Today is the 70 year anniversary of Rudolf Hess parachuting into Scotland. Hitler’s deputy Hess allegedly wanted to negotiate a peace settlement with the UK and so he flew solo across the North Sea in a Messerschmitt 110.
Video footage of Rudolf Hess in the British Pathé film archive includes:
Rudolf Hess’ Aircraft Wreckage (Messerschmitt) – WATCH HERE
This footage was never used by Pathé for a cinema reel, possibly due to censorship in British press at the time. The mute clip contains good pan shots of wreckage of the Messerschmitt plane in which Rudolf Hess flew to Britain.
Farmer Hero – WATCH HERE
This clip shows the farmer who captured Rudolf Hess, and also the farmer’s wife! We’d love to know their names, if you can help us here then do leave a comment below. It’s such a peaceful, unsuspecting and scenic looking farm too. Hard to imagine Hitler’s right-hand man crashing into it!
Rudolph Hess Here! (1941) – WATCH HERE
This remarkable montage of Rudolf Hess clips includes a shot of Hess standing in the shadows next to Hitler as he waves from a balcony, a handsome-looking Hess surrounded by female admirers, and talking to a man adorned in medals. The narrator explains a little about Hess’ famous flight from Bavaria to Scotland.
Rudolph Hess and Hitler inspect a Nazi Youth rally – WATCH HERE
Hitler and Hess walk between vast grids of Hitler youth boys on parade. Mysteriously one boy in the clip is singled out, hugged by Hitler and then taken away by Ernst Rohm, but that’s another story!
Nuremberg Trials – Rudolf Hess (1946) – WATCH HERE
This Nuremberg Trials reel was never issued by Pathé as a cinema newsreel. Not only does it show Rudolf Hess in the witness box but it shows Hermann Goering and Hitler’s chauffeur Sagt Aus too. The narration is in German, if anyone would like to attempt a translation then post it in the comments below!
Time to Remember – The Powers That Were (1930s) – WATCH HERE
This is the third reel from an episode of British Pathé series Time to Remember (a series which was recently reworked by the BBC). Towards the end of this reel, following a clip of Hitler meeting Mussolini, we see Rudolf Hess.
There are more clips of Rudolf Hess in the British Pathé archive, so do have a rummage, search ‘Rudolf Hess’ in the homepage’s search bar and you’ll find all sorts from the Nuremberg Trials, anti-Semitic marches, Hitler youth footage and other reels from Nazi Germany.