I. The Hess Mess
II. Hess the Hermetic
III. Putschin' on the Ritz
IV. A Scottish Excursion
V. A Plea for Peace
VI. The Lore of the Lure
VII. Cooperating Coops
VIII. Capturing a Captain
IX. Conspiracies and Contingencies
X. Prisoner 007
XI. The Forgotten Flight
XII. Deputy Dopplegänger
XIII. To Make a Man
XIV: An Astonishing Assassination
XV: A Secret So Sinister
XVI: An Antarctic Epilogue
The Hess Mess
The choice of the word "mess" to describe this opera is much more than just a clever rhyme. What the Hess Mess represents is undoubtedly akin to the proverbial Rabbit Hole; the Chapel Perilous of Robert Anton Wilson.
The mess is riddled with so many twists, turns and contradictions that what ultimately emerges is the grandest conspiracy at not only the highest levels of the British government, but one that includes multiple superpowers and their various intelligence agencies.
In addition, something about the secret at the heart of the Hess Mess is so significant that it still warrants concealing from the public after more than three quarters of a century.
What could be so unacceptable to Britain, or the Allies, in the early 21st century? What does the Rudolf Hess story conceal that would in some way shock even today's cynical world?
The best place to start the Hess Mess is at the end, and a messy end for Hess it was.
On August 17, 1987, Rudolf Walter Richard Hess, once Adolf Hitler's Deputy Führer, was pronounced dead at a British Military Hospital in Berlin.
Having spent the last 41 years of his life in prison, the 93-year-old inmate had reportedly chosen to end his own life, hanging himself from a window latch with an electrical cord.
Only Hess among all the Nazis incarcerated after World War II was made to serve out his entire life sentence, and this includes other individuals of comparable rank, such as the Reich's Armaments Minister Albert Speer, the two chiefs of the German Kriegsmarine, Grand Admirals Erich Raeder and Karl Dönitz, Reichsbank President Walther Funk, diplomat Konstantin von Neurath, and Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach.
These were some of the men that kept the gigantic war machine of the Third Reich smoothly running and functioning as a military power right up to the end of the war, and in Dönitz's case, had nearly brought Britain to its knees in the unrelenting U-boat warfare.
Indeed, of all the "designated successors" to Hitler, it was Dönitz that finally succeeded Hitler as the legal head of state and government after the latter's problematical "suicide" in the Berlin Führerbunker.
All of these men were released, including Raeder and Funk, even though both had received life sentences. Although their premature release was for "health and humanitarian" reasons, no explanation was ever offered for why Hess remained for another 21 years, despite suffering considerable health problems, which began in earnest after a perforated ulcer in 1969.
To make matters even more strange, an entire prison facility, known as Spandau Prison, was maintained just to house Hess! Built in 1876, Spandau Prison had a single occupant from the years 1966-1987: Rudolf Hess.
It's an absurd picture: the Allied powers--France, Great Britain, the USA, and the Soviet Union--all contributed to the maintenance and upkeep of the entire Spandau Prison, changing their military guards at regular monthly intervals, just to guard this one man.
The guard rotation shifted on a monthly basis, with the French guards during the months of February, June, and October; British guards in January, May, and September; American guards in April, August, and December; and Soviet guards in March, July, and November.
Why did Hess have to be guarded at all costs and have his access to the outside world strictly, and even cruelly, controlled?
Why was it necessary to maintain an entire prison, and the military guards and medical staffs of four world powers, just to keep watch over one individual who, by the end of his life, was a frail old man, and a threat to no one?
What secrets did he know that the Four Powers wanted to prevent others from knowing? Did they themselves even know what those secrets were, or did they only suspect? Or were they trying to break him and learn those secrets?
Or did Hess not know anything at all?
Was the man they were guarding even really Rudolf Hess?
Was "Spandau Hess" someone else, a double, substituted at some point in the drama? Was that the real reason for the Spandau Ballet of elaborate changings of the guard and maintaining an entire prison for just one man, and refusing to let him out, lest the substitution--the real secret--be discovered?
An Astonishing Assassination
Does all of this honestly explain the massive amount of secrecy surrounding Hess that has lasted for the better part of a century?
With all of this in mind, "Rudolf Hess" becomes the most extraordinary figures of World War II and the Cold War.
What did these four powers know? Researchers into the Hess Mess have suggested that one of these "secrets" might have to do with the curious nature of Germany's "surrender" at the end of WWII, which notably did not include an official surrender of the Nazi Party.
In order to address the criticism for the seemingly absurd maintenance of an entire facility for one frail inmate, the Allies claimed they were continually pressing for the release of "Hess" on humanitarian grounds, and that it "was the Soviets who continually played the bad guy and vetoed any such notion, conveniently enabling the western Allies to blame Russia."
Perhaps very significantly, there were no Soviet officers on duty at the time of "Hess's" death.
Hess's male nurse, Abdallah Melaouhi, shared the good news of this potential release with his patient:
Melaouhi, who eventually would have firsthand experience with the extremely suspicious circumstances surrounding the eventual death of "Hess," would become convinced that his patient was murdered, and would later write a book on the event called Rudolf Hess: His Murder and Betrayal. Dr. Hugh Thomas, one of the most vocal proponents of the "double" hypothesis, shared Melaouhi's suspicions.
Taken in the context of the extremely turbulent political climate at the time, the incarceration and alleged murder of Prisoner Number Seven becomes astonishingly significant.
If the connection to the fall of Thatcher seems a stretch, it has been alleged that the personal secretary of Prime Minister, Ian Gow, "had told Hugh Thomas that in return for the latter's dropping of his allegations that Hess was murdered, the government would be prepared to admit that there was doubt about the identity of the prisoner."
Dr. Thomas refused to drop his allegations, and Mr. Gow was murdered himself by a car bomb soon after, supposedly from an attack by the IRA, though his murder remains unsolved to this day.
While here is not the place for an exhaustive overview of the death of Prisoner Number Seven, his nurse Melaouhi sums it up nicely: "The question was no longer whether or not Hess had been murdered, but rather who had committed the crime and why."
Melaouhi's account is essential, as his firsthand experience is extremely important in getting a clearer picture of "Hess's" final days:
After visiting his patient's body at the British Military Hospital, he observed British officials "cheerfully drinking champagne and apparently celebrating something." Upon his return to the scene later that day, "almost everything had been moved including all the traces of what had happened." Melaouhi also noticed "several strange men" milling about the area.
Within 48 hours of the death of Prisoner Number Seven, the facility began to be demolished to make room for a new shopping center. While this was ostensibly done to prevent Spandau from becoming a "Neo-Nazi" shrine (shades of the "death" of Osama bin Laden), one can't help but recall other incidents where the "evidence" was disposed of under curious circumstances, namely in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing and the attack on the World Trade Center complex on 9/11.
Prisoner Number Seven was not to leave Spandau alive.
Wolf Hess, the only child of the enigmatic Nazi, could never accept that the prisoner he had grown to love might not be his real father. However, he was extremely vocal about his suspicions of the medical treatments "Hess" was receiving.
Wolf noted that his father's death certificate "was signed only by British personnel" but that his father's death "occurred in the month of August, during the American guard rotation." After arriving on the scene with his lawyer, they "were neither allowed inside the prison complex nor were they allowed to view Wolf Hess's father, and no further information was forthcoming."
Eventually, after much confusion, they were given three separate accounts of "Hess's" death, with one version placing the death in Spandau and another in the British Military Hospital.
Wolf and his family had his own suspicions about the British Hospital, claiming that attempts had already been made on his "Hess's" life on two separate occasions. In one instance he refers to a "coup-like transfer" of the prisoner to the hospital, and that a well-timed "peculiar" letter that Wolf received that prompted a visit may have "forestalled a murder-by-medical-emergency."
Despite assurances that Hess would be returned to Spandau within 24 hours, Wolf was eventually told that "his father did not want to see him until the end of the month." Undeterred, Wolf and his lawyer traveled to Spandau to confront the authorities directly.
After being met with further resistance, they were denied their written application for a visit, but they were told that "he could go to the door of his father's hospital room with the four Allied governors, and look at his father from the door!" According to Wolf:
Although Wolf speculates that he had prevented his father's murder, it seems reasonable to surmise that he had interrupted a "very different procedure, one designed to reinforce prior imprinted patterns of behavior. Had Wolf interrupted a mind control procedure?"
After the death of Prisoner Number Seven, Wolf and his lawyer procured testimony from a South African lawyer "with contacts to Western secret services" which was presented to a judge in the form of an affidavit, reading:
The implications of this affidavit, if true, are staggering: Hess was the target of a political assassination, and was not simply the victim of an ordinary murder.
Wolf also astutely notes that the issue of German reunification may be an important aspect of the Hess Mess, as his "father" was the last of the major Nazis alive, and the last to have possessed the title Reichminister. In Wolf's own words:
Although the reunification of Germany was indeed proposed at the time, "nowhere does one encounter with respect to those proposals any mention of Rudolf Hess in their connection," so the possibility that "Hess" was involved to the point of refusing is potentially extremely significant.
A Secret So Sinister
A potentially vital aspect of the Hess Mess discussed by Wolf Hess and others is the "Jewish Question," which may be one of the most significant facets of this entire opera. It's worth mentioning that the government of Israel "made numerous requests to Great Britain to be able to interview 'Spandau Hess' about his peace proposals. These requests were always refused."
Wolf alleges that during the Camp David accord meetings in 1978, Israeli Prime Minster Menachem Begin privately warned Carter that "Hess" must not leave Spandau alive. Wolf offers the following speculation:
While Wolf is clearly defensive of his father in this respect, and it's unfair to blame Great Britain for Germany's mistakes, what is clear is that if Hess was concerned about the direction Germany was going with respect to the Jewish Question, and Churchill's government refused to negotiate on this issue, that could be interpreted as enabling the future deaths of millions of people.
Churchill's connection to and defense of the Zionist movement in this regard is perhaps very relevant:
Despite Churchill's claim of "appeasing" the Arabs, Parliament nonetheless approved the plan.
The Balfour Declaration, perhaps one of the shortest and most explosive political documents in history, was a pledge given by the British Government to Lord Rothschild, the leader of the Jewish community in Britain, announcing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine.
This commission was a British government study on Palestine that recommended dividing the region into two states for Jews and Arabs.
As a result of his visit, an arrangement was made between the SS and the Zionists, and the SS actually began providing funds to the Zionist guerilla-terrorist organization Haganah in return for "intelligence on British activities in Palestine."
At this point it's worth mentioning the claims of Colonal Pilcher, who has been already mentioned as being the potential person who signed the cover letter for Hess granting Royal protection. According to Pilcher, Hess came over with goal of toppling Hitler:
Why were such desperate measures being considering by the coup plotters in both Germany and Britain?
After Hess's fateful flight, the Reich's policy towards Jewish emigration changed, leading some to suggest that the events were related:
And here an uncomfortable question must be asked: If the details of Hess's peace plan were known, it implies that someone on the British side wanted the genocide to proceed. It's not hard to see why these proposals had to be buried.
At this point, the implications of this aspect of the Hess Mess become all the more disturbing.
Much has been written about the alleged "significance" of the number 6 million with respect to the Holocaust. It's often noted that an unusual amount of newspaper articles and other writings from the pre-WWII era happen to mention the imminent plight or destruction of "6 million" Jews.
For example, the Zionist leader Mad Nordau, stated the following in 1911:
Although some translations have Nordau saying "six million creatures," the number is glaringly the same. Taking Nordau's claims at face value leads to the following set of assertions:
A mass human sacrifice of Jews was being pre-planned.
The European powers knew about and were to some extent involved in the plan.
Nordau implies that the Zionist leaders also somehow knew about the plan, and this implies their own potential involvement in it at some level, if only that of knowing about it.
This in turn implies some international network of vast proportions, capable of pulling all this off.
An Antarctic Epilogue
Antarctica is a final consideration in the Hess Mess that must be mentioned, as its importance may ultimately prove far more significant than it at first may seem. For those immersed in the realm of conspiracy theory, its inclusion should come as no surprise.
Hess Mess researchers have noted the connections between individuals involved in the Nazi's Antarctic expedition and the prewar "peace ambassadors" sent to negotiate with London in 1939. In any peace negotiation with Britain, "Antarctica would inevitably be included."
Although the German expedition was ostensibly for "scientific research" purposes (shades of the even more bizarre Operation Highjump!), it's entirely possible that Germany was in actuality staking a claim in Antarctica, a theory supported by the fact that the Norwegian government, which believed that it had claim to that region, immediately declared that the "intention of the German Antarctic Expedition" was illegal. In response, the German government declared:
Therefore, some have suggested that Antarctica itself was a component of the Hess peace plan, as Hess himself certainly was privy to whatever may have been accomplished or "discovered" in Antarctica. Hess's connection with the Thule Society is worth mentioning in this context as well, and with our return to the occult we've at last come full circle.
Here's a tldr of this messiest of messes and quagmiriest of quagmires:
The mysterious flight of Rudolf Hess was both a peace mission and an international coup-d'etat. Hitler had knowledge of the flight, but this knowledge was limited because the ultimate goal was for Hitler to be deposed and replaced by Hess. High level Nazis were involved in the planning of this coup. A "peace party" in Britain had similar goals to replace the Churchill government, and involved members of the Royal family.
Due to possible miscalculations during the flight, Hess bailed out and was unable to meet up with his reception committee, which allegedly included the Dukes of Hamilton and Kent, members of the Red Cross, and personnel from a nearby Royal Air Force Base.
Initially, Hess was apprehended by those not involved in the scheme, but eventually the "pro-peace faction" was able to regain control.
Shortly after his capture, Hess was drugged and measured for a duplicate Luftwaffe captain's uniform. This was the first in a series of suspicious events that have led many to speculate that a double of the Deputy may have been prepared almost immediately.
At some point, the real Hess either escaped or was transferred to a new location in Scotland. Meanwhile, the "double" remained at Maindiff and underwent further drugging and other tests to implant false memories.
The real Hess was then killed in an air crash while on a secret mission with the Duke of Kent, a mission that was potentially meant to return Hess to Germany and initiate the next step in the coup.
The double took the real Hess's place at Nuremberg and exhibited erratic behavior. Allen Dulles suspected that "Hess" was a double and brought in MK-Ultra-linked Dr. Ewen Cameron to examine the prisoner.
Hess was forced to spend the rest of his life in captivity, and for many years an entire facility was dedicated to housing the prisoner, despite all of the other Nazis being released. In the 1970's, a British doctor examined Hess and was stunned to find no scarring from the devastating war wounds he had allegedly suffered as a youth. As a result, significant doubts continue to be raised as to the identity of Prisoner Number Seven.
Hess, as the last surviving "Reich Minister," never signed any official document outlawing the Nazi Party, which he had at least some status to do as Hitler's Deputy to the Party. A double, of course, would have no legitimate authority to do so. Adding to the legal complications, "Spandau Hess" may have also refused an offer from Stalin for German reunification.
The real Hess appears to have been negotiating for a Jewish-Zionist homeland in Palestine. The fact that the plan fell through suggests that someone wanted the genocide to proceed.
Though the researchers of the Mess Hess differ on the details, one inescapable conclusion emerges: The murder of "Rudolf Hess" was a political assassination and an international conspiracy of the highest order.
Rudolf Hess dances his Spandau ballet all alone.
Sources
Double Standards: The Rudolf Hess Cover-Up - Lynn Picknett, Clive Prince and Stephen Prior
Hess and the Penguins: The Holocaust, Antarctica and the Strange Case of Rudolf Hess - Joseph Farrell
Night Flight to Dungavel: Rudolf Hess, Winston Churchill, and the Real Turning Point of WWII - Peter Padfield
Rudolf Hess: His Betrayal and Murder - Abdallah Melaouhi
The Murder of Rudolf Hess - Hugh Thomas
Who Murdered My Father, Rudolf Hess? My Father's Mysterious Death in Spandau - Wolf Hess