Rudolf Hess

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Rudolf Hess

(April 26, 1894 - August 17, 1987)

"You take an oath to a man whom you know follows the laws of providence, which he obeys independently of the influence of earthly powers, who leads the German people rightly, and who will guide Germany's fate. Through your oath you bind yourselves to a man who--that is our faith--was sent to us by higher powers. Do not seek Adolf Hitler with your mind. You will find him through the strength of your hearts!" -in his speech, "The Oath to Adolf Hitler", 1934

"I was permitted to work for many years of my life under the greatest son whom my people has brought forth in its thousand year history. Even if I could, I would not want to erase this period of time from my existence. I am happy to know that I have done my duty, to my people, my duty as a German, as a National Socialist, as a loyal follower of my Fuehrer. I do not regret anything.

If I were to begin all over again, I would act just as I have acted, even if I knew that in the end I should meet a fiery death at the stake. No matter what human beings may do, I shall some day stand before the judgment seat of the Eternal. I shall answer to Him, and I know He will judge me innocent." Last statement by Rudolf Heß in the International Military Tribunal in Nüremberg, on the 31st of August, 1946.

My coming to England in this way is, as I realize, so unusual that nobody will easily understand it. I was confronted by a very hard decision. I do not think I could have arrived at my final choice unless I had continually kept before my eyes the vision of an endless line of children's coffins with weeping mothers behind them, both English and German, and another line of coffins of mothers with mourning children.

'Why don't they release me? Why must I suffer so? I alone tried to bring about peace in the world and for this I must stay here the longest. It is not right. It is not just! All I want is to go home and die in peace and be buried in the garden.' -Rudolf Hess in Spandau Prison

'I hear the music of youth on the warden's radio. Somehow I cannot reconcile this with good music. However it is one form of protest. The youth of today are protesting for many reasons and they want to be heard. One way of being heard is through their music. I do enjoy the Beatles however; their music has a definite beat and in many ways their music is good music.'

'people don't forget, do they?'

'I have been reading about the problems of youth. You know, with all the criticism that was levelled at von Schirach and his Hitler Jugend, it is forgotten that he did a fantastic thing with Germany's young. He kept them busy, he kept them out of trouble. In those years we did not have to concern ourselves with the worry of youths taking drugs, getting involved in crime, and sexual permissiveness. We did not have burning of national flags and draft cards. We had a healthy youth with healthy minds, all pulling together to build a nation. That is what we need today. We need to get them back on the right track.'

When his warden replied with: But surely, you were doing all this for a different purpose. You were building a super-race for war, for conquests. Today youth is rebelling because we made a mess of the world.

Hess retorted: 'Maybe, but they won't make a better world with drugs.'

All quotes may be found in the book 'Prisoner #7: Rudolph Hess' , ISBN 670-57831-2