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RUDOLF HESS

Birth: Thursday 26 April 1894 – Alexandria (Egypt)
Death: August 1987. Spandau prison – Berlin (Germany)

BIOGRAPHY

It was Rudolf Hess who schooled Adolf Hitler in etiquette, introducing him into the cultured and aspiring middle- and upper-class circles that they would need to win over if the Nazi Party was to achieve power
When the Nazis achieved power in 1933, Rudolf Hess was named Reichsminister without Portfolio and Deputy Führer. He had complete control of the Nazi Party – having responsibility for appointments at every level, both local and national, throughout Germany. All laws had to be approved by him – it was his signature, not Adolf Hitler’s, that had to appear on them
Rudolf Hess flew to Britain. He had been imprisoned since his flight to Britain in May 1941
Sentenced to life imprisonment for Crimes against Peace at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials in September 1946, along with six other Nazi leaders, he was interned in Spandau prison (officially termed the Allied Military Prison) in Berlin. He was designated Prisoner No. 7 - names were forbidden in Spandau. His prisoner id was 31G-350125, which number was used by Ian Curtis in the song Warsaw
Aged 93, he died, apparently by his own hand, in his cell

PICTURE

Rudolf Hess

Date: Thursday 8 November 1945

LINK WITH THE BAND

Ian Curtis was generally interested in Second World War and impressed by all the power and influence that Adolf Hitler could have on the Germans
The singer's introduction to At a later date during the concert held on Sunday 2 October 1977 was: "You all forgot Rudolf Hess!"