I explained to the prisoner (as I was authorized to do) that I was a personal emissary of the Prime Minister, Mr Winston Churchill. I showed him the letter of accreditation supplied by the P.M.’s office. He read it closely.
For a few minutes afterwards he treated me with noticeable deference and courtesy. Then, without explanation, he suddenly refused to speak to me. It lasted for the rest of the first day. When our conversation resumed, the following morning, he was more guarded in his responses and seemed suspicious of me. (Transcripts in German and English of all conversations are included in the full version of this report.)
Q Did the prisoner ‘Jonathan’ bring any messages with him to Britain?
The prisoner carries a sheaf of handwritten papers, which he consults from time to time. On two occasions I was allowed to see short extracts, but the pages were handwritten illegibly. When reading from these papers, or speaking extempore while referring to them, Hess invariably spoke in German. The subject was a long-winded history and justification of Nazi ideals, which I found tedious and sometimes offensive.
When the prisoner spoke in English, he was less wearisome but often more ambiguous.
Q When the prisoner ‘Jonathan’ flew to Britain, was he acting on his own or was he on a mission authorized by Adolf Hitler?
Hess was never clear on this subject. He sometimes said that the Führer had ordered him to negotiate a separate peace. (He used the German verb befehlen, ‘command’.) At other times he referred to it as ‘my’ proposal or ‘our’ proposal.
To try to clarify the matter I asked the prisoner if the proposal was being made by him personally or if it came with Hitler’s backing and therefore could be treated as an official approach from the German state. The prisoner replied in German that in wartime the two were the same. He then said that he was acting on his own initiative on behalf of the German government and that a separate peace with Britain was the personal wish of Chancellor Hitler. It had his full backing and authority.
I felt this did not clarify the situation in any way.
On another occasion, the prisoner said that Hitler had made a number of public pronouncements about his wish for peace with Britain. He drew my attention to several of Hitler’s speeches, in particular the one to the Reichstag on July 19, 1940. In the speech Hitler pleaded for common sense to prevail in both countries.
Q What are the details of the peace proposal from Germany?
After much discussion with the prisoner it appears that the offer of peace is based on the following five principles:
1. The United Kingdom is to concede unconditionally that the war against Germany is or will be lost.
2. After the UK has made that concession, Germany will guarantee the independence of Britain and her right to maintain her present colonies.
3. The UK undertakes not to interfere in the internal or external affairs of any European country. In particular, Germany is to be allowed a free hand in Eastern Europe.
4. The UK and Germany are to enter into an alliance for a minimum of twenty-five years.
5. So long as war continues between Germany and other states, the UK will maintain an attitude of benevolent neutrality towards Germany.
Q What was your response to these proposals?
None. I said merely that I would pass on the proposals to the Prime Minister’s office.
Q Did you form any views as to the prisoner’s sanity or otherwise? I have no medical or legal training so I can only offer a general or informal impression.
In the first place, there is no question but that the prisoner acts in a peculiar way. His behaviour is often puerile, especially at mealtimes. Like a child, he plays with his food, refuses in a bad-tempered way to eat, deliberately spills food and drinks. It could mean anything: that he has a puerile personality, or that his hold on sanity is slipping, or that he is acting in a way that he hopes we will think means that he is losing his sanity.
He is a persistent complainer. He says that people open and close car doors outside the house at night. He says that motorcycles are revved up outside his window to keep him awake. He even complained that for several nights running he was woken by gunfire. I might add that I slept in the same house as Hess for three nights and, although there were many comings and goings, I considered noise levels normal. The house is close to a large army base where there is a range. I came to the conclusion that his complaints were made as a part of the larger picture concerning his dislike of being held prisoner.
He is convinced that his food is being poisoned. During the meals I shared with him he elaborately examined and sniffed the food before eating it. At one meal he demanded that I exchange plates with him before we started eating. (I refused.) He claims that the people holding him prisoner are starving him, but while I was there he was given substantial portions - somewhat bigger, I might point out, than most serving RAF officers are currently being offered - which he ate with speed and relish. He told me several times that he was a vegetarian, yet he ate meat of some kind at every meal, without complaining about it. (According to the Foreign Office file, Rudolf Hess has been a vegetarian for many years.)
From time to time he breaks off a conversation to indulge in yoga-like exercises (such as lying on the floor or folding his legs) but the clumsiness of his movements makes it appear that he has not been practising it for long. (According to Foreign Office intelligence, Rudolf Hess began practising yoga while he was still at school.)
The prisoner claims to be losing his memory and makes unspecified accusations that his captors are drugging or influencing him in some way. When questioned on potentially sensitive matters, the prisoner frequently claims that he cannot remember, while at other times his memory is exact and detailed.
Q What are your general observations about the conditions in which the prisoner is being kept?
The regime at Camp ‘Z’ is efficient, thorough, clean and restrictive. The prisoner is treated humanely and has access to writing materials and German-language books. He is allowed a copy of The Times each day. He is addressed with firmness but courtesy-Given that we are in a war and the general populace is having to put up with severe rationing of ordinary supplies, the food the prisoner is offered is plentiful, well prepared and reasonably varied.
The prisoner is allowed several periods of exercise every day. Camp ‘Z’ has large grounds. There is a tennis court in good condition which is used by several of the staff while off duty. The prisoner shows no interest in exercise other than short, undemanding strolls on one small lawn.
(According to the Foreign Office file, Rudolf Hess is a keen tennis player and an advocate of healthy exercise. The prisoner has apparently stated to one of his captors that he dislikes tennis and will not play.)
As far as I can see, the prisoner’s larger complaints about mistreatment are unfounded.
Q What conclusions do you draw from what you have seen and what the prisoner has said to you?
(1) THE PEACE PROPOSAL:
I believe it to be genuine in the sense that Rudolf Hess sincerely wants to offer peace to the UK.
Without Hitler’s endorsement, such an offer would be worthless. Although the prisoner sometimes asserted unequivocally that Hitler had ‘commanded’ it, I was left feeling unsure whether Hitler even knew about it.