{"id":396,"date":"2025-08-17T10:42:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T10:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jailingopinions.com\/realhistory\/?p=396"},"modified":"2025-08-18T17:33:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T17:33:08","slug":"solving-the-murder-of-rudolf-hess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jailingopinions.com\/realhistory\/solving-the-murder-of-rudolf-hess\/","title":{"rendered":"Solving the murder of Rudolf Hess"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This essay was first published three years ago in tribute to Professor Pierre Dortiguier, who died on 5th July 2022 aged 81. Professor Dortiguier was a dedicated friend of Real History and the Real Europe. It is republished today on the 38th anniversary of Hess’s murder. (A Spanish translation<\/a>\u00a0of this article is also now available: Este art\u00edculo ahora tambi\u00e9n\u00a0est\u00e1 disponible en traducci\u00f3n al espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.)<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently released British government files take us a step closer to solving the mystery of the \u2018suicide\u2019 or murder of 93-year-old Rudolf Hess on 17th August 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time of his death at Spandau Prison, Berlin \u2013 where he was the last remaining prisoner \u2013 Hess had been in captivity for more than 46 years, after he parachuted into Scotland on a peace mission in May 1941. Then aged 47, Hess had been Deputy F\u00fchrer of Germany ever since Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(On 26th April 2022 I published some of the letters that Hess wrote during the early stages of his captivity<\/a>, indicating that he was far from irrational. Indeed he was arguably one of the most rational men in an irrational time.)<\/p>\n\n\n

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Rudolf Hess (above right) became Adolf Hitler’s most loyal supporter after hearing him address a meeting in Munich in 1920<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Some of the newly released documents cast further suspicion on Tony Jordan, the black American prison guard who was named some years ago by British historian David Irving as having murdered Hess. Irving\u2019s information came from an interview with a Berlin prosecutor, but his conclusions are now additionally supported by documentary evidence, some of which is quoted for the first time in this article today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hess\u2019s nurse was the Tunisian-born, German-educated Abdallah Melaouhi, who had held this post for three years and became a trusted confidant of the former Deputy F\u00fchrer, due to his efficient and helpful conduct and because Hess (who was born in Egypt) was able to converse with him in Arabic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the morning of 17th August, Melaouhi attended to Hess\u2019s morning exercises and medical tests in the usual manner, before going for his own lunch break. He was summoned from this lunch break some time after 2 pm and returned to the prison, which was by now in a state of emergency after Hess had been found dead or dying.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Hess’s nurse Abdallah Melaouhi filmed in 1989 by the BBC at the site of the former Spandau prison<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Hess\u2019s usual habit after his lunch was to walk in the prison grounds, where he would sit in a \u201csummer house\u201d (actually a Portakabin), reading or dozing. When Melaouhi reached this summer house, he later stated \u201cit looked as if there had been a wrestling match. \u2026The seat on which Hess usually sat was overturned and was a long way from its usual position. Hess himself was lying lifeless on the ground: he showed no reaction. There was no measurable breathing, pulse or heartbeat. I thought he must have been dead for about 30 to 40 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words above come from a newly released copy of an affidavit by Melaouhi dated January 1989, though similar statements by him have long been in the public domain. What is being reported here for the first time are specific allegations that Melaouhi makes in his affidavit about Tony Jordan, a black American prison warder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spandau was a unique prison, under the joint control of the four Allied powers of 1945 \u2013 the UK, USA, Soviet Union and France (even though these had ceased to be \u2018Allies\u2019 and became Cold War rivals more then forty years earlier!). There were four Governors representing each of these Allies, and four sets of prison warders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At any given time one of these \u2018Allies\u2019 was responsible for a garrison of soldiers guarding the prison, but these soldiers were not allowed to have any contact with the prisoner. They guarded the perimeter and did not set foot in the prison itself, which during each shift was run by three warders of different nationality: a Chief Warder, a cell block warder (who would be directly supervising the prisoner), and a warder on gate duty.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Rudolf Hess walking in the grounds of Spandau prison in 1986, a year before his death<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

August 1987 was a month when the American garrison was on duty. On the afternoon of Hess\u2019s death, the gate warder was British, the chief warder was French, and the cell block warder was the black American Tony Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a January 1989 affidavit included in the newly released file, Melaouhi stated:
\u201cAn American guard called Jordan treated Hess particularly unpleasantly. Hess said that \u2018Hell was usually let loose\u2019 when he was on duty. He did not let Hess sleep at night. He refused everything Hess asked for. He met every request with insults and abuse which were coarse and grossly offensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHess regularly complained about this guard and the senior American guard Ahuja was told, but nothing happened. Then Mr Hess asked for a visit from the US Governor, Mr Keane. He made the same complaint to the Governor, in my presence. Hess was then told that Jordan was in an official post and could not be transferred. The other Governors knew about the complaints, but no action was taken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melaouhi said that Hess had raised his complaint with the US General on the Allied Commission that controlled Berlin, saying that Jordan was \u201cill-mannered, impudent and had threatened him. He was so aggressive that he (Hess) had to appeal to the General for protection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These complaints were made in late April and early May 1987, just over three months before Hess\u2019s death. Jordan was on holiday at the time, but on his return his \u201creaction when told about the complaint was extremely violent. He was called to see the General and at a meeting at which Governor Keane and Ahuja, the chief guard, were present, they obviously arrived at a solution which was designed ultimately to protect Jordan. Hess received a reply from the US General which more or less rejected his complaints.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Rudolf Hess maintained his faith in national-socialism through 46 years of captivity until his death aged 93<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Melaouhi continued:
\u201cThe guards reacted accordingly and stepped up their pressure on Hess and their harassment. As a result he became depressed. The guards were now completely refusing to allow him any assistance. Consequently Hess\u2019s physical state declined rapidly. At the end of April or early May he told me that he was going to die or be killed or poisoned soon. He specifically asked me at that time and in that connection to let his son, Mr Wolf-R\u00fcdiger Hess, know if that happened, but he urged me not to tell his family anything about the harassment and mistreatment while he was still alive, because he was afraid the guards would take their revenge and mistreat him even more. He said, in so many words, \u2018Then we will be lost and especially me, at the age of 93.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On being summoned to the prison from his lunch break on 17th August, Melaouhi spoke first to Bernard Miller, the British warder on gate duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I asked what was wrong, Miller said I could imagine: Jordan had been at work. The whole thing was finished and over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he examined Hess\u2019s lifeless body, the nurse recorded:
\u201cOn the right side of his neck under his ear I found that there were two red pressure marks about 8 cm long that looked as if they had been made by fingers. Jordan was standing near Hess\u2019s feet and was obviously beside himself. He was sweating profusely, his shirt was soaked with sweat and he was not wearing a tie. Because of the dress and duty regulations this was unusual. I asked Jordan: \u2018What have you done to him?\u2019, whereupon he answered, in exactly these words, \u2018The pig has been dealt with. You won\u2019t need to do night duty any more.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the situation seeming hopeless, Melaouhi attempted resuscitation and a medically qualified American soldier assisted him in trying to restart Hess\u2019s heart. He then accompanied his patient in an ambulance to the nearby British Military Hospital, where Hess was certified dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within weeks, an investigation by the Special Investigations Branch of the British Military Police had concluded that Hess committed suicide, and this verdict was hastily accepted by all four \u2018Allies\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Rudolf Hess in the dock at Nuremberg, sitting between Hermann G\u00f6ring and Joachim von Ribbentrop. Next to Ribbentrop is Gen. Wilhelm Keitel.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We should bear in mind that when Hess had been sentenced to life imprisonment at the infamous Nuremberg trial, the Soviet judge had been the only dissenter \u2013 he argued that Hess should face the death penalty, but was outvoted by his British, American and French counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exactly a month after Hess\u2019s death, on September 17th, a British soldier from the Royal Engineers drove a bulldozer into the summer house where Spandau\u2019s last prisoner had died. The Portakabin was smashed to pieces, petrol was poured over the remains and they were set alight. The British Governor of Spandau, Tony Le Tissier, threw into the flames the cord with which Hess had supposedly strangled himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When giving his sworn affidavit sixteen months later, Melaouhi was unconvinced by the suicide argument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLooking at the facts objectively, I think the story that he committed suicide is unlikely. The cord Hess is supposed to have strangled himself with \u2013 the only one there \u2013 was on a light and was only 70 cm long. In Hess\u2019s bedroom and bathroom there were several much longer cords which would have been much more suitable if Hess had intended to commit suicide in this way, especially the electric cord in the bathroom. The cord in the summer house, as I last saw it, was hanging loose and had a knot in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026I think from remarks that Hess made and from my own observation that Jordan had stolen some books from Hess. That might have led to a quarrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Hess was much more closely guarded in the summer house than in his cell. He would have been much more likely to commit suicide in the cell for that reason and also for the reason I mentioned before, that he would have had more suitable means of doing so. There does not seem to be any reason why Hess would have chosen the most unsuitable place if he intended to commit suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding a supposed \u201cfarewell\u201d or \u201csuicide letter\u201d in Hess\u2019s handwriting, Melaouhi gave several reasons why he believed it could not be genuine and concluded:
\u201cI imagine the letter was forged, by an American guard who could copy Hess\u2019s signature and must have had an interest in cooperating with the action to back up Jordan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is very obvious from the files that there was indeed a concerted effort to \u201cback up\u201d the black American guard. His fellow warders of all three nationalities used very similar phrases to exonerate him. For example Steven Timson, a British deputy chief warder who had been on holiday when Hess died, stated that although he had heard rumours of a complaint against Jordan, he had not witnessed any such incident and \u201cas far as I know Mr Jordan has always been polite and fair in his dealings with the prisoner\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Wolf-R\u00fcdiger Hess with his father’s corpse. A year later Steven Timson, who had been one of the British prison warders at Spandau, attempted to extort 500,000 Deutschmarks from Wolf-R\u00fcdiger Hess for personal items belonging to his father that Timson had stolen from the prison.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Timson had very good reasons not to rock the boat. A year earlier he had stolen various personal items belonging to Hess that were supposedly held securely at Spandau, including the uniform that Hess had been wearing during his 1941 flight to Scotland. Eventually Timson was arrested after demanding 500,000 Deutschmarks from Hess\u2019s son Wolf-R\u00fcdiger for return of the items, but it\u2019s significant that when the disappearance of these items was investigated in 1986 \u2013 by the Military Police Special Investigation Branch, the same force that was to investigate Hess\u2019s death \u2013 they were unable to make any headway. The same wall of silence from Timson\u2019s fellow warders blocked the theft investigation in 1986, just as it protected Jordan in 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with all \u2018eye-witness\u2019 testimonies, we are obliged to examine Melaouhi\u2019s statements with due scepticism. It doesn\u2019t help his case (though for reasons given below it was very understandable) that he refused to give a detailed statement during the weeks following Hess\u2019s death. All he was prepared to say to the investigators was to describe his qualifications and duties, and to outline what happened during the last morning of Hess\u2019s life when he attended to his patient in the normal fashion. He was unwilling to say anything at all about the afternoon\u2019s events, and his 1987 statement says nothing at all about Jordan. When pressed at that time, Melaouhi stonewalled: \u201cI am not willing to state anything further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also doesn\u2019t help that Melaouhi\u2019s later statements (notably a 1994 affidavit almost seven years after the event) were selectively quoted by conspiracy theorists eager to promote an unlikely tale that British assassins had disguised themselves in American uniforms and smuggled themselves into the jail to kill Hess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The newly released documents point to a much more likely course of events, and Melaouhi\u2019s January 1989 statement would seem much more reliable than later embellishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jordan disliked Hess and frequently bullied and threatened him. He was particularly incensed during the spring and summer of 1987 after Hess had made an official complaint against him. In conversation with Melaouhi, whom he had come to regard as a trusted confidant, Hess had specifically warned against pursuing the complaints further or mentioning them to his family, saying that the other warders would take Jordan\u2019s side and then \u201cwe<\/strong> [my emphasis] will be lost and especially me, at the age of 93\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note the word \u201cwe\u201d: Hess was well aware that Melaouhi, as a Tunisian, would have no powerful friends or allies in Berlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when the worst happened, Melaouhi could see that Jordan\u2019s fellow Americans would protect him. He refused to join in this cover up and give the sort of pro-Jordan cover story that other \u2018witnesses\u2019 signed up to, but he could see no point in recording his own story, until some sixteen months later he learned that Hess\u2019s family had sought a second autopsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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