Posted on 11/08/2004 7:56:09 PM PST by Ahriman
It was one of the most bizarre episodes of the Second World War. When Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, landed by parachute in 1941 near the estate of the Duke of Hamilton in Lanarkshire, it raised the question of whether British intelligence or members of the aristocracy were trying to broker a secret peace deal with the Nazis.
But recently declassified MI5 files shed more light on Hess’s mysterious flight to Scotland, and finally prove the conspiracy theories to be unfounded, according to the duke’s son, Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, the Lothians MSP.
The Conservative peer said yesterday that the new MI5 files relate to a letter intended for his father, the 14th Duke of Hamilton, then commander of RAF Turnhouse in Edinburgh, which was intercepted by the British secret services.
The communiqué, which was sent by Hess’s personal adviser, Albrecht Haushofer, in September 1940, had suggested a meeting with the duke in Lisbon in a secret attempt to achieve a peace settlement.
Five months elapsed before the duke was contacted by RAF intelligence and informed of the letter, as the original went missing and MI5 ran security checks on it. It was then decided that any meeting with the duke would not provide sufficient opportunity to double-cross the Nazis, and therefore the request went unanswered.
At the time, neither the duke nor MI5 knew that Hess was behind the letter.
Three months later, on 10 May 1941, Hess became increasingly desperate to explain matters personally to the British and embarked on his ultimately failed mission in the hope of exploiting the duke’s connections with the government and the monarchy to secure a peace deal with Germany. Amid competing theories about who knew what of the episode, the new papers offer a fresh insight into the work of British intelligence in the eight months between the letter being sent and Hess parachuting into a field in South Lanarkshire.
.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
A very intriquing piece of WWII history.
I always thought it was covered up not merely because he was trying to contact the duke of Hamilton, but because the "peace" plan involved putting the Duke of Windsor on the throne...which is why he got "exiled" from his villa in Spain or portugal to Bermuda...
Indeed, his pro nazi sentiment is well known...thank God for the dutchess, if it wasn't for her,he wouldn't have resigned, and the Brits might have made peace...
Wasn't Hess into 'magic', the occult or some such?
Personally I think there’s way more to the story. If not then why keep him locked up in Spandau for life and not let anyone see him?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
