HESS’S FLIGHT

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23330, 16 May 1941, Page 9

HESS’S FLIGHT

Meeting With Scottish

Duke Sought X —— BREWED interest IN MOTIVES (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT.) (Received May 15,11.20 p.m.) LONDON, May 15.

Mr Churchill is expected to make a statement soon I about the flight of Herr Hess to Britain. Herr Hess is still in a military hospital recuperating, and he is said to have talked freely about events leading up to his w flight. Mr Ivone Kirkpatrick, of the Foreign Office, who ; is with Herr Hess, is understood to have had a number . of interesting conversations with him.

It has been revealed that Herr Hess planned tp 4 land at Dungavel, the estate of the' Duke of Hamilton, V. with whom he hoped to resume an acquaintanceship

begun over sporting matters. He landed 15 miles away. The Duke of Hamilton, who is better known as the

Marquess of Clydesdale, the sportsman and boxer, is ; on active service as an air commodore with the Royal Air Force.

Neutral opinion is that Herr Hess chose Britain to

escape Gestapo agents, who are known to be in every ' other country, and that in spite of German assertions to : the contrary he wanted to meet the Duke of Hamilton to discuss peace.

The Duke of Hamilton’s attitude is disclosed by the fact that when Herr Hess got in touch with him previously by letter, he placed the letter in the hands , of the security authorities. No reply to this letter was sent to Herr Hess. It is also stated in London that on 1 one or two occasions before the war Herr Hess met the

Duke of Hamilton at sporting events in which they , were both interested.

The tide of interest in the motives of Herr Hess , received fresh impetus last night, when it was reported „ that he told 1 the farm people of hardships now being experienced in Germany, and also of great distress . imd suffering prevailing among the German people as a result of Royal Aii\ Force raids. Herr Hess added that he made the Duke of Hamilton’s estate his objective because he had valuable information to give the Duke of Hamilton. This information would be of great use to Britain in overthrowing the tyranny now prevailing in the Reich. - ; He declared he was fed up with the war and with life in Germany.

It it also known that Herr Hess had ringed.-,with blue pencil the position of th||?uke of Hamilton's estate on the map he carried with him en his flight. On lending, the first thing he asked was the Way to Dungavel. He had apparently mistaken a large house for the Duke of''Hamilton’s mansion, and hot » -suitable landing ground he parachute. of his injured ankle, Herr Hess asked to be- directed to the Duke of Hamilton's estate and seemed very. pxlous v ,to get there. : leer'of Scotland, succeeded his father art-year. 1 From 1030 until his father’s death he was a member of Parliament (dr East Renfrewshire. Since last year has been Lord Steward of His Majesty’s Household. He is 38 years efoge.l •cAlter a searching interrogation. Herr Hess may meet Mr Churchill, states the ‘'Daily Mail.” This, report, however, is categorically .denied in London.

has undoubtedly revealed to the British Government the present state of affairs in Germany and the Nazi Party, v Herr Hess is being closely guarded by troops and special police. Only persons with full authority are allowed to pass toe gate. Herr Hess Is likely to leave hospital Within a few days. Meanwhile, the efforts of the Nazi Propaganda Minister (Dr. Goebbels) to offset the effect of Herr Hess’s flight on public opinion in Germany are persistently inconsistent and blundering. His latest effort is an attempt to persuade the German people that Herr Hess’s papers showed that he expected the .British authorities to supply him with enough petrol for the return flight alter he had convinced the country of the folly of, its leaders. Dr. Goebbels, however, has not explained what methods the distinguished Nazi refugee intended to use in persuading the people Of their leaders’ folly. Berlin officials. said; “Hess had no knowledge of the war plans of Germany’s military leaders. He is. however. acquainted with German information that the war will end not only in the defeat but In the destruction of England.” . The officials added that Herr Hess wrote saying he did not want to speak to Mr Churchill in any circumstances. In view of the. sudden discovery by the German authorities of the mental disorders of Herr Hess, it is interesting to reveal that the German newspaper “Das Reich," in an article last Christmas, stated: “Were Herr Hess not an irreproachable personality, were he self-willed, he would have many enemies, That he has none speaks for -the fact that confidence is felt in hfs incorruptible judgment. That is the chief feeling of the nation towards the Fuehrer’s deputy—he 'inspires , confidence. In Spite of his coolness he exudes warmth.” Mood In Britain The possible reasons for Herr Hess’s flight ,to Britain are the grounds for much speculation, but . the prevailing mood in Britain is not to regard him as a romantic figure, but as a prisoner of war, who, as one of the architects of the Nazi war machine, must take ms full share of the blame for the destruction, and misery it has caused. Sir Patrick Delian, Lord provost of Glasgow, said too much sentiment should hot be displayed over the arrival of the deputy-Fuehfer. The British people should not forget that 14 countries had been over-run and eruejfled largely as a result of Herr Hess’s plotting. “He has come to Britain not for love Of us but. for love of his own skin,” he said.

'i.Djefi'ress Association’s lobbyist says ■ 'Shells a great deal of objection m Weitajnst®!- to the suggestion that Mr tSflUhptu.should interview Herr Hess, •Wj fich a meeting ,seems unlikely. iiys.lrgUed that It would hardly be honour in such a manner this jWnventlonal visitor, who for long 1 ppttyed a full part in supporting all JlJiWpo, concentration camps, persecuJews—of a country now waragainst Britain. ,uhowi bulletins using Herr Hess as a IJsit’j Sre being broadcast in German gom&ondon every hour. The-bulle- • |%aaphasise the fact that Herr Hess, aw'ftohths ago, promised the Ger- ' ®“|topeace in 1941, and that he went jyEdpand because he saw no hope of * vfcttQikn victory* Jjftt.builetins also point out that the , e *ftfepetrol tank fitted to Herr Hess’s proves that he must have ate-ready helpers in his escape. . i i n - u broadcasts to Germany took on jawper tone yesterday. what the Germans are being jlwWe always knew your gang was ■ w-IIIIWty rotten crew, corrupt, and solidarity. What has hapconfirmed our view. ,;r.Weare very glad to have your No, ■(’l™ Our hands, but we are not being ii?°«d into relaxing our bombing or effort generally. The German machine has got to be smashed. are treating Hess merely as a , who saw the writing on the Wall S ot ou t while the going was good. V/. Hess knows what Germany’s capac‘t.JS’ *!• and he knows Hitler’s plans. If i|;?ou Knew as much as Hess you would TfllftOWbly also get out’if you could.” A British Broadcasting Corporation inofficial said that all this and much ‘ Ifflore Js being hammered home to the . lE‘H?’explalned that Herr 'Kess is both and writing freely. . K® are giving the* Germans every i|®fS| wg have, because we know they lf|p iu > listening," he added. llllvThe remains of Herr Hess’s aerogßSahe are to be exhibited in London ECT?ng the city's war “weanon* week, will begin On May 17. .. ft 2; Reports from the frontier tell of the 1 ffilpeat interest in the occupied teniHjprles in the British broadcasts, Local Mpesldenta pass oh tho; British news to MHhf, bewildered German garrisons. mspki far there is no official indication aSjpftt Herr Hess hag made any sensastatements to British Officials. al y the “Dally Mail*' aavs that by Meting as he seems to hay*, done with-, WwtHerr Hitler’s permislioJU Herr fteas

“The Times,*’ in a leading article, says that out of the group which surrounded Herr Hitler, Herr Hess is perhaps the only one whose loyalty ,to Hitler is unalloyed by a suspicion of self-seeking, and into whose relations with the Fuehrer the element of personal devotion appeared to enter” but the precedent of June 13.1034, showed that no friend, however intimate, would be snared once he had been frank enough to criticise or oppose the supreme will.' ‘The assassination of Roehm and the gratuitous thoroughness with which his memory was besmirched left a lasting scar even on the by no means delicate susceptibilities of the Nazi leaders. Such a blow to personal confidence is hardly retrievable. It taught a lesson from which Hess—one no doubt among manv--apoears to have profited. ' "The rift on the surface does not imply that rottenness has yet spread through the whole structure, but questionings will not be so easily silenced in the ranks of the party and still less easily in the country as a whole, When the history of the war is written, this event will be marked as the first symptom of cohesion sapped and confidence mortally shaken.” REFUGEE DISCUSSES HESS (P.A.) DUNEDIN, May 15, A German refugee living in Dunedin who knew Herr Hess states that Herr HesS was very .poor after the last war, and lived with his fiancee’s father, Hefr Horn. ; This perhaps accounts for the name he, gave when he landed in Scotland. With the growth of the Nazi Party, Herr Hess became, a very rich man. He . built a great castle high in the mountains, and stated to Herr Hitler his desire to live and die in such a peaceful scene, to which Herr Hitler replied: “No, my friend, you and I are not destined to die like other men, in their beds. We cannot tell how or when we'll die. but our deaths will not be peaceful.? . -. The. refugee also said that Herr Hess, not Reiehfimarshal Ooering, coined the phrase, "Gunit before butter/'