Rudolph Hess Biography

World of Criminal Justice on Rudolph Hess

One of Adolph Hitler's most ardent followers, Rudolph Hess was with Hitler through most of the dictator's political milestones. (Hess is sometimes confused with the infamous commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Rudolph Hoess.) In The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich , William Shirer described Hess: "Until nearly the end, he would be one of Hitler's most loyal and trusted followers and one of the few who was not bitten by consuming personal ambition." Hess's fanaticism is revealed in a 1934 speech: "We believe that the Führer is obeying a higher call to fashion German history. There can be no criticism of this belief."

Hess was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on April 26, 1894, and lived there until 1904, when he went to live in Germany. Following military service during World War I, Hess studied political science at the University of Munich, where he was attracted to a secret anti-Semitic political organization devoted to Nordic supremacy.

Hess became the sixteenth member of Hitler's burgeoning Nazi Party in 1920. After the party's failed attempt to seize control of Germany during the infamous Beer Hall Putsch, Hess and Hitler were arrested and sent to Landsberg Prison. There, Hess took dictation for Hitler's rambling 400-plus-page book, Mein Kampf. Following his release from prison, Hess became, in succession, Hitler's personal secretary, Chairman of the Central Political Commission of the Nazi Party, SS (Schutzstaffel) General, and Deputy Führer, a figurehead position. Despite his dogged loyalty, Hess never achieved influence in state matters, mainly because he was considered totally lacking in initiative. He was, however, second in line to succeed Hitler.

As World War II neared, Hess' limited influence waned even further, as Nazi Party leaders jostled for advantage in the party. Lacking the ambition to compete for power, Hess fell victim to the internal warfare. As a result, Hitler distanced himself from Hess.

In an extraordinary effort to thwart a Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, Hess flew a German fighter plane alone to Scotland on May 10, 1941. His mission was to meet with the Duke of Hamilton in Glasgow and argue for Britain to make peace with Germany. Although he managed to navigate to within 30 miles of Glasgow and successfully parachute to the ground, Hess was intercepted by the British Army and imprisoned for the remainder of the war. Some students of WWII have suggested that Hitler, directly or indirectly, motivated Hess's daring mission, but no evidence has confirmed this theory.

After the war ended, Hess was tried along with other top Nazi leaders at the main Nuremberg trial. The Nuremberg defendants were indicted on four counts. On October 1, 1946, Hess was acquitted of war crimes but convicted of crimes against the peace. He was sentenced to life imprisonment at West Berlin's Spandau Prison, which was under the joint control of Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Hess was the sole inmate of the prison until his death by suicide in August of 1987.