain a proposal for a
separate peace, which prescribed the following conditions:
- Complete cessation of hostilities on both sides.
- England can (should) join the aggression against the USSR.
- The conclusion of peace between Great Britain and Italy.
- The transfer to the Germans of all their colonies, which they lost during the WWII. The withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, rich in oil fields.
- Complete freedom for London within the English Empire.
- The coalition of all European states to fight the Soviets (in principle, it already existed).
- Removal from Winston Churchill State Administration.
The latter is highly controversial. Churchill appears to be an ardent âadversary of Nazismâ only with distant consideration. At one time, he got along well with Mussolini, and with Hitler, if necessary, he could easily make friends. The country where Rudolph Hess was during the war did not so eagerly fight against Nazism, bothering to open a second front only in 1944.
Reasons for the attack on the USSR
And why could the British wish the Germans attacked the USSR? The answer is very simple. Ever since the end of World War I, in Europe there was only one independent state that pursued the same policy. Since the 19th century, England has done everything to weaken Russia, and has succeeded a lot. The Russian-Turkish wars, the war with Japan, the suicidal entry of the Russian Empire into the WWII - all these are links in one chain. Surely the British pinned considerable hopes on the Bolsheviks, especially since Lenin had already concluded the "obscene Brest peace."
They assumed that with the same ease he would be able to give the Queen of the Seas a couple of tidbits. But Ilyich was not so simple: first he ended the interventionists, and then completely abandoned the old debts of Nicholas II, which was the reason for Russia's entry into the First World War on the side of the Entente.
Naturally, sponsors of the White Guards did not tolerate such an âinsultâ. There is a lot of evidence that it was the English credits and the âblindnessâ of the British that enabled Hitler to create a first-class army, although he was generally forbidden to have something like that under the conditions of the post-war world. Just think about it - Germany, a completely "demilitarized" country, is building ships and tanks openly, but the "allies" do not pay any attention to this! The Fuhrer was an ideal tool for the capture of the USSR. But the British miscalculated somewhat: Hitler created such a good army that some British could no longer (and frankly cowardly) dictate their conditions to him.
Warranties and offers
Of course, Hess must have given some kind of guarantee. We can only guess about them, although the main ones are beyond doubt: Great Britain could simply promise not to open a Second Front and not interfere in any way with the solution of the âEastern Questionâ. Although some historians (and not only Soviet and Russian) believe that it could be a question of an open statement by England on the side of Nazi Germany. The late Lev Bezymensky now said that Hess was entrusted with the creation of a single European coalition.
Against whom, there is no need to talk for a long time. The British clearly did not want to fight the USSR openly, since many of their citizens would clearly not understand this, but they really did not stop the Nazis from fighting the Soviet Union, and did not prevent the creation of volunteer units from British citizens who fought on the Eastern Front. Moreover, it was England that became a reliable refuge for nonhumans from the Galicia division after the war, and their âfaithful sonsâ, who fought on the side of the Reich, were not oppressed there.
The end of "Nazi number 2"
Hess stayed in the Tower of London with comfort until October 6, 1945. After Nuremberg, he was sent to Germany, to the Spandau prison. The conditions of his detention were so cruel that even Brezhnev was going to release the old Nazi. He did not want Hess to be a bogeyman, showing the whole world that "the USSR is mocking the old people." But then the expected thing happened ...
In mid-August 1987 he was found dead, a short wire was tightened around the neck of âNazi No. 2â. According to his sonâs recollections, two âin the uniform of the US Armyâ stood nearby, calmly smoking cigarettes and not responding in any way to requests for help. However, there was a reaction: one of them immediately did an âartificial massageâ of the old manâs chest, breaking ten of his ribs and tearing part of his insides. It was done professionally and calmly. After a couple of days (by order of the British prison administration), all of Hess's personal belongings and diaries were destroyed. Based on this, it is difficult to count on the real disclosure of all the facts and mysteries associated with the name of this person. If we talk about his quotes, then we can give as an example such:
- âI must admit frankly that the liquidation of the Jews with gas had a calming effect on me. I was terrified to see the mountains of those executed, among whom were women and children. Gas freed us from these blood flows ...â
- âI had no opportunity to get away from this. I had to continue the process of mass destruction, worry about the death of others, look at what was happening coldly, although everything was seething inside ... When something extraordinary happened, I could not immediately go home to my family. Then I "he mounted his horse in order to somehow forget behind the wild gallop, to get rid of the painful paintings that stood before his eyes, or he went to the stable in order to at least forget himself a little with his favorites."