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HITLER'S HENCHMEN: HESS: THE DEPUTY {DER STELLVERTRETER: RUDOLF HESS} (TV)

Summary

One in this six-part German-produced documentary series about the men who engineered and ruled Hitler's Third Reich. Using recently discovered archival footage, rare biographical material, and newly recorded testimony from firsthand witnesses, the series profiles six members of Hitler's inner circle and architects of Third Reich. This program examines the life and career of Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's Deputy Fuhrer. Born in Alexandria to wealthy German colonial traders, Hess disappoints his father by foreswearing the family's merchant business for a career as a soldier. Finding the experience of World War I "glorious," Hess is sickened by the Munich socialist uprising of 1918, believing its seditious sentiments (which he identifies with Jews) to be responsible for Germany's defeat in the war. Upon meeting the like-minded Adolf Hitler, Hess falls under the charismatic demagogue's sway and assists him in the failed Beer-hall Putsch, for which they are both imprisoned. Hess serves as Hitler's secretary in prison, transcribing "Mein Kampf." Hess's loyalty to Hitler and fervent patriotism ensure him an impressive post as Deputy Fuhrer in Hitler's Reich, but he is excluded from much of its shadowy inner workings, including its policies targeting Jews. Growing misgivings about Germany's policies toward Great Britain exert a great strain on Hess, as he is torn between his loyalty to the Fuhrer and his belief that an antagonistic relationship with England is a mistake. Hess's eccentric tendencies toward mysticism and occult beliefs become more pronounced as he finds himself increasingly far from Hitler's ear, and in desperation he hatches a bizarre plan to steal a plane, fly to Scotland, and negotiate peace between Great Britain and Germany. Hess is captured upon his arrival in Scotland and held prisoner for the duration of the war. He continues to exhibit odd behavior during his trial at Nuremberg, transparently feigning amnesia on the stand. He is held in Spandau prison until his death at age ninety-three; members of his family contend that he was murdered in the face of an imminent parole. The program includes commentary by the following individuals: Hess's son, Wolf Rudiger Hess; Spandau prison director Tony Le Tissier; Reinhard Spitzy, a member of Hitler's staff; childhood friend Stefanie Camola; sister-in-law Ingeborg Prohl; Egon Hanfstaengl, the son of Hitler's press secretary; secretary Laura Schrodel; private secretary Hildegard Fath; rally observer Arno Hamburger; Rochus Misch, a soldier on Hitler's staff; test pilot Fritz Voss Messerschmitt; Sandy Johnstone of the Scottish Air Defence; guard Robert Shaw; Lord James Douglas Hamilton; Sir Frank Roberts of the British Foreign Office; Susanne von Paczensky, an observer at Nuremberg; U.S. prosecutor at Nuremberg Robert Jackson; General Ronald Blank, a doctor at Spandau prison; orderly Abdullah Melaouhi; and guard Al Ahuja.

(This program is in German with English narration and subtitles.)

(This program was originally telecast on the ZDF German Television Network as "Der Stellvertreter: Rudolf Hess" on January 14, 1997.)

Details

  • NETWORK: History Channel
  • DATE: October 21, 1997 9:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:53:34
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: T:50247
  • GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Germany - History - 1933-1945; Germany - History - Beer Hall Putsch, 1923; Nazism; Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, 1945-1946
  • SERIES RUN: History Channel - TV, 1997
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Guido Knopp … Executive Producer, Created by
  • Andrew McDonald … Producer
  • Udo Jordan … Production (Misc.), Unit Production Manager
  • Sebastien Dehnhardt … Director, Writer
  • Christian Deick … Director, Writer
  • Michael Renz … Researcher
  • Klaus Doldinger … Music by
  • David Ritchie … Narrator
  • Al Ahuja … Guest
  • Ronald Blank … Guest
  • Stefanie Camola … Guest
  • Hildegard Fath … Guest
  • Arno Hamburger … Guest
  • Hamilton, Lord James Douglas … Guest
  • Egon Hanfstaengl … Guest
  • Wolf Rudiger Hess … Guest
  • Robert Jackson … Guest
  • Sandy Johnstone … Guest
  • Le Tissier, Tony … Guest
  • Abdullah Melaouhi … Guest
  • Fritz Voss Messerschmitt … Guest
  • Rochus Misch … Guest
  • Ingeborg Prohl … Guest
  • Sir Frank Roberts … Guest
  • Laura Schrodel … Guest
  • Robert Shaw … Guest
  • Reinhard Spitzy … Guest
  • von Paczensky, Susanne … Guest
  • Rudolf Hess
  • Adolf Hitler