RUDOLF HESS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 May 1941, Page 6

RUDOLF HESS

INCIDENTS IN EARLY NAZI DAYS T A SINISTER AFFAIR. FLIGHT AND IMPRISONMENT. 1 ■ A certain amount of light is thrown , on the .rather enigmatic personality . and career of Rudolf Hess by Oswald Dutch in his book. “Hitler’s Twelve . Apostles,” published just after the outbreak of the war. “Rudolf Hess may superficially appear colourless.” writes Mr Dutch, “but from a phychological point of view he is an interesting study. Hess is the type of primitively strong, large-fram-ed, brawling officer, who is very courageous and always ready for a fight when it is a question of defending his adopted ‘Fuehrer personality.’ He is educated, has considerably more booklearning than Hitler, but is unable to think creatively or accomplish anything constructive. “Hess served Hitler from the beginning with an almost doglike devotion. At first ho was really only a bodyguard who. in Saalschlachten (stormy meetings) leaped forward ■ to I defend his master. In one of these | encounters Hess had a •beermug broki'cn over his head and still bears the mark —a scar whore no hair will grow. He is a ruffian, impetuous and violent, but only in execution of orders or in defence of (he Fuehrer. Ho is only base when ordered to be so by Hitler, for in himself Hess is one of the few inborn decent personalities of the party, merely induced to infamous actions by bad company. His own disposition would hardly incline him that way. He is one of the few National Socialist leaders who come of good family and who had a good upbringing.

"It was a curious circumstance which caused Hess to share imprisonment with Hitler at Landsberg. Hess was not one of the contestants in the bloody battle before the Fcldherrnhalle at Munich on November 9, 1923. He had a commission to fulfil, which showed that even this quiet and well-brought-up young man was capable of cruelties that one would not have credited him with in the normal way. "On the night of November 8. 1923, Hess arrested, in the Buergerbrau, von Knilling. the Bavarian Premier, and Dr Schweyer,* the Minister for Home Affairs. While Hitler, with Ludendorff and Scheubner-Richter, marched out with his armed S.A.. Rudolf Hess, with a car in which were two prisoners, the Bavarian Ministers Schweyer and Wutzelhofer, guarded by a bunch of storm-troopers armed to the teeth, sped to the mountains.

"He eventually ordered lhe car to stop at a deserted spot, and his two prisoners were dragged cut. They were set on their feet, their eyes were bandaged. and Hess in a loud voice gave the order to his mercenaries to load and take aim. The two men must have thought that their last hour had come. Hess, however, did not give the order to fire. The prisoners were hauled back to the car and the journey went on.

A few miles further on the same game was repeated, but the rifles were fired —not. however, at the two men. ihe shots were aimed just to miss them and so to protract their agonies. Ihe two Ministers were unharmed and the journey still went on. At the next cross-roads Hess learnt that the putsch in Munich iiad collapsed, so deserting the car. he took flight into the mountains and left his prisoners to the ruffianly storm-troopers. After Sllffering some rough treatment and agonies of fear, they were eventually brought back to Munich, for the storm-troopers did not dare to do them real harm after the frustration of the putsch.

"Hess was called to account. For the kidnapping itself and the accompanying aggravating circumstances by which the victims had boon caused so much mental anguish, lie was sentenced to seevral months’ close imprisonment at Landsberg." Hess has not escaped the charge of enriching himself through politics After an investigation of the alleged foreign fortunes of the Nazi leaders, the American journalist. Mr H. R Knickerbocker, asserted early in ’ the war that Hess had £BOO,OOO deposited m neutral countries.