May 10, 1941 is the same milestone date of World War II as September 1, 1939 and June 22, 1941. It was on this day that Rudolf Hess, the third man in the Reich and the second in the NSDAP, unexpectedly... hijacked a Messerschmitt 110 from a military airfield near Augsburg and flew to England. A case that has no analogues in world history. The man whom Hitler in 1933 granted the right to make decisions on all party issues, and in 1939 declared his successor after Goering, fled not just to another country, but to his worst enemy, with whom his country had been at odds for almost two years. war!

"Messerschmitt-110" - it was on this that Hess made his mysterious flight (ookaboo.com)

Hitler himself hastened to declare Hess crazy, Stalin immediately expressed doubt that Hess flew to England “just like that,” and the British themselves have maintained a mysterious silence for 70 years. There is a suspicion that this silence will last just as long, if not longer. Even despite the fact that the British promise to declassify the Hess dossier in 2017.

... Dressed in a Luftwaffe uniform, Hess took off in the direction of Scotland on the evening of May 10, 1941. While flying through the area where the Duke of Hamilton was supposed to live, Hess parachuted out of a brand new Messerschmitt, which went into a tailspin and crashed onto the slopes of a hill. This was the first jump in the practice of the 48-year-old Deputy Fuhrer , and it was carried out in the dark. Upon landing, Hess broke his ankle and damaged his spine. Having reached the nearest farm, he introduced himself to the owner as “Hauptmann Alfred Horn” and said that he must immediately get to the estate of the Duke of Hamilton to convey an important message. Hess was taken into custody and handed over to army authorities.

Rudolf Hess at the Nuremberg Trials (ookaboo.com)

As soon as Hess found himself in the British Isles, he did not ask for political asylum, which was quite natural under such circumstances. On the contrary, Hess strongly emphasized the exclusivity of his mission. There is no doubt that a meeting (or even several meetings) between Hess and the then leaders of Great Britain took place, since it is difficult to believe that only petty officials from the British Foreign Office communicated with “Hitler’s shadow,” as Hess was nicknamed, as they like to do represent the British.

What exactly did Hess want to tell the British if he dared to do such an act bordering on recklessness? What made him, despite all dangers, go to the enemy’s camp, where he was clearly not expected? Or were you still waiting? It was painfully easy for Hess’s plane to elude the British air defense, which had a whole network of radar stations covering the entire eastern and southern coast of Foggy Albion.

The verdict of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg said: “When he flew to England, Hess carried with him some peace proposals, which, as he claimed, Hitler was ready to accept. It is noteworthy that this flight occurred only a few days after Hitler set the exact date for the attack on the Soviet Union - June 22, 1941. However, an even more remarkable fact is recorded in the transcript of the Nuremberg trials. At the meeting on August 31, 1946, Hess wanted to report on his mission in England, but barely had time to say: “In the spring of 1941...” before he was interrupted by the chairman of the tribunal, the Englishman Lawrence. After this, Hess refused to answer questions from judges and prosecutors and played insane, having lost his memory. That is, Hess was simply ostentatiously SHUT UP. Presumably, they shut him up only so that he would not spill the beans about what the British did not want to make public.

Apparently, in May 1941, “Nazi No. 2” was authorized by “Nazi No. 1” (i.e., Hitler) to make an offer to the British that they could not refuse. And there could only be one such proposal - to stop the senseless war in the West, which was completely unnecessary for England and Germany. In exchange for peace with Britain, Hitler was ready to start a war with the USSR, which the British had been expecting from him for several years. The extent to which London was interested in collaborating with Hitler is evidenced by the statement of Allen Dulles, head of the Office of Strategic Services station in Bern during World War II, future director of the CIA (1953-1961). In 1948, Dulles said: “British intelligence in Berlin established contact with Rudolf Hess and with his help found a way to Hitler himself. Hess was told that if Germany declared war on the Soviets, England would cease hostilities."

The question arises: why did the British so want Hitler to attack the USSR?

Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Hess (right) before watching military exercises - 1938 (megabook.ru)

The answer is simple: having won the First World War, England could not come to terms with the fact that in Europe there was the only state not controlled by the Entente countries - the USSR. Since the 19th century, England has made a lot of efforts to crush Russia, turning it into its own raw material appendage. The Russo-Japanese War, both revolutions and the coming to power of the Bolsheviks are all links of one chain, the same chain with which England hoped to strangle Russian statehood. In 1917, the British almost succeeded, but the Bolsheviks turned out to be even greater tricksters than the impudent British, and instead of obediently making Russia another colony of the Anglo-Saxons, they began to play their own game, and a very unpredictable one.

Of course, the English sponsors could not tolerate such “rudeness” even in the mid-1920s. began to raise a fierce but obedient watchdog - Adolf Hitler. Moreover, this dog himself was always eager to go to the East. But the seasoned dog Hitler eventually began to bark, and then bare his teeth at his own masters, and demand equal partnership in the reconstruction of Europe. But in London they never perceived Hitler as a partner: for London he was only an instrument in the destruction of the USSR. To reason with the presumptuous Fuhrer, England declared war on him, but at the same time the British tried their best to convince Hitler that the way for negotiations was open. Just complete your mission - destroy the USSR. This, apparently, is why “Nazi No. 2” flew to England, to finally resolve all the issues.

There is no doubt that the British gave Hess some guarantees. Which? We may never know about them, but we can assume with a very high degree of confidence that the British in 1941 promised Germany not to open a second front on the European continent, and indeed not to interfere with Hitler in resolving the “Eastern Question.” Although historians claim that the conversation at Hess’s negotiations in England was not only about peace, but also about Great Britain’s participation in the war on the side of Germany. Moreover, the late Russian Soviet writer, journalist, historian Lev Bezymensky believed that “Hess was entrusted with making the last attempt to create a single pan-European coalition.” There is no need to explain the coalition against whom. London wisely did not get involved in a direct war with the USSR, but until 1943, when it became clear that the Soviet Union had survived and a turning point was coming in the war, the British did not prevent Germany from fighting in the east.

The Spandau prison for war criminals was located in the British sector of Berlin (usarmygermany.com)

Hess himself could have spoken about his agreements with British politicians in 1941, but he was not allowed to do so. Churchill ordered that Hess be treated with dignity: he was sent to London, to the Tower of London, where he remained as a high-ranking internee until October 6, 1945. The Nuremberg Tribunal sentenced Nazi No. 2 to life imprisonment, which Hess served in Berlin, in Spandau prison (after Speer's release in 1965, Hess remained its only prisoner). In 1987, when the USSR was already engulfed by Gorbachev’s perestroika, Hess was supposed to be released on “humane grounds.” However, on August 17, 1987, the 93-year-old Nazi criminal was found dead in a gazebo in the prison yard with an electrical wire around his neck. The pathological examination immediately cast doubt on the official version of suicide, but no one began to listen to the opinion of the experts. Moreover, two days after Hess’s strange death, by order of the prison administration, the ill-fated gazebo and all of Hess’s personal belongings, notes and diaries were destroyed. What is noteworthy: by order of the ENGLISH prison administration.

Yesterday, May 10, 2016, was exactly 75 years since one remarkable, but very strange event in world history - on the evening of May 10, 1941, a long-range twin-engine fighter took off from an airfield near Munich Messerschmitt Bf.110D with serial number 3869 and identification code VJ+OQ, filled to capacity with fuel, which allowed it to spend ten hours in the air with a flight range of about 2500 kilometers.

According to the official version, not having found a suitable landing site (which is very strange - but more on that later), Rudolf Hess jumped out with a parachute, injured his leg and was detained by a local farmer McLean, to whom Hess introduced himself as Luftwaffe captain Alfred Horn. Hess demanded to be taken to Dungavel Castle, to Hamilton, but ended up in the hands of British counterintelligence.

Hess was very discouraged by the fact that the British officials for a long time could not understand why this flight was made and at first refused to talk with him.

Churchill allegedly refused to meet with Hess and discuss anything with him, as a result Hess became a prisoner of war, and after the war he was taken to Nuremberg for trial, where, despite the fact that the Soviet side demanded a death sentence for him, he was “soldered » life sentence, which he served in Berlin Spandau prison (in which, after the release of Speer and Schirach in 1966, he was the only prisoner).

On August 17, 1987, 93-year-old Hess was found dead in a gazebo in the prison yard with an electrical cord around his neck. The official version of death states that Hess committed suicide by strangulation.

Everything seems simple and clear.

But, if this were so, Great Britain would not have classified all materials about Hess’s flight until 2017 (when it will be thirty years since his death).

However, I do not believe that the classification of secrecy will be lifted next year. And not because the British don’t want this, but because some people will not allow them to do this - because even after three quarters of a century, the publicity of this information is extremely undesirable for them.

This is what I want to talk about, because around this flight there are continuous hints, understatements and hypotheses, one more interesting than the other.

Agree that the story of Hess’s flight itself is truly something out of the ordinary!

Judge for yourself - Rudolf Hess in Nazi Germany was officially man number three (September 1, 1939, Hitler appointed Hess as his second successor, the first was Hermann Goering), but everyone understood that in his intelligence Hess was head and shoulders above the dim-witted and narrow-minded Goering, that is It is Hess who should be considered the number two man in the Nazi hierarchy.

It was Hess who was at the origins of the creation of the NSDAP, which he joined on October 8, 1920 and had ticket number 16 (Rosenberg had ticket number 18, and Goebbels had number 22!).

After the failure of the Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923, when Hitler was in prison, Hess voluntarily went to prison with him, actively helping his Fuhrer work on the book Mein Kampf. Many researchers rightly believe that this book is most likely the creation of Rudolf Hess himself, but for a number of reasons he chose to cede authorship to Hitler. This book may have been Hitler's idea, but the editing and general style of writing clearly indicate Hess's intervention.

Being Adolf Hitler's deputy and Reich Minister without portfolio since 1933, and since 1939 a member of the Ministerial Council for Defense Policy of the Reich, Rudolf Hess was a kind of “gray eminence” in the Third Reich.

And now this extraordinary man flies to a country with which Germany is at war!

Almost a year ago, Germany forced the British to flee shamefully from the European continent, evacuating British and French troops from Dunkirk more like a shameful flight.

And only six months have passed since the end of the famous "Battles of Britain", when the Luftwaffe tried to gain air supremacy over the south of England, destroy the country's industry and infrastructure, demoralize the population and thereby force Great Britain to surrender or make peace.

Germany was preparing for the operation "Sea lion", which provided for an amphibious landing operation on the British Isles. The plan for this operation was established on July 16, 1940 and according to it, German troops were to cross the English Channel and land between Dover and Portsmouth in about 25 divisions under the leadership of Field Marshal von Rundstedt. This plan was finally canceled by Hitler only in February 1942.

But “wolf packs” of German submarines were active in the North Atlantic, implementing a plan for a naval blockade of the British Isles.

That is, the war between Germany and Britain was in full swing, the focus of the confrontation simply moved to North Africa and the waters of the North Atlantic.

Germany in those days was at the zenith of its glory, military and political, it had the most powerful army and it dictated the terms.

Now that you have imagined the military-political situation at that time, the flight of such an important person as Rudolf Hess should raise a number of questions.

The first of them suggests itself immediately - what, was there such an urgent need for the second (or third - it doesn’t matter in this context) most important person in the Third Reich to personally go incognito to half-destroyed Britain?

It’s the same as if USSR Foreign Minister Molotov secretly flew to Berlin at the beginning of 1945 to negotiate with Hitler!

Absurd? Nonsense? Insanity? Or are we still missing something?

That is why Rudolf Hess's flight still arouses persistent interest.

I first heard about Rudolf Hess in August 1987, when I read an article in Komsomolskaya Pravda about him, his mysterious flight and his no less mysterious death.

Since then, I have often come across publications on this topic, and all these years I have been trying to put together the puzzle to find an explanation for Hess’s inexplicable act.

This puzzle finally came together recently, and the conclusions I came to seem to me to be the most correct at the moment and explain all the strange behavior of Rudolf Hess.

So, let's go!

I’ll start, perhaps, with the hero’s childhood (following the example of Ostap Ibrahimovich Bender, who collected a dossier on citizen Koreiko).

Rudolf Hess was not born and raised in Germany; his place of birth was the Egyptian port city of Alexandria, which in those years was part of the Ottoman Empire.

His father was the owner of a trading and export company in Alexandria, and Hess's ancestors came from Bohemia, Thuringia and Switzerland.

Until the age of 14, Rudolf Hess lives in Alexandria, then he is sent to study in the homeland of his ancestors, in Germany, in the city of Bad Godesberg, he receives a certificate in Switzerland, and then begins to study commerce in Hamburg. Quite an ordinary path for the son of a businessman, nothing remarkable.

Growing up in cosmopolitan Alexandria, Hess spoke fluent English. He was distinguished by modesty, a sense of justice and goodwill. He also never expressed extreme nationalist views, which surprised everyone who interacted with him. In fact, he was an ordinary German patriot without an excess of nationalism, who considered the British to be brothers in the Saxon line.

And Hess’s fate would have been exactly like his father’s, if the First World War had not broken out in his lifetime.

He volunteers to join the infantry, fights on the Western Front, where he rises from corporal to lieutenant, and was wounded near Verdun in 1916.

In 1917, he was transferred to the Eastern Front (Romania), where he was wounded twice.

Then he graduated from aviation school and, as a pilot of the First Fighter Squadron "Richthofen", commanded by Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess took part in the last battles of the First World War in Northern France. The fact that its commander was Hermann Goering himself will play a role years later.

Rudolf Hess was awarded both degrees of the Iron Cross, and ended the war with the rank of lieutenant. That is, Hess was clearly not a timid person, all his awards were military awards, this man did not wipe his pants at headquarters.

When the First World War ended, and, as we know, Germany lost it, hard times came for Rudolf Hess.

The fact is that his parents’ Egyptian company was confiscated by the British after the outbreak of the First World War. Demobilized Rudolf Hess found himself without a livelihood.

But after a few months, Hess arrived in Munich to study economics, history and law at the university there - but this did not become his main occupation.

Hess joined the volunteer corps, which consisted of nationalist-minded soldiers and officers, then became a member of the Thule Society (the ideological forerunner of the NSDAP), where he immediately became one of the most active members, having the official position of “Deputy Fuhrer.”

And then for twenty years he goes hand in hand with Adolf Hitler, helping him rise to the heights of power. It is he who, like Pygmalion, molds the neurasthenic stutterer Hitler into a charismatic leader of the nation, while always remaining in the shadows.

These are well-known facts.

And now I will offer you, dear readers, my version of events.

The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. Across the ocean, a young predator is gaining strength - the United States. Acting according to the so-called "Monroe Doctrine", the United States squeezed European countries out of the American continent, and the next stage in US expansion across the planet was the Old World itself.

The Americans wanted to subordinate their main geopolitical competitor, Europe, to their influence. But Europe in those years was very strong militarily and politically, but it had an eternal “Achilles heel” - constant “showdowns” between European powers.

The Americans began to prepare the ground for a big massacre, using secret diplomatic efforts to “pushing heads” against the monarchies of Europe.

Their efforts were crowned with success - in the summer of 1914, a major war began on the continent, which seriously weakened Europe, but not so much that the United States could consider the task of “conquering” the Old World to be completed.

In Washington, they began to prepare the ground for a future big war in Europe, so that this time they would surely, once and for all, make the Old World their vassal.

But in 1918, few people in Europe wanted to continue to fight - the horrors of what they had experienced were so strong, and the participating countries were so bleeding, that fanning the fire of a new big all-European war was an extremely difficult task.

A troublemaker was needed who could be used as the instigator of a future war in Europe.

And Germany, the loser, was ideally suited for this role.

It was France and Britain who believed that they were the ones who won the First World War, and therefore did not stand on ceremony, humiliating the Germans in every possible way, dictating to them the terms of a shameful surrender.

The Germans, in turn, did not consider themselves losers at all, because in their view, everyone was good in this war, all European countries, one way or another, wanted to fight in 1914, and therefore to present Germany as the only culprit of the pan-European massacre was fundamentally wrong from the point of view of the Germans.

The insulted self-consciousness of the German people, who were betrayed by their Kaiser Wilhelm, demanded revenge.

The Americans only had to find those who would lead this German revanchism, create a powerful army and fan the flames of a new war in Europe.

And such people were found quite quickly among retired German military personnel - among them was the former pilot of the Imperial German Air Force, Lieutenant Rudolf Hess.

But the fact is that the American intelligence services did not want to attract attention to themselves, and therefore, having thoroughly studied the personality of Rudolf Hess, they appeared before him in the form of employees British intelligence!

Agree that it will not be difficult for an American to imitate an Englishman.

Thus, at the end of 1918 or at the very beginning of 1919, retired Lieutenant Hess had a private conversation with gentlemen who introduced themselves to him as British and British intelligence officers.

These gentlemen, with the impeccable manners of London gentlemen, made Hess an offer that he could not refuse.

They offered him approximately the following: the British crown would fully compensate Hess for the cost of the parent company confiscated in Alexandria (perhaps even with interest) by opening an account in British pounds sterling in a Swiss bank in his name, and would also monthly transfer the agreed amount, again in British currency in exchange for some services.

What was required of Hess was mere trifles, namely, to look after one Austrian, also a veteran of the First World War, whose name was Adolf Gitler, and help him in his affairs, following clear instructions from British intelligence. The British bear all the overhead costs for this activity, and Hess should constantly follow the object and inform his curators about every step of his charge.

Rudolf Hess, who had sympathy for the British, considering them blood brothers, could not help but refuse such an offer.

To dispel Hess’s doubts about the involvement of his interlocutors in the British intelligence services, a well-known trick was used - acquaintance with public figures in English politics.

However, Hitler made the final decision to start a war with the Soviet Union only six months later - if Directive No. 21, signed by him in December 1940, named the date as the earliest date for an attack on the USSR May 15, 1941, then later, due to the diversion of part of the Wehrmacht forces to the Balkan campaign, the next date for the attack on the USSR was named 22nd of June.

This date for the start of the eastern campaign was the most extreme. The fact is that one of the main directions of attack was the northern one with the goal of capturing Murmansk and Leningrad.

The Germans, who by that time occupied Norway, were well aware of the climate peculiarities of those places and understood that a further shift in the start date of the operation posed a particular threat to the implementation of their plans regarding the Soviet Arctic and North-West.

Therefore, when at the beginning of May 1941 Rudolf Hess learned that the German attack on the USSR was finally scheduled for June 22, he decided to act.

Moreover, this time, Hess intended to personally notify his British masters of this extremely important news for them. It’s hard to say whether vanity prompted Hess to take this step, or whether he was unable to quickly get in touch with his handlers from “British” intelligence.

Most likely, he decided to personally meet with the British leadership and offer cooperation in the war against the Russians. Like, let's forget all our past grievances and, with common efforts, deal with the Bolsheviks, so that we can then amicably agree on the division of spoils, which promised to be very large in the event of victory in the USSR.

Hess obviously calculated all possible scenarios and was confident in the success of his plan.

In his dreams, he imagined himself flying to Britain, landing at the estate of his friend Duke Hamilton, who quickly takes him to London to meet Churchill and (possibly) the king himself, where they quickly shake hands - and Hess triumphantly returns to Germany !

Of course, Rudolf Hess would be able to protect Germany from a war on two fronts with such “shuttle diplomacy.”

The history of mankind knows many examples when yesterday's irreconcilable opponents united to fight against a common enemy.

However, if I am correct in my assumption about Hess's true masters, it becomes clear why his appearance caused a stupor in Britain!

Imagine for yourself how Winston Churchill felt in those days - a man from the leadership of the country with which his country was waging a life-or-death war fell on his head (almost literally). And this man assures Churchill that he is an agent of British intelligence, that he was allegedly recruited twenty years ago and, for a reward, did everything that was assigned to him.

Churchill, of course, immediately called the chief of British intelligence to his carpet and demanded an explanation.

“How so, sir! I just learned, and not from you, which is very depressing, that Rudolf Hess himself was our “mole” in the Nazi elite and all these years he supplied our intelligence with information about the state of affairs in Germany! I didn’t know about this!!! Take the trouble to explain yourself, I’m listening to you carefully.”

I can imagine the expression on the face of this chief intelligence officer of Foggy Albion, for whom all this phantasmagoria was just like a bolt from the blue.

When Churchill realized that Rudolf Hess was not a British agent, he had a completely logical question - whose agent was he then?!

Through brief deductions, Churchill logically comes to the conclusion that only one country could have started the “long game” in Germany twenty years ago - and that was the USA!

Only the Americans had the financial capabilities in those days, only they could successfully “mask” under the British, and only they would receive all the geopolitical benefits from the new world war on the European continent!

Britain, which had suffered enough from the Kaiser's Germany during the First World War, had no reason to revive German military power. On the contrary, the weaker Germany was (as, indeed, the whole of mainland Europe), the better it was for Great Britain.

To confirm his guess, Churchill, of course, immediately notified Washington about the arrival of such an important bird as Rudolf Hess to see how the Americans would react to this stunning news.

And here the Americans found themselves in a very delicate dual situation for themselves - should they admit to Churchill that Rudolf Hess was their agent or not?

If they openly admit to Churchill that Rudolf Hess is indeed their “sent Cossack,” then they will have to give London at least some intelligible answer why they so carefully hid the important strategic information received from Hess from their British ally.

Agree, if London knew everything that Rudolf Hess “leaked” to his American curators, then history would have taken a completely different path, and there would not have been so many victims and losses.

But it’s also impossible not to admit it, because the evidence was irrefutable - after all, whatever one may say, the United States was the only country that could pull off such a deal with introducing its “mole” into the very top of Nazi Germany!

Therefore, the United States chose the third path - they did not answer Churchill, neither “yes” nor “no,” they say, guess it yourself, here, as they say, “no comment.”

In addition, after such a session of self-exposure, the Americans were no longer interested in Rudolf Hess at all. He was useful to them exclusively as a “gray eminence” under Hitler.

Churchill, in the end, found himself in a very delicate situation - what should he do now with such an important political figure as Hess?

Let me go back to Germany? Like, excuse me, Herr Rudolf, you had a little wrong address, you had to fly across the ocean, straight to Washington, where, as I just found out, your real owners are sitting. That's just funny!

In addition, the ubiquitous English press got wind of something, because whatever one may say, many British witnessed the flight of a single German fighter; it was simply impossible to hide such an emergency.

Agree to Hess' proposals regarding a joint fight against the Russians? Hypothetically, it seems possible (and even necessary), Churchill himself was an ardent anti-communist, but will Hitler agree to such cooperation, that is the question!

And how will the British look at the fact that their country has suddenly become an ally of the Nazis?!

I believe that Churchill had an active brainstorm in those days, the result of which was Solomon’s decision - to make Rudolf Hess an honorary prisoner and to negotiate some concessions from the American allies in exchange for not stirring up a scandal in such a difficult time for Great Britain and don't raise the issue of Washington's duplicity.

And in Germany, let Hitler get out of it as best he can and explain to his party genosse about the unauthorized flight of his best friend, who turned out to be a traitor.

As soon as Churchill made this decision, measures were taken to cover his tracks.

For example, there is evidence that Rudolf Hess did not jump out with a parachute, but calmly landed on the airfield on the estate of the Duke of Hamilton. Let's not forget that this Scottish aristocrat was himself a highly qualified professional pilot, and it would be strange if his large estate did not have its own airstrip.

The Messerschmitt Bf.110 fighter with its landing flaps deployed required at most four hundred meters to run, and around the Duke’s estate there were a lot of flat fields.

Most likely, on Churchill’s instructions, the so-called "cover operation"- the plane on which Rudolf Hess arrived was quickly transported to one of the RAF airfields and hidden away from human eyes (the brand new Bf.110D was a very valuable acquisition and there was no point in breaking it up for a staged photo), and was brought to a field near the Duke’s estate the wreckage of another similar aircraft; fortunately, after the Battle of Britain, the British had no shortage of wreckage from German aircraft.

It is clear that the on-board codes of the vehicle in which Hess arrived were applied to these wreckage.

These photographs appeared in the British press, which showed the wreckage of a Bf.110 with the onboard code VJ+OQ.

For what purpose was this done? The answer lies on the surface - Churchill simply wanted to convince Hitler that his faithful friend and closest associate Rudolf Hess deliberately made a one-way flight, that is, he simply fled to the British without the intention of returning back to Germany.

And here’s what the tail section of that Messer looks like today (kept in the aviation museum in Duxford):

Many researchers indicate that the debris was replaced. Eg, John Harris And Richard Wilbourn in his book "Rudolf Hess: A New Technical Analysis of the Hess Flight, May 1941" draw attention to the fact that the wreckage most likely belongs to another modification of the Messer - not the Bf.110D, but perhaps the later Bf.110E-2/N. These authors in their book provide a number of other evidence in favor of their theory.

In general, upon careful analysis, many oddities emerge.

Most likely, the British intelligence services, following Churchill's orders, simply brought the wreckage of several similar vehicles mixed together to Scotland for staged photos, without thinking that years later researchers would have difficulty identifying the specific modification of the Bf.110 on which Rudolf Hess flew .

At the place where Hess supposedly landed by parachute, they even erected a memorial sign (probably to finally convince those who doubt it):

Rudolf Hess spent the entire war in an English prison as an honorable prisoner, since for Churchill he was a weighty argument in dealing with his American allies.

When World War II ended, the question of the future fate of Rudolf Hess again became acute on the agenda.

What to do with it and where to put it? Formally, he stood at the origins of Nazism, and he had to be tried to the fullest extent of the law.

But Hess knew too much and could tell the world a lot of interesting things if he were brought to a public trial - for example, about how he was recruited by the Americans under the guise of the British, and then for twenty years he acted on the orders of his curators and promoted Hitler with their money to the heights of power. This would produce a cooler effect than the explosion of an atomic bomb!

That is, Hess became dangerous again – this time as a witness.

And to silence him without killing him was possible only in one way - to come to an agreement with him.

I do not undertake to say exactly what the Americans were able to agree on with Rudolf Hess in exchange for his silence, but I have two mutually exclusive assumptions:

First guess.

The Americans guaranteed Hess that he would not be given a death sentence, but a maximum of life with the prospect of parole in fifteen to twenty years. Still, living on full board, even in prison, is much more pleasant than hanging on the gallows!

Hess accepted these conditions and during the Nuremberg trials demonstrated strange behavior, pretended to be insane and feigned amnesia, sitting in the dock with an absent look.

According to the verdict, Hess was sentenced to life imprisonment and together with six other lucky ones (these were Raeder, Doenitz, Funk, Speer, Schirach and Neurath) he ended up in Spandau prison.

In 1966, Hess was the only prisoner (the rest either died or were released), and the guards were strictly forbidden to talk to him - apparently in order to prevent the disclosure of information undesirable for the Americans.

But, apparently, Hess wanted to tell something to one of the guards, or convey some information through him to the outside world (quite possibly his memoirs).

And then the Americans decide to radically resolve the issue - they kill a talkative 93-year-old man, staging his suicide.

Assumption two.

On September 25, 1973, English military surgeon Hugh Thomas, replacing a colleague, carried out a routine examination of the prisoner Rudolf Hess in Spandau - and found no traces on his body of the wounds he received during the First World War!

Scars from battle wounds cannot resolve on their own, so Hugh Thomas made an unequivocal conclusion - the old man serving a life sentence in Spandau has nothing in common with Rudolf Hess!

If this whole story with the medical examination really took place, then I can assume the following - Rudolf Hess was present as a defendant at the Nuremberg trials, so as not to arouse suspicion (around him in the dock sat those who knew him well, the same Goering, for example) , but his double went to Spandau prison, and Hess himself was secretly transported by the Americans, presumably to Argentina in exchange for silence.

In any case, I want to admit that the Americans have cleaned up their tails well!

This is why there are so many mysteries surrounding Rudolf Hess’s flight in May 1941.

I just tried to lift the veil of secrecy around Hess’s flight by putting forward my hypothesis.

I don't know if I'm right or wrong, time will tell.

But it is precisely the version about the recruitment of lieutenant of the Kaiser’s army Rudolf Hess by the Americans back in 1918 that seems to me the most reasonable, since it explains almost all the oddities of this case.

It was in those years that the United States began to hone its skills in its main craft - wreaking havoc on the planet in order to achieve its hegemony.

And, I must admit, they do it very well!

Since May 10, 1941, the flight of Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party, on a peace mission to England remains one of the strangest episodes of the Second World War. Events surrounding Churchill's warning and Cripps' threats for a separate peace provide the long-sought clue to Stalin's all-consuming preoccupation with the Hess affair. These events shed new light on the erroneous Soviet assessment of British and German intentions on the eve of June 22, 1941. While focusing on German-Soviet cooperation in 1939-1941, historians have overlooked the equally important fear of the prospect of an Anglo-German peace . This fear appears to have seriously limited Stalin's ability to analyze information and contributed to the paralysis that became increasingly apparent as the German attack approached.

Hess, to a certain extent, began to play the role of a scapegoat for mistakes in assessing Germany’s intentions made not only by Stalin, but also by a number of politicians and military men. Because mutual suspicion continued throughout the war, Hess found himself in the dangerous position of potential emissary. All this explains the insistence of the Soviet side to keep him in prison in Spandau until his death, which occurred many years after the release of the remaining war criminals. For the first time, Stalin’s hypertrophied suspicions appeared in the fall of 1942. He accused Churchill of being on a course towards Russia’s defeat in the war, refusing to open a second front and interrupting the dispatch of northern convoys to Russia, as well as “on the issue of Hess, whom Churchill, Apparently, he keeps it in reserve...” Cripps, then a member of the War Cabinet, was tasked with preparing the most complete and accurate report on the Hess affair, which, unfortunately, did not reassure Stalin. Perhaps this happened because, at the insistence of the censor, references to conversations that Lord Simon and Lord Beaverbrook had with Hess in 1941 were removed, although this information was well known to Stalin.

Stalin's interpretation of the Hess affair emerged during Churchill's visit to Moscow in October 1944. After dividing Eastern Europe into precisely defined zones of influence and drinking and dining, Stalin raised the issue of Hess. Churchill presented this part of the conversation with humor, but at the same time accurately:

Hess believed that he could save England for Germany. And so Hess, who was generally forbidden to fly the plane because of his insanity, managed to take possession of the plane and fly. He hoped, with the help of the Duke of Hamilton - the king's chief chamberlain - to get straight to the king! Here Stalin rather unexpectedly proposed a toast to British intelligence, which lured Hess to England. He would not have been able to land if he had not been given signals. British intelligence must have been behind this case.

Churchill was indignant and protested, but Stalin was categorical and did not change his opinion. He simply stated that British intelligence may not have told Churchill the whole truth. Russian intelligence, according to Stalin, “often does not inform the Soviet government about its plans and reports only after the job is done...”.

Soviet historians and politicians, and especially the KGB, continue to support this version. By the way, it coincides with similar conspiracy theories that have gained recognition in the West. In recent years, simply fantastic theories have been spread, ranging from suggestions that it was not Hess who actually flew to England, but his “double”, and ending with accusations that Hess did not die a natural death in prison, but was poisoned by his captors . Indicative in this genre was the book by American historian J. Costello, published in 1991 and immediately translated into Russian, “Ten Days That Saved the West.” The book collects and perpetuates various conspiracy theories. After the book was published, they were called into question due to the declassification in the summer of 1992 of closed British archives about the Hess case.

Costello is trying to prove that either Hess arrived in England with the tacit consent of Hitler, or it was a plot by British intelligence to lure him to Scotland. At its core, the book consisted of unproven claims based solely on circumstantial evidence. In this vein, for example, Costello argued that the massive bombing of London and the Houses of Parliament in particular on the very night Hess arrived in England was deliberately coordinated with the timing of Hess's mission. This assumption has already been put forward in the past and most historians have accepted it uncritically. But after Hess arrived, the bombing did not stop! Similarly, Costello claimed that the six-hour delay in the submission of the Duke of Hamilton's report was due to the fact that "the higher authorities already knew" about Hess's actual or expected arrival, or because "he was carrying out a secret order." Words from Churchill's dramatic message to Roosevelt: “We are at the decisive point of the war; grandiose processes have frozen, but will inevitably take on clear outlines,” Costello naturally interpreted as a message about the upcoming attack on Russia, which Churchill allegedly received from Hess. In fact, they related to the battle for Crete and the situation in the Middle East.

However, the most piquant thing about the Costello story was that the author was provided with evidence by such a source as - believe it or not - the KGB. This turn of events is truly breathtaking. In 1990, on the eve of Thanksgiving, a sealed blue bag containing documents was placed on Costello's desk in New York. It contained photocopies of encrypted messages from the NKVD, as well as reports on Hesse prepared for Stalin. This bundle also contained materials handed over to Soviet intelligence in London by the head of Czechoslovak military intelligence, Colonel F. Moravec. At the Moscow headquarters of the KGB, the following were presented: “The True, Intertwined Cases of Hess and Moravec,” Hess Case No. 20566 (code name “Black Bertha”). “For operational reasons,” only half a dozen paragraphs of the 400-page case file were sealed with paper strips. Costello became, without knowing it, an instrument for resurrecting old false versions of the Hess case. One thing is not clear - why out of all this wealth Costello decided to use only a couple of documents.

The final conclusion of the Soviet security service, which Stalin fully accepted, was that Hess had indeed been lured to England by British intelligence and perhaps even Churchill did not know about it in advance. The Russian security service adhered to this point of view until recently. In 1991, the leading theoretical journal of the Soviet military prominently published an article by a little-known German historian repeating these unsubstantiated claims. The magazine even found it necessary to reproduce in large print the headline of a contemporary English tabloid newspaper article (as if mere reproduction could prove the credibility of the argument): “Hess Reported Surprisingly Captured in a Trap Set by England’s Secret Service.” The magazine's editorial suggested that the British aim was to give the Germans hope that the nascent Scottish revolutionary movement could be exploited once war against Russia began. They proudly presented to Russian readers the consequences of “the game that British intelligence played with the Nazis.” The conspiracy theory is widely supported in Moscow. It is concluded that Hess “had (the British) by the throat. He terrorized the English government with a simple, but in its own way, brilliant idea: either you agree to an alliance with us, or we enter into a military alliance with Russia and, as such, we will continue the war against you.”

The KGB was not the only one to fall victim to this erroneous version. It is obvious that the American military attache in London was misled in the same way. He was so confident in himself that he presented a report to his superiors in Washington, calling it a detailed and (therefore) accurate reproduction of the contents of the conversations that the British had with Hess. While compiling the report, Colonel Lee was heavily influenced by rumors spreading in London about the impending war in the East. So he combined the two questions. “Hess,” he wrote authoritatively in his conclusion, “flew to the Duke (Hamilton) to inform him that Germany intends to fight with Russia.” He then quoted Hess as telling his interrogator that Hamilton “could go to the king and tell him about our plans to fight the Bolsheviks, and the king could make peace with us.” This source, which is supposedly supported by KGB documents, was used by Costello to support this untrue interpretation of Hess's mission.

By now the reader should know that British intelligence absolutely did not believe in the inevitability of war between Russia and Germany. Vice versa. She predicted a German-Soviet agreement, and therefore the motives attributed to her for luring Hess turn out to be untenable. The 18,000 pages of documents on the Hess case, declassified in the summer of 1992 by the British Archives Service, paint a picture that is strikingly different from that presented by the pathetic collection of KGB papers that were published with such fanfare at the time. New British documents expose a deliberate campaign of disinformation by British intelligence. This campaign misfired; As a result, the erroneous interpretation of the Hess case, which was created at that time in Russia, continues to this day.

Various conspiracy theories were based on the obvious assumption that the vast collections of documents stored in closed British archives contained sensational and very sensitive information. Under pressure from leading British intelligence historians, the British government eventually fully disclosed archival materials related to the Hess case. That's when the conspiracy theorists were disappointed. This extensive collection actually confirms two main theses of the version of the Hess case set out in Churchill's memoirs. He wrote that Hess "came to us of his own free will, and although he had no authority, he was to some extent an envoy." His second premise, the most important for our story, is that “given how close Hess was to Hitler, it was amazing that he did not know (or if he knew, he did not tell us) about the approaching attack on Russia ... " However, the archival materials contain a stunning discovery, which until now could only be guessed at from isolated hints in fragmentary evidence. The point is that the British Foreign Office and intelligence tried, by manipulating the Hess case, to put pressure on Russia so that it would move away from Germany. The impact of these actions on Moscow is undoubtedly much more important than the problems that formed the basis of the conspiracy theories.

Mission

Hess took off at 5.45 pm on May 10, 1941 from Augsburg on a Messerschmitt Bf110, which the British called ME 110. Bold flight and control of the aircraft required high skill of the pilot. Hess jumped with a parachute in Scotland, in Eaglesham, after dark. He was wearing the uniform of a captain in the German Air Force. Hess landed 12 miles from the Duke of Hamilton's estate. It was later claimed that he brought official proposals for peace. However, in fact, he did not have any documents with him at all - only photographs of himself and his son, as well as the business card of the famous geopolitician, Professor Karl Haushofer. Karl Haushofer's son Albrecht was most likely the initiator of this mission.

Archival materials published to date prove that the British Royal Air Force did not wait for Hess. It was not deliberately missed by the British air defense. And the air defense of this area was not as powerful as was often written about. In fact, Hess's plane was spotted at about 10 pm at an altitude of 15 thousand feet. He was pursued by two Spitfires patrolling in the area, but they eventually lost sight of him as their speed was slower than Hess's plane. By the time Hess reached the west coast of Scotland, he was also being pursued by the Defiant night fighter. He had almost overtaken the Messerschmitt, but at that moment Hess jumped with a parachute.

If, as Costello and others have argued, Hess was actually expected by the Secret Intelligence Service (the forerunner of MI6), then this would be obvious from the reception he would have received in the first hours after his arrival. arrival. Let us remember that Hess landed amazingly close to the Duke of Hamilton's estate, and if they had waited for him, they would not have been “lost” for several hours. However, his appearance caused confusion and confusion. Information about Hess landing by parachute was received by the local defense forces from the police station in Giffnock. The police, in turn, were informed by passers-by. Police were also told that a plane crashed near Eaglesham House at 11.12pm. The capture of Hess was completely uncoordinated. An officer who lived near the scene of the events, taking with him two artillery soldiers from a nearby military camp, went to the crash site. By that time, Hess had already been captured and held in the house of a farm worker, into whose yard he parachuted. After some time, Hess, who gave his name as Alfred Horn, was taken by car to the headquarters of the local defense forces. Time passed. It's midnight. Then the command of the local defense forces turned to the headquarters of the Argyll-Sutherland Highland Regiment with a request to send escorts to send the “pilot” to the location of the army unit to be kept there. From all this it is absolutely clear that no one was waiting for Hess. After all, the officer on duty ordered the police to leave Hess overnight in a cell at the Giffnock police station, despite objections that Gorn seemed to be “an important bird and the military should take care of him.” An official investigation later conducted by military intelligence revealed serious lapses in the treatment of Hess. This would not have happened if his arrival in England had actually been orchestrated by MI6. For example, nothing was done to establish that the prisoner who called himself Gorn was an officer, and therefore he should be interrogated accordingly. Air Force intelligence completely ignored the information presented to it at 1 a.m. on May 11th. And this was a statement from the prisoner that he was an important person and wanted to make a message. In the end, the military agreed to accept the prisoner, but only after they were informed that the “pilot” had information for the Duke of Hamilton and that he, i.e. “pilot”, ready to talk with competent people. The detective inspector who arrived to pick up Hess left - after conducting his own investigation and examining Hess's belongings.

The interrogation was conducted with the help of some captain Donald, who happened to be nearby at the moment when Hess was brought in. And Donald took with him a translator, who turned out to be an employee of the Polish consulate in Glasgow, Roman Battaglia. “I just can’t believe it,” bursts into reproaches from “S” (the pseudonym of the head of British counterintelligence), “that something like this could be allowed to happen.” Battaglia determined that the pilot was exactly like Hess, but he began to deny it. Overall, Hess was calm, but a little annoyed. The reason for his dissatisfaction could be the strange atmosphere of the “interrogation” - in the presence of fifteen - or maybe twenty? - militias of local defense forces. Battaglia's interrogation English was "somewhat stilted." There is no doubt that when interrogating a prisoner, the initial stage is extremely important. This is how Battaglia described it in his testimony to British military intelligence. He was struck by the fact that: “... no attempt was made, as far as he knew, to establish the identity of the detainee (Hess) or the veracity of his words; Among the fifteen or twenty people in the room, there seemed to be no one who was officially conducting the interrogation. Questions were shouted at him from different corners, some of which he considered offensive to Hess and refused to translate. There was no exact protocol of the interrogation, and during the interrogation those present walked around the entire room, unceremoniously looking at the prisoner and his things.” Nevertheless, it gradually began to dawn on all these people that this was not an ordinary pilot. They noticed that his uniform was made of very good material and absolutely unworn. After this, Hess “began to be treated somewhat more politely.” At about two o'clock in the morning he was taken to Maryhill Barracks. Once Hess's identity was established, "S" reprimanded military intelligence for how poorly it had handled the case. Particularly indignant was the fact that Hess continued to be interrogated after midnight, after he had stated that he had an important message. Intelligence quickly laid the blame on the Duke of Hamilton, saying that “one can only assume that the decision not to do anything until the morning was made by the commander of the air wing, the Duke of Hamilton.” This speculation led to unsubstantiated claims that Hamilton was involved in Secret Intelligence Service fraud. This speculation may have arisen because Albrecht Haushofer, a renowned German geopolitical expert who appears to have been the main inspiration behind Hess's mission, in the fall of 1940 sent Hamilton a letter. It was intercepted and read by military intelligence. Due to a simple coincidence, the letter, which was a sounding message for peace, arrived at the addressee a couple of days before Hess appeared. It's time to admit that coincidence does not necessarily indicate a conspiracy...

There could be a number of reasons why Hamilton did not interrogate the prisoner immediately at three o'clock in the morning. Let's start with what is quite possible - Hamilton was not informed by telephone that the pilot calling himself Alfred Horn had a political message. Hess was not the only German shot down then. One of the most powerful German air raids took place that night. Unit commanders did not interrogate prisoners at night. Moreover, Hamilton did not go to bed without checking the list of German Air Force officers he had met while attending the 1936 Olympics. Horn's name was not among those officers. The delay was therefore, at worst, merely an act of negligence.

In this regard, one more aspect of this episode should be considered. If Hamilton had guessed that Hess was the pilot - although this is a completely incredible assumption - then his reaction would have been absolutely predictable. Now he is a respected wing commander trying to shake off the stigma of his past ties to appeasement. And he suddenly finds himself face to face with a reality that plunges him into confusion - peace proposals coming from the Nazis are addressed to him. The Hess case threatened to let the genie out of the bottle. Hamilton's awkward position was complicated when an official German report linked his name to Hess's mission. This created an unfounded sense of his complicity among the public. These sentiments are present in the censored letters taken at random. Here is just one example: “I wonder if it is true that this scoundrel was closely associated with the Duke of Hamilton. It seems that too many of our titled nobility are already involved in Nazi-related matters.” Hamilton's scrupulousness was so great that he sued communist leader Harry Pollitt when he claimed that Hamilton was a "friend of Hess." And with this Hamilton put the government in a difficult position. In connection with their suspicions, the Communists - possibly on instructions from Moscow, although this has not been proven - saw in this case a rare opportunity to summon Hess to court, where they could interrogate him publicly. Indeed, the need to "remove the Duke of Hamilton from those unjust and ignorant suspicions which have fallen upon him" was fully recognized. In a report to the cabinet on the case in November 1942, Cripps went to great lengths to clear Hamilton of the charge, noting that "the Duke's conduct in so far as Rudolf Hess was concerned was in every respect honorable and correct."

Hamilton did not meet the captured pilot until 10 a.m. the next day. Hess revealed his real name to him. Hamilton did not remember meeting him during his visit to Berlin. And certainly didn't have any contact with him later. During their face-to-face conversation, Hess conveyed the essence of the information he had arrived to convey. He came on a “humane mission to report that the Fuhrer did not want to defeat England and wanted to end the war.” While emphasizing the similarity of his views and those of Hitler, Hess insisted at the same time that the mission was his own initiative. This statement, repeated several times in the future, leads to a very important assumption about Hitler's alleged tacit consent to this mission. Maisky in his memoirs preferred to leave the question open: “Who is Hess? Hitler's camouflaged emissary or lone psychopath? Or a representative of some group among the Nazi elite, worried about the prospects of a too long war?

The release into free circulation of British archival materials at one stroke destroyed the wild speculation that had circulated and grown unchecked for so many years, significantly clouding Anglo-Soviet relations. Some desperate attempts were made to salvage at least some of these versions, but all of them were unsuccessful. In his recent book “Rudolf Hess. The Fuhrer's Apprentice, London, 1993, P. Padfield used many of Costello's ideas. However, by the time the book was ready for printing, the British archives had opened. Padfield was forced to write a lengthy epilogue in which he retracted much of his earlier arguments. Nevertheless, he tried to salvage the version that Hess arrived in England with Hitler's tacit consent; to prove it, he used evidence discovered shortly after the war by a French war correspondent, a certain Andre Gerber. In a newspaper article, Gerber stated that “in the ruins of the Reich Chancellery at the end of the war, he discovered documents that prove with all certainty that the decision to send Hess to England was made by Hitler himself.” Gerber argued that Hess had in fact been provided with a draft peace treaty printed on Reich Chancellery letterhead, which was confiscated from him shortly after his arrival in England. Gerber's text, including his four-point draft treaty, was never published. By his own admission, only the fourth point differed significantly from the proposals that Hess made orally: this point allegedly stated that during the German-Russian war England should maintain a policy of benevolent neutrality towards Germany.

After the materials of the British archives were declassified - which did not contain any sensations - the previous versions of the conspiracy can only be supported if completely unthinkable assumptions are made. Thus, Padfield quotes the testimony of a certain John Howell, who told him about a man of German origin, whose name cannot be disclosed. He and two other German-speaking people were invited by Ivon Kirkpatrick, a German specialist in the Foreign Office, to analyze the terms of a particular peace proposal that Hess had brought with him from Germany. They were written in German on Reich Chancellery letterhead and provided with an English translation. This group, Padfield continues his version, met at the Air Force headquarters on Portland Place, in conditions of extreme secrecy. According to the informant, "the first two pages of these proposals laid out in detail Hitler's goals in Russia, his specific plans for conquest in the east and the destruction of Bolshevism."

The informant may have confused the document with the memorandum that Hess prepared for the meeting with Lord Simon, where he outlined his ideas in writing. It is also alleged that the presence of official proposals from Hess put Churchill or intelligence in such an awkward position that they simply ordered them to be deleted from the list of Hess's belongings compiled after his detention. The report of the local defense forces states definitively: “Captain Barry took with him the items seized from the prisoner, a list of which is included in the inventory. A copy of the list is attached to the report.” The continuity of page numbers in the original file proves that it was not forged. The case file was quite shabby from the very beginning, when compared with Foreign Office files. Most likely, the inventory was not attached to the case at all.

Those who claim that Hess's arrival in England was part of a complex plan worked out in Berlin are eager and consistent in their reasoning. Thus, it has recently been suggested that on April 20 Hitler sent Hess to Madrid to try to establish contact with the British government. This version, of course, is based on the well-known fact that the British ambassador in Madrid, Sir Samuel Hoare, was a notorious supporter of appeasement and would have welcomed such contacts. However, archival documents refute this version. The Foreign Office requested information from the British Embassy in Madrid regarding “reports from Vichy that Hess had flown to Madrid with a personal letter from Hitler to Franco.” Rumors concerned an agreement on the transit of German troops through Gibraltar. These rumors were refuted by a second telegram sent on April 25. Frank Roberts, the future British ambassador to Moscow, and at that time an employee of the European Department of the Foreign Office, said that “the alarm at the end of last week turned out to be, at least, premature.” However, the telegram was not about Hess's visit, as Padfield suggests, but about the threat to Gibraltar, which the British were preoccupied with at that moment. The nature of the information reported was contradictory. Hess's visit to Spain, had he been there, would have inevitably led to secret contacts with sources in British intelligence circles or even with the British ambassador, Sir Samuel Hoare. But the problem of troop transit would naturally imply aggressive actions against England. And Frank Roberts, in his information at the request of military intelligence, not only does not trust the rumors (as Padfield suggests), but, on the contrary, clearly states that “he, Roberts, cannot confirm the report of Hess’s meeting in Barcelona with the German ambassador. If Hess was here, then his arrival is kept in such strict secrecy that no rumors have even appeared about it.” He further notes that if there was something real behind these rumors, the Chorus would “definitely” report them.

Archival material, as will be shown later in this chapter, seems to prove that Hess flew to England without Hitler's permission and that he was not lured by British intelligence. Moreover, he did not bring any official proposals with him. After the British repeatedly interrogated Hess for a year and were able to observe his behavior around the clock, Cadogan made a very clear conclusion: “By now it is absolutely clear that Hess’s trick was his personal crazy enterprise and the German authorities knew nothing about it in advance.” . Cadogan’s words can be trusted: after all, it was he who was entrusted with coordinating contacts with Hess of all government bodies, including security services. Hess himself admitted in a letter to Haushofer: “Undoubtedly, I failed. But it cannot be denied that I flew the plane myself (emphasis added by the author). I have nothing to reproach myself for in this regard. In any case, I was at the helm."

Another source comes from information that would seem to support the version that Hitler knew everything about Hess's departure - this is an interview that a newspaper obtained after the end of the war with Hess's wife. But her testimony is based on the fact that during their last meeting in Berlin on May 4, Hess and Hitler “spoke in a raised voice, but there was no quarrel between them.” Despite fragmentary evidence, Hess's extensive correspondence with his family during the war does not support the idea that Hitler knew of his plans. In a long letter to his mother, Hess talks about the careful preparation for the flight, especially about how useful were “the many evenings that” “he secretly (emphasis added by the author) spent at his desk with a slide rule, among maps and tables.”

In another letter, Hess stated the reasons why he did not fly from Berlin: Hitler had forbidden him to fly without seeking prior permission. “With the same success,” he explained to her, “I could ask to be arrested immediately. But, fortunately, nothing came of the plans to fly out of Berlin. I would not be able to do anything secretly, and sooner or later everything would become known to the Fuhrer. My plan would have been thwarted, and I would have only had to reproach myself for my negligence.” Even if, suddenly, in spite of everything, it turned out that Hess’s mission was carried out with the support of official circles in Germany, it is absolutely clear that the British government knew nothing about it. Moreover, it did not accept Hess as an official emissary of Hitler.

Hess's true inspiration was almost certainly Haushofer. The extent of his direct and immediate involvement is still not entirely clear, but the letter he was forced to write in Berchtesgaden on the day of Hess's disappearance is proof of his influence over Hess and those persons with whom Hess was to contact in England. Lord Douglas-Hamilton's recent book clearly reveals the connecting thread running to Hess from Haushofer. Already during his first meeting with Duke Hamilton, Hess linked his mission with the Haushofers. Hess later repeated this information in casual conversations he had with his doctor. In his first letter to his wife from prison, Hess asked her to “write to General (Haushofer)—whose dreams I often think about.” A letter addressed to Haushofer reveals the influence he had on Hess: “You said that you thought that I was not a madman, but a “sometimes brave” person. You can believe me - I have not for a moment regretted either my madness or my courage. Someday the last part of your dream, which was so dangerous for my plan, will come true, and I will appear before you again.” Equally eloquent was his statement that his decision had matured in December 1940 and that he had previously tried several times unsuccessfully to fly to England. It is likely that this idea arose from him after Hitler decided to attack Russia (if only Hess knew about it), and after the failure of the negotiations in Berlin in November 1940, in which he took part. Or he might have been horrified by Ribbentrop's idea of ​​organizing a Continental Bloc, which included the participation of the Soviet Union in the division of the British Empire.

After the interrogation of Hess by Hamilton in London, interest in this case arose. Cadogan, under whose personal supervision the entire investigation would be transferred and under whose subordination "C" and other intelligence services were, learned about it on May 11th. Hess was still incognito: “A German pilot, having landed near Glasgow, asked for a meeting with the Duke of Hamilton. Their conversation made such an impression on the latter that he is flying to London and wants to see me this evening at No. 10 Downing Street... After another half hour, the Prime Minister sent people to meet His Lordship at the airfield and take him straight to Chequere.” .

Leaving the Germans guessing

Hamilton arrived in London on the evening of May 11 on his plane. Already at night he was brought to the Prime Minister's country estate in Ditchley. Churchill, in the company of several close friends, watched an American comedy film. Hamilton, without even taking off his flight jacket, immediately took Churchill aside and told him who the “pilot” really was. All available information about this moment suggests that this was complete news for Churchill. He treated Hamilton's words "as if he were overworked due to wartime difficulties or suffering from hallucinations." Then, in his characteristic manner, Churchill entered the house with Hamilton and took him to see a movie, declaring: “Well, Hess or no Hess, I intend to see the Marx Brothers.” Nevertheless, after watching the comedy film, he spent the whole night, almost three hours, questioning Hamilton, pondering the question of what consequences Hess’s arrival in England might lead to. In general, the appearance of Hess in England with proposals for peace became at this moment a factor further complicating the already confused situation. At such a crucial moment, it became extremely important to extract the greatest propaganda effect from Hess’s mission and at the same time not make any mistakes.

It should be emphasized that Churchill never even thought about conducting any negotiations with Hess. From the outset he insisted that Hess, "like other Nazi leaders, is a potential war criminal - both he and his accomplices may well be outlawed at the end of the war." Churchill was also determined to prevent political figures from making pilgrimages to Hess who might harbor hopes of a speedy conclusion of peace. He therefore ordered that Hess “be placed in the strictest isolation in a suitable house not very far from London; “C” - equip the house with the necessary equipment; make every effort to study his mentality and obtain from him all useful information.” A few days after Hess’s arrival, Churchill gave the order to transfer “my prisoner,” as he now called Hess, to London. He demanded that “before any visits by visitors to him, i.e. Churchill was definitely informed,” a step apparently intended to prevent any visits from appeasers. Churchill ordered that Hess be kept in strict isolation, and those charged with supervising him should refrain from any conversations. The public, Churchill warned, “will not tolerate any concession to this notorious war criminal except for the purpose of obtaining information.” In a telegram to Roosevelt, Churchill promised not to consider Hess's proposals. He described them as follows: “We were once again invited to betray all our friends, with the promise that they would leave us part of our skin for a while.”

Churchill informed Eden about Hess on the morning of May 12. To be on the safe side, Eden sent Ivon Kirkpatrick, an expert on Germany from the Foreign Office, who was meeting in Hess in Berlin, to Scotland on a plane with Hamilton. Kirkpatrick had to confirm Hess's identity. Nothing has yet been reported to the press about the ongoing drama. Kirkpatrick not only identified Hess, but also gained his confidence. Most likely, at some point Hess had the impression that his proposal was being taken seriously. Still not realizing that he was making the wrong move, Hess described in detail the reasons that forced him to fly to England. Kirkpatrick skillfully translated his interlocutor's speech into topics of interest to the British government. Hess insisted that “Hitler did not know about his flight to England. He came to convince the responsible people that since England could not win the war, the wisest thing now would be to make peace. However, he emphasized that he had known Hitler for a long time and their views were identical.” Hess then detailed his plan. In accordance with it, England “would give Germany freedom of action in Europe, and Germany would give England complete freedom of action in the Empire...”.

Less successful were Kirkpatrick's attempts to find out Hess's position on the issue of Russia. He set the trap by noting that Hitler would not have had freedom of action with regard to Russia if it were on the Asian continent. Hess avoided the subject by making a cryptic and evasive remark. It was evidence of either his complete loyalty to Hitler, if he wanted to hide information about the Barbarossa plan, or, more likely, his ignorance of this plan. Here are Hess’s words: “Germany has certain demands on Russia that must be satisfied, either through negotiations or as a result of war.” He considered it appropriate, however, to add that “the rumors now spreading that Hitler is considering an attack on Russia in the near future are unfounded.” It is Hitler's aim to make the most of Russia while it can be of use to him, and he will choose the moment to make his demands. The reader should remember, in connection with the various conspiracy theories circulating, that this is the most detailed discussion about Russia that Hess ever made. As for Hitler's true plans, this remark hid more than it revealed. Moreover, it reinforced the erroneous analysis of the situation made by British military intelligence. She believed that Germany was not inclined towards war, but towards negotiations. Most likely, Hess was unaware of the details of the Barbarossa plan. When he heard about the German attack on the USSR, he said with amazement: “So, they did attack after all.”

All the evidence from Hitler's headquarters vividly describes the amazement and fury with which the news of Hess's disappearance was greeted. Hitler's translator Schmidt testifies that the reaction was “as if a bomb had exploded at the Berghof.” Generals Keitel and Halder, as well as Albert Speer, describe the reaction in similar terms. Another characteristic indicator is the rough treatment of Hess's adjutants Pinch and Leitgen by the Gestapo. Arrests were made among Augsburg airport workers. When it was later established that Hess was associated with astrologers and anthroposophists, mass arrests were also carried out among them, and their organizations were closed. Albrecht Haushofer, who mainly influenced Hess, was urgently taken to the castle and forced to write a detailed report on his connection with Hess. The initial British hope of exploiting the confusion that would arise in Germany if they themselves remained silent did not materialize. To get ahead of the British, the Germans gave the first radio message at 8 pm on May 12th. They announced that Hess, “apparently in a fit of madness,” had taken off on an airplane and that nothing was known about him. This message was vague, since the Germans had no information about Hess's fate. The German Air Force, by the way, assured Hitler that Hess had almost no chance of reaching England. But the British responded immediately, and the Germans responded instantly, issuing a detailed communique on May 13th. It was followed by the publication of the contents of a letter that Hess had left for Hitler, demonstrating his devotion to the Fuhrer. The publication of truthful information was the Germans' best hope of thwarting the success of a possible British propaganda campaign on the topic that Hess's flight indicated growing divisions in the German leadership.

Churchill was determined to make the most of the Hess episode. To do this, he was prepared to make a dramatic statement in parliament, deflecting criticism and increasing optimism. The people, he explained, “will be amused and encouraged by this extraordinary incident; “surely the action of the Deputy Fuhrer, who at such a moment left Germany and his leader, will lead to deep confusion and stupor of all the armed forces of Germany, the Nazi party and the German people.” Therefore, Churchill dictated a six-page statement, which he edited most carefully. If he had given this speech, many of the negative long-term consequences of this case would have been avoided. But the application remained on paper. There's not much point in going over it here. The text, however, shows how far Churchill was willing to go to reveal the truth about Hess and the true nature of his proposals. Among them was Hess's proposal to divide spheres of influence. There was also the understanding, which created significant discomfort, that Hess was brought to England by the idea that possessed him “that in Great Britain there was a strong movement for peace, a movement of defeatists with whom he could negotiate.” Churchill further intended to dispel the speculation that persisted until the opening of the archives in 1992. In his statement, he wrote that Hess considered himself the executor of a mission that he had entrusted to himself - “to save the British nation from destruction.” Moreover, Churchill's statement would demonstrate the British government's determination to reject negotiations with Hess, who was described as "the accomplice and accomplice of Herr Hitler in all the murders, treacheries and cruelties by which the Nazi regime has taken over Germany, as it now seeks to take over Europe." Hess's status would be defined as "a war criminal whose final fate, like other leaders of the Nazi movement, will be determined by the decision of the Allied Nations after the Victory." It should be emphasized here that Churchill's main consideration was the impact of these denunciations on Germany and on the United States. At the same time, the question of Russia's reaction was completely ignored. It was also typical of Churchill that the only detail he “forgot” to disclose was Hess’s condition that the Churchill government resign before negotiations began.

Neither the statement issued by 10 Downing Street nor the short radio message reassured the public. The public was left impatiently waiting for more information. It was promised that "as soon as (Hess) recovers from his wound, his application will be carefully examined." Churchill further fired the public's imagination by admitting that until now it had been impossible to "make sense of Hess's trick." He expected Parliament to understand that "even when (an explanation) follows, it would not be in the public interest for me to immediately reveal the nature of the matter." The negative consequences of silence were foreseen by Churchill's closest intelligence adviser, Major Desmond Morton: “In my opinion, it would be very useful if the official statement and propaganda material were published immediately. The longer we wait, the more disgusting this thing becomes." However, Cadogan had already won Eden over to his side. Cadogan believed that the best thing to do would be to keep the Germans guessing and extract more information from Hess "by pretending that we are negotiating with him and not making him a hero."

The brevity and restraint of the statement stoked curiosity and sparked conspiracy theories. The public, left in the dark about the nature of Hess's statement, did not understand either the nature of his mission or the government's reaction to it. By the way, Duff Cooper advised Churchill in advance that since “interest in the Rudolf Hess case has become so significant, he considers it extremely important that information about this case be published, as far as possible, in the form of separate issues.”

The thirst for news was incredible. Roosevelt begged Churchill to provide him with information, since “from here I can assure you that Hess’s flight has captured the imagination of Americans and interest in it must be maintained longer - be it days or even weeks.” Halifax suggested the same in his messages from Washington. Roosevelt's remarks accurately captured the growing tensions in Moscow. On May 14, Churchill reiterated his intention to speak in Parliament. The Foreign Office, however, was adamant. There was a prevailing sense of alarm caused by the similarity between Hess's revelations to Kirkpatrick and Germany's "relatively accurate explanation of the reasons" that allegedly caused Hess's flight to England. The argument was put forward that the supposed statement would “confirm the German radio report.” Then, probably, the German people will “heathe a sigh of relief” and say: “So, this is the reason why our dear Rudolf left us. This is stupid of him; but he is not a traitor and we do not need to be afraid that he will betray our secrets.” Churchill's statement further contradicted the Foreign Office's intention to launch a disinformation campaign that would focus on an imagined split in the ranks of the top Nazi leadership. Therefore, Eden, at a meeting with Churchill in the evening, managed to dissuade him from making a statement. It was decided to "report very little information and thus leave the Germans at a loss as to what Hess might be doing - and saying."

Eden retired convinced that he had dissuaded the Prime Minister from his intention. However, the Ministry of Information could not resist the temptation to make the most of the opportunity presented to it.

It continued to put pressure on Churchill to personally make a statement so that the greatest propaganda effect could be extracted from the Hess case. Shortly after midnight, Churchill called Duff Cooper to 10 Downing Street to help him bypass the barriers to making a statement. The two of them drafted a slightly weakened version of the original statement. Churchill ordered Eden to be woken up and read him the text of the statement over the phone. Eden's objections were vehement; he followed Cadogan's recommendation to keep the Germans guessing. He “crawled out of bed,” drew up another version of the statement and, also over the phone, dictated it to Churchill. Beaverbrook took Eden's side. However, Cooper did not give in either. As a result of all this, Churchill lost his resolve; In response to Eden, he muttered: “Okay, there will be no statement.” "The phone was hung up."

The next morning, at breakfast, Beaverbrook held a press briefing and - not for publication - revealed that Churchill had refrained from making a public statement because "at the moment he wants there to be as much speculation, rumor and discussion about Hess as possible." And although the draft telegram to Roosevelt recommended that “it is desirable that the press should not romanticize either him (Hess) or his adventures,” Churchill wrote by hand: “We think it would be best if the press worked unhindered on this for a while.” and will leave the Germans guessing.” Leading newspapers naturally began to fabricate details unknown to them, especially after Hess was transferred from Scotland to the Tower of London. Some saw this as a sign of an upcoming meeting with the Prime Minister. This new wave of rumors fit perfectly with the rumors and speculation that had been circulating since mid-April. As often happened to Churchill, he lost almost all interest in Hess after he was not allowed to have his own way. In addition, he was completely absorbed in the course of military operations in Crete and the grandiose naval battles, the culmination of which would be the death of the English battleship Hood and the German Bismarck. The only thing he did was to try to satisfy Roosevelt's curiosity by sending him an exact summary of all the conversations he had had with Hess up to that point. The diplomatic corps as a whole was inclined to reject the idea of ​​a separate peace. However, many remained convinced that Hess coordinated his mission with Hitler. This was largely the result of Bevin's regrettable speech, which they were inclined to regard as representing the official point of view, since no official statement was forthcoming.

Fictitious negotiations

Shortly after Hess's arrival, Kirkpatrick made the following proposal: “In view of the condition that Germany cannot negotiate with the present government, it might be possible to impress upon Hess the idea that there is a chance of eliminating the present administration. If we arrange a meeting for him with a member of the Conservative Party who might give him the impression that he is tempted by the idea of ​​getting rid of the present government, then perhaps Hess will open up.” This idea was seized upon when they saw that Hess fell into depression as soon as he realized the failure of his plan. He constantly expressed dismay at being “in the clutches of the Secret Service clique” and being treated like an ordinary prisoner of war. Cadogan's correspondence with Churchill proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Hess did not bring with him any plans from Hitler's Reich Chancellery. One of Simon's tasks was to "obtain information on the question of whether Hess had been sent to England by Hitler to carry out any plan for a peace offensive."

On May 26, Eden asked Simon to have a conversation with Hess. Simon had to admit to Hess that the British government knew about the conversation, but at the same time hint that he had strained relations with Churchill and Eden. The tactical tricks used did not involve real negotiations. The basis for the conversation was clearly defined by Simon, who insisted that it would be "part of intelligence" work, with the clear and limited purpose of giving Hess "an opportunity to talk freely about his 'mission' and to find out as he went on his way." whether he is going to convey any useful information about the enemy's strategy and intentions." Like Hamilton, Simon was extremely sensitive to new hints about his past connections with appeasers and therefore asked for assurances that “under no circumstances would this conversation be made known.”

Churchill, through his aide Major Desmond Morton, an intelligence specialist, conveyed to Simon a desire to know the reasons for Hess's apparent preoccupation with the international situation and why he was "so sincerely striving now to achieve a hastily arranged peace." It was also the Foreign Office's intention to get Hess talking, especially regarding Hitler's intentions towards Russia. However, Cadogan and “S” had little hope for this. Kirkpatrick, coaching Simon before his conversation with Hess, formulated the questions that he would pose to him. They were quite obviously drawn up under the influence of ideas dominant in the Foreign Office. Simon was advised to provoke Hess by asking him what was the point of making peace with England if Germany “was going to sign it with Russia and bring Russian Bolshevism to Europe. If Germany was only interested in Europe, she should abandon her designs against Russia, since Russia is an Asian power outside Germany's sphere of influence." The hope was that such a formulation of the question would make it possible to find out from Hess whether Germany really wanted to reach an agreement with Russia, or whether it was preparing for war.

Indeed, it was Lord Simon who had the best chance of obtaining information from Hess. Therefore, their conversation must be studied most carefully. Until Simon said his name, Hess was very suspicious. He demanded the presence of two German witnesses, as well as the Duke of Hamilton, who, he believed, “was not part of the political clique or the Secret Service gang that prevented him from meeting with people who truly strive for peace and with the king. He repeated again that he had come to England of his own free will, trusting in the king’s knighthood.” After some time, Hess was informed that Lord Simon, who, as Lord Chancellor, had a certain freedom of action, would negotiate with him. Hess was also reminded that he and Simon had met in Berlin when the latter, as Foreign Minister, visited Hitler. Hess was delighted. “It seemed like there was a different person in front of us... He recalled with pleasure the main participant in the negotiations.”

Hess spent the morning poorly. He refused lunch and complained that breakfast had a bad effect on him. He was refreshed with a glass of port wine and given glucose. Shortly after noon "C" brought Lord Simon to the Tower. He and Kirkpatrick were there under pseudonyms, respectively: Dr. Guthrie and Mackenzie. Their conversation with Hess, who adopted the secret name “Jonathan,” lasted three hours. Going to the meeting, Simon studied all the materials presented by Hess and understood them well. Major Sheppard, the intelligence officer under whose protection Hess was, reported to his superiors that when Hess arrived, he had no formal proposals. As soon as he learned of the upcoming "negotiations", he began to write extensive notes. He will then give them to Simon as his official proposal.

Already at the very beginning of the conversation, Simon became convinced that the statement that Hess had so diligently compiled for two days in anticipation of their meeting did not contain anything new. The handwritten sketches he handed to Simon in his clumsy handwriting were completely inconsistent with the suggestion made by Padfield and others that Hess had brought with him written proposals containing direct references to Operation Barbarossa and the future of Russia. Simon's categorical conclusion, which he reported to Churchill, was that “Hess arrived on his own initiative. He did not come either on Hitler's orders or with his permission; Hitler also did not know about his flight in advance. This is his own idea. If he achieved his goal and encouraged us to negotiate with the kind of peace that Hitler wants in mind, then he would justify himself and serve the Fuhrer well.” Simon, further, made the correct impression that Hess was not part of the circle of politicians who waged the war; he knew little about strategic plans, since his field of activity was the management of party affairs. Hess's plan was, at best, "a sincere attempt to copy Hitler's ideas expressed to him in numerous conversations." Having studied this conversation, MI6 specialists came to the conclusion that Hess was virtually unable to object to any arguments, especially of a political nature [

70 years ago, one of the strangest and most mysterious events of the Second World War took place: on May 10, 1941, at 5 pm, Hitler’s deputy in the party, Rudolf Hess, independently piloting a high-speed twin-engine Messerschmitt-110 aircraft, flew to Scotland and at 3 am on May 11 parachuted near the estate of a member of the royal family, the Duke of Hamilton. Hess introduced himself to the first farmer he met with a fictitious name and asked to be taken to the Duke. The Englishman first brought the parachutist to his home, gave him tea, but secretly called the special services. They found out the true name of the “mysterious German”. Instead of meeting with Hamilton, Hess ended up in a London prison, where he remained in an atmosphere of complete secrecy until the end of the war.

At the Nuremberg trials, Hess tried to reveal the secret of his visit to England on the eve of Germany’s attack on the USSR, but the English prosecutor presiding at the trial urgently interrupted the meeting. During the break, Hess's cell was visited by representatives of the British intelligence services, after which the defendant began to feign memory loss. By decision of the Nuremberg Tribunal, Hess was transferred to the international prison Spandau to serve a life sentence, where he died in 1987 under still unclear circumstances. The materials of the investigation into his “suicide” are classified until 2017, and the transcripts of the interrogations of Hitler’s envoy, carried out in the dungeons of the British intelligence services, will not be opened until at least 2040. What terrible secrets are they hiding?

Who is who?

To begin with, a few words about Hess and Hamilton.

The son of a lentil merchant, Rudolf Hess, at the age of twenty, refused to continue his father’s business and went to the First World War “to pursue an army career.” By a strange coincidence, he ended up in the same regiment with Adolf Hitler, but then they did not meet. After being wounded, Hess achieved an appointment to an aviation unit and managed to become a good pilot. After the war, he joined the NSDAP, and after the failure of the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, he ended up in the same prison cell with Hitler. This determined the future fate of Hess. In prison, under the dictation of the Fuhrer, he typed Mein Kampf on a typewriter, simultaneously performing the role of secretary and adviser. And when Hitler seized power in 1933, by a special decree Hess was given the right “to make decisions on behalf of Hitler on all issues relating to the leadership of the party.”

For a long time after coming to power, Hitler forbade Hess to fly - he was afraid of losing his friend (he was one of the few with whom the Fuhrer was on first terms) in a plane crash. But at the end of 1940 he unexpectedly allowed it. Moreover, he ordered a personal plane to be allocated. At the beginning of 1941, Hess received a real combat (though without weapons) Messerschmitt-110 fighter. Hess's plane was based in Augsburg. It was from this airfield that Hess took off at 17.45 on May 10, and about 10 hours later he left the plane with a parachute in the Glasgow area, in Scotland, not far from the estate of the Duke of Hamilton.

Sir Douglas, 14th Duke of Hamilton, was a RAF colonel who commanded No. 602 Squadron at Glasgow during the war. During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he met many prominent Nazis, including Hitler and Hess. It is known that Hamilton shared views on the need for friendship between the two German peoples - the Germans and the British. Apparently, Hess was heading to him for negotiations precisely as a figure uniting the pro-German lobby among the English aristocracy.

In any case, a top secret document from the NKVD, reported to Stalin, dates back to this period, which indicates the presence of such a lobby: “King Edward, through his emissaries, is negotiating with Hitler’s representatives on the creation of a new English government, more inclined to neutrality with Germany in its attack on THE USSR".

Moscow's reaction

A few days after the incident in Scotland, a small note appeared in the Pravda newspaper: “On May 10, 1941, a plane crashed in Scotland. The pilot was saved. He called himself Rudolf Hess." No political comments! Probably, the leadership of the USSR simply made it clear to the British Prime Minister Churchill that he knew about Hess’s mission, and the situation was under the control of our intelligence services. It can be assumed that this was the main reason why Hess’s mission was stopped from the very beginning. However, this may be only the visible side of the matter. According to many modern experts, Hess brought to negotiations with the British proposals related to the fact that Germany would guarantee the interests of Foggy Albion on many fundamental issues in exchange for England’s non-interference in Hitler’s impending war against the USSR.

Didn’t Churchill comply with this point for almost three years, not only not opening a second front himself, but also encouraging such behavior on the part of the United States?

Undoubtedly, the cunning Stalin understood the inner essence of his allies from the very beginning, therefore, in response to information about Hess’s mission, on May 15, 1941, he ordered an urgent transfer of 7 additional divisions to the western border.

Churchill's Confessions

In his memoirs, English Prime Minister Churchill could not ignore Hess’s arrival, although he got away with half-truths.

The Soviet government, the Englishman recalled, was very interested in clarifying the truth about Hess's mission. Even in 1944, during our personal meeting, Stalin asked: what was hidden behind Hess’s arrival? I answered: politics, the activation of the opposition of the English aristocracy, which was ready to do anything to direct Hitler’s aggression towards the USSR. But these negotiations were separatist.

Another confession by Churchill was also published. In the fall of 1945, in a conversation with the Minister of Aviation, he remarked: “The Russians are very suspicious of the story with Hess, I had a long conversation on this topic in Moscow with Marshal Stalin: he kept saying that Hess was invited by our secret service. It’s not in our interests for all this to come to light now.”

Even just in these words one can find traces of the reasons why Hess’s interrogation protocols are classified. There are other reasons.

Padfield version

To avoid accusations of bias, I will give the version of not Russian, but English researchers of this problem. For example, the Englishman P. Padfield found out that Hess’s mentor during his preparation for negotiations with the English side was Professor Haushofer, one of the ideologists of the Third Reich. He convinced Hitler's comrade-in-arms that Germany should conclude a peace agreement with England so that the entire German military machine could be thrown directly at the destruction of its most hated enemy - Russia. Haushoffer himself had connections in British ruling circles. It was at his prompting that Hess went straight to a date with the Duke of Hamilton. Another thing is also known: the British secret intelligence service itself was looking for approaches to Hess. Its main goal was “to achieve mutual understanding between Great Britain and Germany.” Against this background, it becomes obvious: the British really have something to hide. After all, apparently, negotiations were still underway, and at a fairly serious level. According to some reports, this was not the first time Hess flew to Britain; it was just that on May 10 he got lost over Scotland and, when his fuel ran out, he jumped out with a parachute. This happens all the time with airplanes, even today. Then the story got into the newspapers, it was impossible to hide the awl in the bag, and the negotiations had to be interrupted at the most interesting point. This version is supported, for example, by the wreckage of a Hessian Messer equipped with a special ventral fuel tank. Without such a twist, he would not have covered the distance between Augsburg and Glasgow - 1,300 kilometers. According to German flight instructions, the tank had to be jettisoned after the fuel it contained was completely exhausted, so as not to create additional air resistance. Hess did not do this - therefore, he was going to refuel in England, which was absolutely impossible to do without the knowledge of official London. He couldn’t, covered in black crosses, simply pull up to a gas station in the Scottish outback and say: “Full tank, please!”

Secret suicide

The further fate of Hess once again demonstrates that his mission still contains very important secrets of the intelligence services and diplomacy of England. There is no point in repeating the well-known fact that the British openly forced this witness to remain silent regarding his English voyage to the Nuremberg trials. He was categorically forbidden to speak on this topic even while sitting in Spandau. Hess’s suicide three months before his release to freedom in 1987, sanctioned by the international Themis (more like a staged act and, moreover, classified for some reason) only strengthens suspicions. Perhaps the already mentioned English historian P. Padfield is right when he writes that “Hess was strangled by the British, who feared his imminent release and the disclosure of the secrets that they so carefully guarded.”

We talked about this topic with the Soviet translator of the Spandau prison Margarita Nerucheva, who communicated with the prisoner Hess for many years. Here's her opinion:

— In 1987, Hess was not only very old (93 years old), but also very sick. I didn't see well. Almost no control over the fingers of both hands. I couldn’t even tie my shoelaces on my own. And according to the official version, he managed to build something like a gallows from an electrical cord. Just unbelieveble! In addition, the examination, along with neck injuries characteristic of strangulation, recorded bruises of the jaw, hematomas on the back of the head, multiple fractures of the ribs and sternum. Other facts also raise serious suspicions. Doctors arriving to resuscitate Hess had someone release their medical oxygen tank. The same thing happened with Hess’s personal massage therapist. The garden house where the “suicide” took place burned down a day later, along with the main evidence - an electrical cord.

Although the official investigation materials are strictly classified, a journalistic investigation was conducted. It names the British government as the main suspect in ordering the murder of Hess. The fact is that in connection with the visit of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany to Moscow, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev proposed to release Hess as a sign of goodwill. While he was in prison, he was forbidden to even mention his “peace mission.” But once released, Hess would undoubtedly start talking. And the worst thing for England is about negotiations with the British government. Behind them there must be something so unseemly hidden in the actions of the British authorities that they decided to silence Hess with the help of the special services forever.

Now only archival documents remain. Will they “live” to see their declassification?