Rudolf Hess
| Rudolf Hess | |
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| Rudolf Heß | |
Hess in 1933
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Deputy Führer Stellvertreter des Führers |
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In office 21 April 1933 – 12 May 1941 |
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| Deputy | Martin Bormann |
| Führer | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by | Post created |
| Succeeded by | Martin Bormann (as Chief of the Parteikanzlei) |
| Reichsleiter | |
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In office 1933–1941 |
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| Leader | Adolf Hitler |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess 26 April 1894 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Died | 17 August 1987 (aged 93) Spandau, West Berlin, West Germany |
| Cause of death | Suicide by hanging (disputed) |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | National Socialist German Workers' Party (1920–1941) |
| Spouse(s) | Ilse Pröhl (22 June 1900 – 7 September 1995) married 20 December 1927 |
| Children |
Wolf Rüdiger Hess (18 November 1937 – 14 October 2001) |
| Alma mater | University of Munich |
| Signature |  |
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German) (26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987), was a prominent politician in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, he served in this position until 1941, when he flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the United Kingdom during World War II. He was taken prisoner and eventually was convicted of crimes against peace, serving a life sentence, until his death by suicide.
Hess enlisted in the 7th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment as an infantryman at the outbreak of World War I. He was wounded several times over the course of the war, and won the Iron Cross, 2nd class, in 1915. Shortly before the war ended, Hess enrolled to train as an aviator, but he saw no action in this role. He left the armed forces in December 1918 with the rank of Leutnant der Reserve.
In 1919, Hess enrolled in the University of Munich, where he studied geopolitics under Karl Haushofer, a proponent of the concept of Lebensraum ("living space"), which later became one of the pillars of Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party; NSDAP) ideology. Hess joined the NSDAP on 1 July 1920, and was at Hitler's side on 8 November 1923 for the Beer Hall Putsch, a failed Nazi attempt to seize control of the government of Bavaria. Whilst serving time in jail for this attempted coup, Hess helped Hitler write his book, Mein Kampf, which became a foundation of the political platform of the NSDAP.
After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Hess was appointed Deputy Führer of the NSDAP and received a post in Hitler's cabinet. He was the third most powerful man in Germany, behind only Hitler and Hermann Göring. In addition to appearing on Hitler's behalf at speaking engagements and rallies, Hess signed into law much of the legislation, including the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which stripped the Jews of Germany of their rights in the lead-up to the Holocaust.
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