3. What was Rudolf Hess really up to when he flew to England in 1941?
Few people were closer to Adolf Hitler than Rudolf Hess, the deputy Fuhrer to whom Hitler dictated large portions of his political diatribe Mein Kampf. In 1939, Hitler designated Hess as second in line in the succession of the Nazi hierarchy, behind only Herman Goering. Hess was an aviator, which in the pre-war days of the late 1930s led to personal relationships with fellow flying enthusiasts, including British nobleman Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, the Duke of Hamilton, a member of the expedition which was the first to fly over Mount Everest. Hamilton attended the 1936 Olympic games, inspected Luftwaffe facilities at the invitation of Goering, and attended dinners where he met with Joachim Ribbentrop and which were attended by Hitler, though he later denied meeting with Hess. Nonetheless, in the spring of 1941, Hess wrote to Hamilton requesting a meeting between the two. British Intelligence intercepted the letter.
Shortly after mailing the letter Hess flew to England, bailed out over Scotland, and was promptly arrested and taken into the custody of British Intelligence. He remained a prisoner for the rest of his long life. Speculation was that Hess intended to meet with Hamilton to discuss a possible armistice between Germany and the British Empire, though he was not directed by the German government to do so, and thus bore no authority. Hitler responded by ordering that Hess be shot should he be returned to Germany. Churchill’s role in both silencing Hess and explaining his mission has been the source of speculation ever since. By May 1941 the entry of the United States into the European war was understood to be but a matter of time, and Churchill recognized that a German war with the Soviets coupled with the United States allying with Great Britain meant the Empire would prevail, his primary war aim. Hess could not have arranged peace, and whether that was his true intention or not remains hidden in the mists of speculation and mystery.