A Daring Venture

At the height of the Second World War, Hitler's Deputy, Rudolf Hess, made a dramatic solo flight to the British Isles. His arrival there was sensational news - and it baffled everyone. Why had he come? Hess claimed he had flown to Britain entirely of his own initiative and was on a personal mission of peace. But so unlikely was the success of such an appeal in Churchill's entrenched Britain that historians continue to wonder at his motives. In this book, Peter Raina publishes, for the first time, complete texts of Hess's 'peace proposals' and a treatise he wrote in captivity outlining how he saw Nazi Germany's role in Europe. These texts throw considerable light on Hess's mission and also on how the Nazi leadership saw their programme of expansion and their relations with Britain. Disconcertingly single-minded and an unashamed disciple of Hitler, Hess was at heart an idealist. His friend and confidant Albrecht Haushofer was an idealist of a different kind, and joined the German Resistance Movement. The frame story of this book relates how the two men moved to their tragic ends.

Peter Raina has been a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London, and an Associate Member of Nuffield College, Oxford. He is presently Senior Research Associate at the Graduate Centre of Balliol College, Oxford.

Contents: A Magnificent Sight - Why Did Hess Want to Speak to the Duke of Hamilton - The Duke Meets the Reichsminister - The Führer-s Rage - Ivone Kirkpatrick Meets Rudolf Hess: First Interview: Terms of Proposals for Peace - Kirkpatrick Meets Hess: Second Interview: Further Peace Proposals - Kirkpatrick Meets Hess: Third Interview: Additional Conditions - The Frustrations of the Deputy Führer - The Hess Case Raised in the House of Commons - Peace Proposal: Anglo-German Accord, 9 June 1941 - Peace Proposal: Alliance Against Bolshevism, 6 September 1941.