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96-685: Bohle or Böhle is a German surname, and may refer to: Ernst Wilhelm Bohle (1903–1960), leader of the Foreign Organization of the German Nazi Party Hans-Georg Bohle (1948–2014), German geographer Klaus Bohle (born 1936), German sprint canoer See also [ edit ] Bohle River , a river in Queensland, Australia Böhler (surname) Behle Buhle [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with

192-588: A German-language Protestant school in Alexandria from 1900 to 1908, when he was sent back to Germany to study at a boarding school in Bad Godesberg . He demonstrated aptitudes for science and mathematics, but his father wished him to join the family business, Hess & Co., so he sent him in 1911 to study at the École supérieure de commerce in Neuchâtel , Switzerland. After a year there, Hess took an apprenticeship at

288-884: A bicycle so he could return to Munich. He went to stay with the Haushofers and then fled to Austria, but they convinced him to return. He was arrested and sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in the attempted coup, which later became known as the Beer Hall Putsch . Hitler was sentenced to five years imprisonment, and the Nazi Party and SA were both outlawed. Both men were incarcerated in Landsberg Prison , where Hitler soon began work on his memoir, Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"), which he dictated to fellow prisoners Hess and Emil Maurice . Edited by publisher Max Amann , Hess and others,

384-754: A defense witness at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. Subsequently, Bohle was tried as a defendant in the " Ministries Trial " ( "Wilhelmstraßen-Prozeß" ), one of the Nuremberg follow-up trials . Although he was acquitted of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the tribunal ruled that Bohle and his department did persuade German business firms to fire Jewish employees working for them abroad. "Bohle's acts and those of his department in persuading German business firms to discharge Jewish employees working for them abroad, while reprehensible from

480-460: A final check of the weather reports for Germany and the North Sea , Hess took off at 17:45 on 10 May 1941 from the airfield at Augsburg-Haunstetten in his specially prepared aircraft. It was the last of several attempts to depart on his mission; previous efforts had to be called off due to mechanical problems or poor weather. Wearing a leather flying suit bearing the rank of captain, he brought along

576-588: A formal statement: "I think it should be the solemn pledge and foremost duty of every German who held a leading position during the National Socialist regime, to do all in his power to remove from the name of Germany the blot which the deeds of criminal brains have cast upon it. We know that a low estimate of human life and carelessness to human misery is not and never has been a trait of the German character, and for that very reason I think that we should frankly admit

672-644: A free hand in Europe." While in Spandau prison, Hess told journalist Desmond Zwar that Germany could not win a war on two fronts. "I knew that there was only one way out – and that was certainly not to fight against England. Even though I did not get permission from the Führer to fly, I knew that what I had to say would have had his approval. Hitler had great respect for the English people ..." Hess wrote that his flight to Scotland

768-629: A friend of Haushofer. On Hess's instructions, Haushofer wrote to Hamilton in September 1940, but the letter was intercepted by MI5 and Hamilton did not see it until March 1941. A letter Hess wrote to his wife dated 4 November 1940 shows that in spite of not receiving a reply from Hamilton, he intended to proceed with his plan. He began training on the Messerschmitt Bf 110 , a two-seater twin-engine aircraft, in October 1940 under instructor Wilhelm Stör ,

864-628: A group that distributed thousands of antisemitic pamphlets in Munich. He later said that Egypt made him a nationalist, the war made him a socialist, and Munich made him an antisemite. In 1919, Hess enrolled in the University of Munich , where he studied history and economics. His geopolitics professor was Karl Haushofer , a former general in the German Army who was a proponent of the concept of Lebensraum ("living space"), which Haushofer cited to justify

960-521: A half-Jewish woman, so Hess issued documents exempting them from this legislation. Hess did not build a power base or develop a coterie of followers. He was motivated by his loyalty to Hitler and a desire to be useful to him; he did not seek power or prestige or take advantage of his position to accumulate personal wealth. He lived in a modest house in Munich. Hess was devoted to the völkisch ideology and viewed many issues in terms of an alleged Jewish conspiracy against Germany. For example, he said in

1056-583: A heading of 335 degrees for the trip across the North Sea, initially at low altitude but travelling for most of the journey at 5,000 feet (1,500 m). At 20:58 he changed his heading to 245 degrees, intending to approach the coast of North East England near the village of Bamburgh , Northumberland. As it was not yet sunset when he first approached the coast, Hess backtracked, zigzagging back and forth for 40 minutes until it grew dark. Around this time, his auxiliary fuel tanks were exhausted so he released them into

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1152-460: A long list of ailments involving the kidneys, colon, gall bladder, bowels and heart. Hess was a vegetarian, and he did not smoke or drink. He brought his own food to the Berghof , claiming it was biologically dynamic , but Hitler did not approve of this practice, so he discontinued taking meals with the Führer. Hess was interested in music, enjoyed reading and loved to spend time hiking and climbing in

1248-662: A message informing Winston Churchill of the forthcoming invasion of the Soviet Union, and offering a negotiated peace or even an anti-Bolshevik partnership. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin believed that Hess's flight had been engineered by the British. Stalin persisted in this belief as late as 1944, when he mentioned the matter to Churchill, who insisted that they had no advance knowledge of the flight. While some sources reported that Hess had been on an official mission, Churchill later stated in his book The Grand Alliance that in his view,

1344-625: A moral standpoint, do not come within the scope of either count five of the indictment or of the crimes defined by the London Charter and Control Council Law No. 10." Bohle, in an unusual move, became the only defendant in the Subsequent Nuremberg trials to plead guilty to any charge. Bohle pleaded guilty to having been a member of the SS and assisted the prosecution in their case against the other defendants. Before entering his guilty plea, Bohle read

1440-677: A number of his inner circle, concerned that a putsch might be underway. Hitler worried that his allies, Italy and Japan, would perceive Hess's act as an attempt by Hitler to secretly open peace negotiations with the British. Hitler contacted Mussolini specifically to reassure him otherwise. For this reason, Hitler ordered that the German press should characterise Hess as a madman who made the decision to fly to Scotland entirely on his own, without Hitler's knowledge or authority. Subsequent German newspaper reports described Hess as "deluded, deranged," indicating that his mental health had been affected by injuries sustained during World War I. Some members of

1536-548: A post formerly held by Hess. On 8 October 1939, Hess co-signed the law that annexed the Free City of Danzig , the Polish Corridor , and the part of Upper Silesia lost in 1921 to Germany. On the same day, Hess and Heinrich Himmler ordered that a racial registry be established in these areas and stated that Poles and Jews living in these areas were not to be treated as equals of Germans. A separate legal code for Poles and Jews in

1632-483: A shared belief in the stab-in-the-back myth , the notion that Germany's loss in World War I was caused by a conspiracy of Jews and Bolsheviks rather than a military defeat. Hess joined the Nazi Party on 1 July as member number 16. As the party continued to grow, holding rallies and meetings in ever larger beer halls in Munich, he focused his attention on fundraising and organisational activities. On 4 November 1921, he

1728-460: A similar race held the following year. With the outbreak of World War II, Hess asked Hitler to be allowed to join the Luftwaffe as a pilot, but Hitler forbade it, and ordered him to stop flying for the duration of the war. Hess convinced him to reduce the ban to one year. Final solution Parties As the war progressed, Hitler's attention became focused on foreign affairs and the conduct of

1824-536: A solo flight to Scotland , where he hoped to arrange peace talks with the Duke of Hamilton , whom he believed to be a prominent opponent of the British government's war policy. The British authorities arrested Hess immediately on his arrival and held him in custody until the end of the war, when he was returned to Germany to stand trial at the 1946 Nuremberg trials of major war criminals. During much of his trial, Hess claimed to be suffering from amnesia, but he later admitted to

1920-735: A speech that "Today's League of Nations is really only a farce which functions primarily as the basis for the Jews to reach their own aims. You need only to note how many Jews sit in the League." In a speech in 1937, Hess blamed the Spanish Civil War on "international Jewry", called the Soviet Foreign Commissar Maxim Litvinov a "dirty Jew", and claimed that without Hitler or Mussolini, "Jewish Asiatic Bolshevism would dominate European culture". On 30 August 1939, immediately prior to

2016-618: A suburb of Alexandria , Egypt (then under British occupation, though formally a part of the Ottoman Empire ), into a wealthy German family. Originally from Bohemia , the Hess family settled in Wunsiedel , Upper Franconia , in the 1760s. His grandfather, Johann Christian Hess, married Margaretha Bühler, the daughter of a Swiss consul, in 1861 in Trieste . After the birth of his father, Johann Fritz Hess,

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2112-566: A supply of money and toiletries, a torch , a camera, maps and charts, and a collection of 28 different medicines, as well as dextrose tablets to help ward off fatigue and an assortment of homoeopathic remedies. Setting a course towards Bonn , Hess used landmarks on the ground to orient himself and make minor course corrections. When he reached the coast near the Frisian Islands , he turned and flew in an easterly direction for twenty minutes to stay out of range of British radar. He then took

2208-615: A throat infection, Hess served in the Battle of Verdun in May, and was hit by shrapnel in the left hand and arm on 12 June 1916 during fighting near the village of Thiaumont. After a month off to recover, he was sent back to the Verdun area, where he remained until December. Hess was promoted to platoon leader of the 10th Company of the 18th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment, which was serving in Romania . He

2304-549: A trading company in Hamburg . Within weeks of the outbreak of World War I , Hess enlisted in the 7th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment, part of the 1st Royal Bavarian Division . His initial posting was against the British on the Somme ; he was present at the First Battle of Ypres . On 9 November 1914, Hess transferred to the 1st Infantry Regiment, stationed near Arras . He was awarded

2400-514: A war on two fronts as plans progressed for Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union scheduled to take place in 1941. Hess decided to attempt to bring Britain to the negotiating table by travelling there himself to seek meetings with the British government. On 31 August 1940, Hess met with Karl Haushofer. Haushofer told Hess that he believed that King George VI was opposed to Churchill and would dismiss him and send him to Canada at

2496-489: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Ernst Wilhelm Bohle Bohle was born in Bradford, England , the son of Hermann Bohle (1876–1943), a college teacher and engineer who emigrated to England. In 1906, Bohle moved to Cape Town , where his father was appointed to a professorship of electrical engineering, and attended a high school there. Bohle studied political science and economics for six semesters at

2592-564: The Bürgerbräukeller , a large beer hall in Munich. Brandishing a pistol, Hitler interrupted Kahr's speech and announced that the national revolution had begun, declaring the formation of a new government with World War I General Erich Ludendorff . The next day, Hitler and several thousand supporters attempted to march to the Ministry of War in the city centre. Gunfire broke out between the Nazis and

2688-646: The Hamburg police and would later become a member of the Hamburg State government). Bohle was charged with the leadership of the NSDAP Department for Germans Abroad ( Abteilung für Deutsche im Ausland ) which from October 1933 reported to Deputy- Führer Rudolf Hess . However, on 17 February 1934 the office was redesignated Auslands-Organisation der NSDAP and Bohle was raised to the rank of Gauleiter . (Ernst Bohle's father Hermann Bohle  [ de ] served as NSDAP/AO Landesgruppenleiter (Leader of

2784-769: The Iron Cross , second class, and promoted to Gefreiter (corporal) in April 1915. After additional training at the Munster Training Area , he was promoted to Vizefeldwebel (senior non-commissioned officer) and received the Bavarian Military Merit Cross . Returning to the front lines in November, he fought in Artois , participating in the battle for the town of Neuville-Saint-Vaast . After two months out of action with

2880-573: The Rheinland from 1924 until 1930 and established and thereafter directed a large automotive firm in Hamburg from 1930 to June 1933. Bohle joined the Nazi Party on 1 March 1932 (membership number 999,185) and on 13 September 1936 he joined the SS (membership number 276,915) at the rank of SS- Brigadeführer . Bohle was promoted SS- Gruppenführer on 20 April 1937 and SS- Obergruppenführer on 21 June 1943. In early 1932 he became adjutant to Hans Nieland ,

2976-655: The Thule Society , an antisemitic right-wing Völkisch group, and the Freikorps of Colonel Ritter von Epp, one of many such volunteer paramilitary organisations active in Germany at the time. Bavaria witnessed frequent and often bloody conflicts between right-wing groups, the Freikorps , and left-wing forces as they fought for control of the state during this period. Hess was a participant in street battles in early 1919 and led

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3072-662: The University of Cologne and the Humboldt University of Berlin where he was a member of the Berliner Burschenschaft Gothia  [ de ] student corps . He then graduated in business management from the Handelshochschule , Berlin, in December 1923. He married Gertrud Bachmann on 14 November 1925. Bohle was employed as branch manager and agent in the import-export business for several enterprises in

3168-407: The surname Bohle . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bohle&oldid=1091579872 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description

3264-792: The Egyptian coast near Alexandria, and visited Germany often from 1900, staying at their summer home in Reicholdsgrün (now part of Kirchenlamitz ) in the Fichtel Mountains . Hess's youth in Egypt left him with a strong admiration for the British Empire. Hess's youth growing up under the " Veiled Protectorate " of Sir Evelyn Baring made him unique among the Nazi leaders in that he grew up under British rule, which he saw in very positive terms. Hess attended

3360-751: The German economy, and for this reason the Swiss government tolerated the AO's activities in Switzerland until well into World War Two. One country where the AO did not recruit spies was the United States as it sought to discourage the German American Bund from recruiting spies under the grounds that the Bund members were not competent enough to serve as spies. From 12 November 1933 till the end of Nazi Germany in 1945, Bohle

3456-600: The National Committee) in the Union of South Africa from 1932 until 1934, and he became president of the Berlin-based German South-African Society ( German : Deutsch-Südafrikanische Gesellschaft ) in 1938.) The Auslands-Organisation (AO) grew rapidly under Bohle's leadership, going from 3,350 members in 1933 to 52,648 in 1939. Bohle provided intelligence from abroad, but most of the information

3552-828: The Nazi Party in April. He was elected to the Reichstag in the March elections, was made a Reichsleiter of the Nazi Party in June and in December 1933 he became Minister without Portfolio in Hitler's cabinet. He was also appointed in 1938 to the Cabinet Council and in August 1939 to the Council of Ministers for Defence of the Reich. Hitler decreed on the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939 that Hermann Göring

3648-431: The Nazi Party on 1 July 1920 and was at Hitler's side on 8 November 1923 for the Beer Hall Putsch , a failed Nazi attempt to seize control of the government of Bavaria. While serving a prison sentence for this attempted coup, he assisted Hitler with Mein Kampf , which became a foundation of the political platform of the Nazi Party. After Hitler became Chancellor in January 1933, Hess was appointed Deputy Führer of

3744-463: The Nazis have free rein in Europe, in exchange for Britain being allowed to keep its overseas possessions. Kirkpatrick held two more meetings with Hess over the course of the next few days, while Hamilton returned to his duties. In addition to being disappointed at the apparent failure of his mission, Hess began claiming that his medical treatment was inadequate and that there was a plot afoot to poison him. Hess's flight, but not his destination or fate,

3840-519: The Rhine story, stated the defeat of 1918 was followed by an occupation of the Rhineland by "niggers", which he again blamed on the Jews. Hess concluded his speech by saying that with Hitler in charge, there was no possibility of the current war ending similarly. "How the Jewish hounds will howl when Adolf Hitler stands before them," he concluded. Hess was obsessed with his health to the point of hypochondria , consulting many doctors and other practitioners for what he described to his captors in Britain as

3936-723: The U.S. military was using to house Nazi war criminals. Facing constant threats from other members of the SS, Bohle had to be placed in solitary confinement. He was eventually given slightly more freedom, but received hard labour tasks. Bohle was released from prison on 21 December 1954, several months before his full sentence expired. After his release, he worked as a merchant in Hamburg. In the immediate aftermath of his release, Bohle remarked that many West German youths still believed in Nazism and were refusing to believe what West German and Allied officials said. However, due to his close ties to Hitler, Bohle said these youths were willing to believe what he said. Bohle said Hitler had become insane in

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4032-410: The UK. Hess intended to approach the Duke of Hamilton at his home in Scotland, hoping that the duke might then be willing to advocate for and assist him in negotiating peace with Germany on terms that would be acceptable to Hitler. Pintsch delivered the letter to Hitler at the Berghof around noon on 11 May. After reading the letter, Hitler let loose a cry heard throughout the entire Berghof and sent for

4128-412: The United Kingdom's exit from the Second World War . He was taken prisoner and eventually convicted of crimes against peace. He was still serving his life sentence at the time of his suicide in 1987. Hess enlisted as an infantryman in the Imperial German Army at the outbreak of World War I . He was wounded several times during the war and was awarded the Iron Cross , 2nd Class, in 1915. Shortly before

4224-409: The annexed areas was created, imposing draconian punishments. Hess argued that a separate legal code was necessary because "the Pole is less susceptible to the infliction of ordinary punishment". In another decree, Hess ordered that none of the buildings destroyed in Warsaw during the siege were to be rebuilt as a reminder to the Poles of their "war guilt". Hess's antisemitism markedly increased after

4320-421: The army, the police and foreign policy, and he wrote and co-signed many of Hitler's decrees. An organiser of the annual Nuremberg Rallies , he usually gave the opening speech and introduced Hitler. Hess also spoke over the radio and at rallies around the country, so frequently that the speeches were collected into book form in 1938. Hess acted as Hitler's delegate in negotiations with industrialists and members of

4416-634: The atrocities that have been committed and that have defiled the German name in the world. I do not think that we should attempt to vindicate our own national honor solely by referring to crimes and misdeeds committed by others, some of which are undoubtedly on a par with what national socialism is accused of. I think we should be too proud for that. And I think – it is my firm conviction that the world will regain its belief in our national honesty only if we ourselves are honest and straightforward in our confessions and thereafter also in our will to make amends. I think we leading men have this responsibility, not only to

4512-563: The best hope of building a Nazi-friendly party that would win mass support without being banned by the Czechoslovak government. The Nazi regime began to persecute Jews soon after the seizure of power. Hess's office was partly responsible for drafting Hitler's Nuremberg Laws of 1935. These laws had far-reaching implications for the Jews of Germany, banning marriage between non-Jewish and Jewish Germans and depriving non- Aryans of their German citizenship. Hess's friend Karl Haushofer and his family were subject to these laws, as Haushofer had married

4608-429: The chief test pilot at Messerschmitt. He continued to practice, as well as log his many cross-country flights, and found a specific aircraft which handled well—a Bf 110E-1/N—which was from then on held in reserve for his personal use. He asked for a radio compass, modifications to the oxygen delivery system, and large long-range fuel tanks to be installed on this plane, and these requests were granted by March 1941. After

4704-404: The contrary, the council members were primarily loyal to Germany rather than their current nations. The eight council members, only one of which was a member of the Nazi Party, were responsible only to Hess. All had long been known to either Hess or Haushofer, who was also involved with the council. Members publicly claimed to be uninvolved in the council, which Hess used as proof that the Nazi Party

4800-470: The country and became his friend and confidante. Hess was one of the few people who could meet with Hitler at any time without an appointment. His influence in the Party continued to grow. On 15 December 1932 Hess was named head of the Party Liaison Staff and Chairman of the Party Central Political Commission. Retaining his interest in flying after the end of his active military career, Hess obtained his private pilot's licence on 4 April 1929. His instructor

4896-431: The court that this had been a ruse. The court convicted him of crimes against peace and of conspiracy with other German leaders to commit crimes. He served a life sentence in Spandau Prison ; the Soviet Union blocked repeated attempts by family members and prominent politicians to procure his early release. While still in custody as the only prisoner in Spandau, he hanged himself in 1987 at the age of 93. After his death,

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4992-407: The family moved to Alexandria, where Johann Christian Hess founded the import company Hess & Co. which his son, Johann Fritz Hess, took over in 1888. Hess's mother, Klara, was the daughter of Rudolf Münch, a textile industrialist and councillor of commerce from Hof , Upper Franconia. His brother, Alfred, was born in 1897 and his sister, Margarete, was born in 1908. The family lived in a villa on

5088-455: The final few months before the war ended, and possibly went mad as early as 1943. He also said that in a way, Hitler was insane before the war. Bohle also advocated for the reformation of an organization for the development of German South-African interstate commerce. He died in Düsseldorf . Robert Kempner dedicated a short obituary to Bohle, whom he'd met while visiting Landsberg Prison. He remarked that out of hundreds of inmates there, Bohle

5184-401: The first opportunity. Haushofer spoke of his belief that it was possible to make contact with the king via either General Ian Hamilton or the Duke of Hamilton . Hess decided they should contact his fellow aviator the Duke of Hamilton, whom he had never met. Hess chose Hamilton in the mistaken belief that he was one of the leaders of a party opposed to war with Germany, and because Hamilton was

5280-412: The flight. He arrived at Maryhill Barracks the next morning, and after examining Hess's effects, he met alone with the prisoner. Hess immediately admitted his true identity and outlined the reason for his flight. Hamilton told Hess that he hoped to continue the conversation with the aid of an interpreter; Hess could speak English well, but was having trouble understanding Hamilton. He told Hamilton that he

5376-404: The foreign press as a likely successor to Reichsminister Joachim von Ribbentrop . He was also a confidant and on the staff of Rudolf Hess , the Deputy Führer until Hess' failed peace-mission to Great Britain in May 1941. Bohle surrendered to US forces on 23 May 1945 at Falkenau and was interned in Camp Ashcan with other high ranking Nazi officials. Bohle appeared on 25 March 1946 as

5472-435: The government, including Göring and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels , believed this only made matters worse, because if Hess truly were mentally ill, he should not have held an important government position. Hitler stripped Hess of all of his party and state offices, and secretly ordered him shot on sight if he ever returned to Germany. He abolished the post of Deputy Führer, assigning Hess's former duties to Bormann, with

5568-464: The ground. The aircraft crashed at 23:09, about 12 miles (19 km) west of Dungavel House, the Duke of Hamilton's home. He would have been closer to his destination had he not had trouble exiting the aircraft. Hess considered this achievement to be the proudest moment of his life. Before his departure from Germany, Hess had given his adjutant, Karlheinz Pintsch , a letter addressed to Hitler that detailed his plans to initiate peace negotiations with

5664-448: The industrial areas along the Ruhr in January 1923, widespread civil unrest was the result. Hitler decided the time was ripe to attempt to seize control of the government with a coup d'état modelled on Benito Mussolini 's 1922 March on Rome . Hess was with Hitler on the night of 8 November 1923 when he and the SA stormed a public meeting organised by Bavaria's de facto ruler, Staatskommissar (state commissioner) Gustav von Kahr , in

5760-401: The interview, Hess was taken under guard to Maryhill Barracks in Glasgow, where his injuries were treated. By this time some of his captors suspected Hess's true identity, though he continued to insist his name was Horn. Hamilton had been on duty as wing commander at RAF Turnhouse near Edinburgh when Hess had arrived, and his station had been one of those that had tracked the progress of

5856-464: The intruder. A third Spitfire sent from Acklington at 22:20 also failed to spot the aircraft; by then it was dark and Hess had dropped to an extremely low altitude, so low that the volunteer on duty at the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) station at Chatton was able to correctly identify it as a Bf 110, and reported its altitude as 50 feet (15 m). Tracked by additional ROC posts, Hess continued his flight into Scotland at high speed and low altitude, but

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5952-420: The leader of the Foreign Organisation of the NSDAP ( NSDAP Auslands-Organisation ; NSDAP/AO ), responsible for South and South-West Africa and later for North America. The NSDAP/AO was founded on 1 May 1931 in Hamburg, and "Reich Organisation Leader" ( German : Reichsorganisationsleiter ) Gregor Strasser appointed Nieland as its chief. Nieland resigned from office on 8 May 1933 (because he had become head of

6048-431: The local Home Guard unit, who escorted the captive to their headquarters in Busby, East Renfrewshire . He was next taken to the police station at Giffnock , arriving after midnight. He was searched and his possessions confiscated. Hess repeatedly requested to meet with the Duke of Hamilton during questioning undertaken with the aid of an interpreter by Major Graham Donald, the area commandant of Royal Observer Corps. After

6144-460: The mission had not been authorised. "He came to us of his own free will, and, though without authority, had something of the quality of an envoy", said Churchill, and referred to Hess's plan as one of "lunatic benevolence". After the war, Albert Speer discussed the rationale for the flight with Hess, who told him that "the idea had been inspired in him in a dream by supernatural forces. We will guarantee England her empire; in return she will give us

6240-401: The mountains with his wife, Ilse. He and his friend Albrecht Haushofer shared an interest in astrology , and Hess also was keen on clairvoyance and the occult. Hess continued to be interested in aviation. He won an air race in 1934, flying a BFW M.35 in a circuit around Zugspitze Mountain and returning to the airfield at Munich with a time of 29 minutes. He placed sixth of 29 participants in

6336-417: The next day, where they both met with members of the War Cabinet . Churchill sent Hamilton with foreign affairs expert Ivone Kirkpatrick , who had met Hess previously, to positively identify the prisoner, who had been moved to Buchanan Castle overnight. Hess, who had prepared extensive notes to use during this meeting, spoke to them at length about Hitler's expansionary plans and the need for Britain to let

6432-439: The outbreak of the Second World War , Hess was appointed by Hitler to the six-person Council of Ministers for Defense of the Reich which was set up to operate as a war cabinet. After the Invasion of Poland and the start of the war on 1 September 1939, Hitler made Hess second in line to succeed him, after Hermann Göring . Around the same time, Hitler appointed Hess's chief of staff, Martin Bormann , as his personal secretary,

6528-411: The party grew to 100,000 members in 1928 and 150,000 in 1929. They received only 2.6 per cent of the vote in the 1928 election, but support increased steadily up until the seizure of power in 1933. Hitler named Hess his private secretary in April 1925 at a salary of 500 Reichsmarks per month, and named him as personal adjutant on 20 July 1929. Hess accompanied Hitler to speaking engagements around

6624-487: The person to a concentration camp or simply ordering the person killed. In 1933, Hess founded the Volksdeutscher Rat (Council of Ethnic Germans) to handle the Nazi Party's relations with ethnic German minorities around the world, with a particular focus on Eastern Europe. The purpose of the council was to protect the Nazi Party from criticism that it was attempting to extend the process of Gleichschaltung to international ethnic German communities. Despite Hess's claims to

6720-429: The police; sixteen marchers and four police officers were killed. Hitler was arrested on 11 November. Hess and some SA men had taken a few of the dignitaries hostage on the night of the 8th, driving them to a house about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Munich. When Hess left briefly to make a phone call the next day, the hostages convinced the driver to help them escape. Hess, stranded, called Ilse Pröhl, who brought him

6816-436: The prison was demolished to prevent it from becoming a neo-Nazi shrine. His grave, bearing the inscription "Ich hab's gewagt" ( I dared it ), became a site of regular pilgrimage and demonstrations by Neo-Nazis. In 2011, authorities refused to renew the lease on the gravesite, and his remains were exhumed and cremated and the gravestone destroyed. Hess, the eldest of three children, was born on 26 April 1894 in al-Ibrahimiyya ,

6912-468: The proposal that Germany should forcefully conquer additional territory in Eastern Europe. Hess later introduced this concept to Adolf Hitler , and it became one of the pillars of Nazi Party ideology. Hess became friends with Haushofer and his son Albrecht , a social theorist and lecturer. Ilse Pröhl , a fellow student at the university, met Hess in April 1920 when they by chance rented rooms in

7008-415: The same boarding house. They married on 20 December 1927 and their only child, Wolf Rüdiger Hess , was born ten years later, on 18 November 1937. His name was, at least in part, to honour Hitler, who often used "Wolf" as a code name. Hess nicknamed the boy "Buz". After hearing the Nazi Party leader Hitler speak for the first time in 1920 at a Munich rally, Hess became completely devoted to him. They held

7104-553: The sea. Also around this time, at 22:08, the British Chain Home station at Ottercops Moss near Newcastle upon Tyne detected his presence and informed the Filter Room at Bentley Priory . Soon he was detected by several other stations, and the aircraft was designated as "Raid 42". Two Spitfires of No. 72 Squadron RAF , No. 13 Group RAF that were already in the air were sent to attempt an interception, but failed to find

7200-621: The title of Head of the Party Chancellery . Bormann used the opportunity afforded by Hess's departure to secure significant power for himself. Meanwhile, Hitler initiated Aktion Hess , a flurry of hundreds of arrests of astrologers, faith healers and occultists that took place around 9 June. The campaign was part of a propaganda effort by Goebbels and others to denigrate Hess and to make scapegoats of occult practitioners. US journalist Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker , who had met both Hitler and Hess, speculated that Hitler had sent Hess to deliver

7296-457: The victims of these crimes but just as much to the German people, as such, who, with or without our participation, were misled and misguided and are today, without any fault of their own, outlawed in the world. That is what I understand by responsibility beyond that of my own work." Bohle was sentenced to five years in prison on 11 April 1949. Due to his cooperation and guilty plea, Bohle was an extremely unpopular inmate at Landsberg Prison , which

7392-410: The war ended, Hess enrolled to train as an aviator, but he saw no action in that role. He left the armed forces in December 1918 with the rank of Leutnant der Reserve . In 1919, Hess enrolled in the University of Munich , where he studied geopolitics under Karl Haushofer , a proponent of the concept of Lebensraum ('living space'), which became one of the pillars of Nazi ideology. Hess joined

7488-458: The war started, as he was convinced that the war had been caused by Jews. This became a major theme of his wartime speeches. In a speech given on 20 April 1940 to mark Hitler's 51st birthday, Hess accused "Jews and their fellow travellers" of Germany's capitulation in November 1918, which he called the most calamitous event in world history. In the same speech, Hess, referring to the Black Horror on

7584-406: The war. Hess, who was not directly engaged in the war, became increasingly sidelined from the affairs of the nation and from Hitler's attention. He was excluded from most important decisions, and many in Hitler's inner circle thought him to be mad. Bormann had successfully supplanted Hess in many of his duties and had taken Hess's position at Hitler's side. Hess was concerned that Germany would face

7680-590: The wealthier classes. As Hess had been born abroad, Hitler had him oversee the Nazi Party groups such as the NSDAP/AO that were in charge of party members living in other countries. Hitler instructed Hess to review all court decisions that related to persons deemed enemies of the Party. He was authorised to increase the sentences of anyone he felt got off too lightly in these cases, and was also empowered to take "merciless action" if he saw fit to do so. This often entailed sending

7776-452: The work was published in two parts in 1925 and 1926. It was later released in a single volume, which became a best-seller after 1930. This book, with its message of violent antisemitism, became the foundation of the political platform of the Nazi Party. Hitler was released on parole on 20 December 1924 and Hess ten days later. The ban on the Nazi Party and SA was lifted in February 1925, and

7872-525: Was World War I flying ace Theodor Croneiss . In 1930 Hess became the owner of a BFW M.23b monoplane sponsored by the party newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter . He acquired two more Messerschmitt aircraft in the early 1930s, logging many flying hours and becoming proficient in the operation of light single-engine aircraft. On 30 January 1933, Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor , his first step in gaining dictatorial control of Germany. Hess

7968-572: Was a member of the Reichstag for electoral constituency 31 ( Württemberg ) and from December 1937 to May 1945 he was a State Secretary in the Reichsministry of Foreign Affairs. Because of his British heritage, Bohle was reported to be Hitler's choice to become the future Gauleiter of Britain. His influence at the Foreign Office was greatly exaggerated, to the extent that Bohle was mentioned in

8064-600: Was an acknowledgement of his primus inter pares status in the Party. Hess was appointed to the cabinet as a Reich Minister without Portfolio, on 1 December. With offices in the Brown House in Munich and another in Berlin , Hess was responsible for several departments, including foreign affairs, finance, health, education and law. Hess also was named as a member of Hans Frank 's Academy for German Law . All legislation passed through his office for approval, except that concerning

8160-410: Was assigned to Jagdstaffel 35b , a Bavarian fighter squadron equipped with Fokker D.VII biplanes. He saw no action with Jagdstaffel 35b, as the war ended on 11 November 1918, before he had the opportunity. Hess was discharged from the armed forces in December 1918. The family fortunes had taken a serious downturn, as their business interests in Egypt had been expropriated by the British. Hess joined

8256-594: Was his official successor, and named Hess as next in line. In addition to appearing on Hitler's behalf at speaking engagements and rallies, Hess signed into law much of the government's legislation, including the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which stripped the Jews of Germany of their rights in the lead-up to the Holocaust . By the start of the war, Hess was sidelined from most important decisions, and many in Hitler's inner circle thought him to be mad. On 10 May 1941, Hess made

8352-566: Was injured while protecting Hitler when a bomb planted by a Marxist group exploded at the Hofbräuhaus during a party event. Hess joined the Sturmabteilung (SA) by 1922 and helped organise and recruit its early membership. Meanwhile, problems continued with the economy; hyperinflation caused many personal fortunes to be rendered worthless. When the German government failed to meet its reparations payments and French troops marched in to occupy

8448-474: Was intended to initiate "the fastest way to win the war." Shortly before midnight on 10 May 1941, Hess landed at Floors Farm, by Waterfoot , south of Glasgow, where he was discovered still struggling with his parachute by local ploughman David McLean. Identifying himself as " Hauptmann Alfred Horn", Hess said he had an important message for the Duke of Hamilton. McLean helped Hess to his nearby cottage and contacted

8544-529: Was merely taken from local newspapers and was of little value. The Reichsführer-SS , Heinrich Himmler , whose knowledge of the world outside of Germany was very superficial and shallow, greatly valued the reports that Bohle sent him. The AO worked closely with the Abwehr in recruiting spies for Germany, mostly in the Netherlands, Argentina, Chile and Switzerland. The Swiss economy was very closely integrated with

8640-473: Was named Deputy Führer ( Stellvertreter des Führers ) of the Nazi Party on 21 April. On 2 June 1933 he was made one of 16 Reichsleiters in the Party hierarchy. On 1 July he was raised to the rank of Obergruppenführer in the Schutzstaffel (SS). However, by 20 September Hitler decreed that he stop using the titles of Reichsleiter and Obergruppenführer , and use only the title of "Deputy Fuhrer". This

8736-460: Was not trying to interfere in the domestic affairs of other nations. As the council had considerable funds and appeared to be sufficiently independent of the German government to satisfy foreign governments, its activities had some impact on international German communities in the 1930s. Its most notable impact was in the Sudetenland , where in 1933 it promoted Konrad Henlein as the politician with

8832-554: Was on a "mission of humanity" and that Hitler "wished to stop the fighting" with England. After the meeting, Hamilton examined the remains of the Messerschmitt in the company of an intelligence officer, then returned to Turnhouse, where he made arrangements through the Foreign Office to meet Churchill, who was at Ditchley for the weekend. They had some preliminary talks that night, and Hamilton accompanied Churchill back to London

8928-637: Was one of the few who seemed genuinely remorseful and had asked for forgiveness for his complicity in the Nazi regime. Notes Bibliography Rudolf Hess This is an accepted version of this page Rudolf Walter Richard Hess ( Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany . Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position until 1941, when he flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate

9024-641: Was recommended for, but did not receive, the Iron Cross, first class. At his father's request, Hess was transferred to a hospital closer to home, arriving at Alexandersbad on 25 October. While still convalescing, Hess had requested that he be allowed to enroll to train as a pilot, so after Christmas leave with his family, he reported to Munich . He received basic flight training at Oberschleissheim and Lechfeld Air Base from March to June 1918, and advanced training at Valenciennes in France in October. On 14 October, he

9120-413: Was unable to spot his destination, Dungavel House , so he headed for the west coast to orient himself and then turned back inland. At 22:35 a Boulton Paul Defiant sent from No. 141 Squadron RAF based at Ayr began pursuit. Hess was nearly out of fuel, so he climbed to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) and parachuted out of the plane at 23:06. He injured his foot, either while exiting the aircraft or when he hit

9216-657: Was wounded on 23 July and again on 8 August 1917; the first injury was a shell splinter to the left arm, which was dressed in the field, but the second was a bullet wound that entered the upper chest near the armpit and exited near his spinal column, leaving a pea-sized entry wound and a cherry stone-sized exit wound on his back. By 20 August, he was well enough to travel, so he was sent to hospital in Hungary and eventually back to Germany, where he recovered in hospital in Meissen . In October he received promotion to Leutnant der Reserve and

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