Hitlers mad deputy Hess shut himself in lavatory

Hitler's mad deputy Hess shut himself in lavatory

by John Chapman
The Express, Wednesday 27 January 1999

Britain's spymasters thought Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess was verging on insanity when they interrogated him during his "peace" mission, secret papers reveal today. M15 even considered using a truth drug to force him to disclose Nazi secrets. "His mental state is abnormal and he is probably heading for real insanity," said one report. "He is sulky and distrustful. On Sunday he spoke only five words all day."

"He fears poisoning and on at least one occasion he quickly changed plates at table with one of the attendant officers. He is highly restless at night, pays innumerable visits to the lavatory for no known reason and remains immured there, sometimes for three-quarters of an hour at a time." Hess flew to Scotland in 1941, claiming he was attempting to negotiate a peace deal between Britain and Germany But the British were not impressed and he was swiftly interned in "Camp Z" a secret location near Aldershot, Hampshire, according to personal papers and Second World War files released by M15 today.

Another document reveals M15's frustration with then Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's attitude to the Nazis. It goaded Chamberlain into taking a tougher line by revealing that Hitler described him with "schoolboyish obscenity". Chamberlain was so infuriated by Hitler's remarks that they hastened the introduction of conscription.

The top-secret file KV 4/10 reveals M15 fears about a secret Nazi weapon - homing pigeons. They had been used by the Germans as they overran Norway and the Balkans. Dozens of lofts established in occupied countries were identified by M15 in 1940 as bases for the feathered German squadrons before they were dispatched with enemy agents heading to Britain. The Army trained a flight of peregrine falcons to intercept enemy birds, at least two of which became "prison-ers of war", the solemn report reveals. The M15 papers, released to the Public Record Office, also give details on how the world's most glamorous spy Mata Hari was watched on visits to Britain and twice questioned before being released. The exotic dancer was executed by the French in 1917.

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