Chapter 141 Chapter 23 "The whole world will hold its breath" (6)

Hitler's generals, initially horrified by the idea of ​​his invasion of Russia, shared his belief that victory would come quickly.The consensus of the generals was that the campaign would end victoriously within three months.Field Marshal Brauchitsch significantly curtailed this estimate.After the main battle "after four weeks at most", he predicted that the war would degenerate into a sweeping campaign with "little resistance".The obstinate Jodl agrees, and silences Vallimon, who, it turns out, has questioned this assertion: "The Russian giant will prove to be nothing more than a pig's belly: one Just poke and break."

According to General Guderian, the Fuehrer's "groundless optimism succeeded in infecting the military generals around him. The Supreme Command and the Army General Command were as solid as Mount Tai, and they were full of confidence in victory before the winter. Therefore, in the In the army, cold clothes are only prepared for five people.” Of course, there are rebels among the high-level.From the very beginning, Ribbentrop and Admiral Raeder opposed "Barbarossa". Keitel also had serious reservations, but he had learned the knack of not expressing dissent.There were also opposition to "Barbarossa" in Hitler's inner circle.Rudolf Hess - Hitler's second in line after Goering - was fully in favor of the living space theory, but he was opposed to attacking Russia while the German-British war was still going on.He had privately told Schwerin von Klossigert that the only ones to gain in this conflict were the Bolsheviks.The previous summer he had met the political geographer Professor Karl Haushofer in Grünewald, determined to settle the question of how to make peace with Britain.The two debated until 2:00 a.m. on the best way to hold the peace talks.Haushofer suggested a secret meeting with a prominent Englishman in a neutral city.This small beginning led to an adventure of worldwide interest.

Excited by the thought of future secret missions, Hess told Hitler about the plan, hoping it would restore his waning influence.Although Hess's position was very high, Hitler had not seriously considered his opinion for more than a year. "I hope he never becomes my heir," he is said to have said to Hanf Stangl. "I don't know who I'm more sorry for, Hess or the party." However, his love for his second Kubishik has not diminished, and he reluctantly agreed to let the deputy head of state pass the professor's eldest son, Albrecht Haushofer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducted an investigation.

Haushhofer Jr., who had been a member of the Resistance Movement for many years, told Hess nonchalantly that it was best to meet his British friend, the Duke of Hamilton, because he could see Churchill and the King at any time.Hess left happily."It's pure futility," said Elbrecht in a letter to his father. But, at the same time, as a patriotic German, he was determined to do what he could to make peace with Britain.He wrote to the Duke of Hamilton advising him to meet Hess in Lisbon.He signed the letter "A" and forwarded it through Hess' brother to a Mrs. V. Roberts in Lisbon.She was seized when she forwarded the letter to the UK.Letter prosecutors passed the letter on to Britain's secret police, which later referred RAF Intelligence to take appropriate action.As much time was spent, Hess decided to carry out the mission alone, without the knowledge of the Haushofers and Hitler.The way he's going to do it is very dramatic, to make the British feel that what he's doing is a sport.

He planned to fly to the Duke of Hamilton's estate, parachute down and hold peace talks with him under a false name.He was an expert in flying; he had served as an air force officer in World War I and was the winner of the 1934 flight race around Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitz, held near Garmisch.Flying solo over enemy lines into the remote countryside of Scotland would surely have intrigued the young Hamilton, who was the first to fly over Mount Everest. "It was a difficult decision," Hess later told interrogators. "In front of me there was an endless line of coffins containing children, followed by a long line of weeping mothers, both British and German. Another line of coffins filled mothers, followed by mourners My boys. But for this, I think, I would not have been able to make that last choice." Hess believed that only by adopting this ingenious strategy could the Führer's dream of Anglo-German unity be realized.If it failed, it would not hurt Hitler; if it succeeded, he would give the Führer the credit.Admittedly, the chances of him reaching Scotland alive were slim—maybe a narrow escape.But the gains outweigh the losses, and it's worth the risk.

Hess was convinced that Hitler would welcome such a novel cause of peace, but would not allow him to risk his life in an attempt.Didn't he forbid him to fly at the front?So, confidentiality is crucial.According to Weidmann's adjutant, Hess was "the most loyal subordinate" of the Führer.But this decision is naive, ridiculous, and unwise.Hess was an overly prudent man whose greatest ambition was to enhance his master's career.His lips were tightly shut and his expression severe; he had a broad jaw and wild eyes.But he was by no means a Teutonic Oliva Cromwell.When he smiled, the harshness disappeared.

It is this Paisifal, this unjudgmental literati, this devoted servant, who conjures up dreams flying to the enemy's rear, convinced that this is the execution of his master. Of the true will of the people, the preparations were well done despite the haphazardness of the plan.He persuaded Willie Mesaschmidt, an aviation engineer, to borrow a ME-110 two-seater aircraft on the grounds of practicing flying, and commented on it, saying that the range was not far away. He said that a 700-liter drop tank should be installed on each wing.After Mesa Schmidt barely fitted the drop tank, Hess ordered him to install special radio equipment.In the end, Hess made 20 flights for entertainment and mastered the performance of the modified aircraft.At the same time, in violation of wartime regulations, he obtained a leather flight suit, obtained a secret map of the aviation restricted area from Bohr (Hitler's pilot), and installed a new radio station in his home in the suburbs of Munich. .

Later, he wrote to his wife from prison that at that time, he may have been "not very normal. Because I was obsessed with flying and its purpose. It haunted me. The rest, I seemed to ignore or deaf.  … . . . "During those days in early May, he was living in a world of instrumentation, cylinder pressure, movable tanks, auxiliary air pumps, cooling temperatures, radio bearings . . . His secretary, Hildegard Farth, noticed that Hess was often absent-minded when she spoke.His wife also noticed that he was preoccupied.But what surprised her even more was the unusual amount of time he spent playing with his four-year-old son.Hess was extremely reluctant to take pictures, but not long ago, he offered to take pictures with his father and son.It's also amazing.

On Saturday, May 10, Hess got up early.As soon as he heard the weather forecast said it would be a fine day, he immediately prepared to fly.He has never been more attentive to his wife than he is today.After tea, he kissed his wife's hand, and then stood in the nursery door, serious, "as if pensive, as if hesitating." She asked when he would be back.No later than Monday, he said.The wife blurted out: "I don't believe it. You won't come back so soon!" She guessed that his trip must be to meet people like Pétain, but he thought his wife had already guessed the truth.His face was "red for a while, then pale for a while", and before she could speak again, he rushed into the nursery to take a last look at his sleeping son.

At 6 o'clock in the afternoon, he sent a letter to the adjutant, asking him to forward it to Hitler.After that, he took off from Augsburg Airport and flew towards the North Sea.Contrary to the forecast, the weather suddenly turned fine and the cover clouds disappeared, so he thought of returning.He flew on, however, and found England shrouded in a mist.In order to find cover, he rushed down at full speed, but he didn't expect a "Spitfire" to catch up with him.He dropped the Spitfire and flew low over the dark countryside at 450 miles an hour, nearly scraping roofs and treetops.Ball often said that a pilot like Hess would start the machine and take off from the hangar, and it was with this spirit that Hess, an unrestrained pilot, flew towards the hills that gradually appeared in front of him.This mountain can be said to be his navigation station.He climbed up the side of the hill and down the other side, often only a few yards from the ground.Around 11 p.m., he turned eastward and found a railway and a small lake—he remembered that this was south of the duke's residence.He climbed to an altitude of 6,000 feet (a safe skydiving altitude), turned off the engine, and opened the canopy—suddenly, he realized that he had neglected one point during his meticulous training: "I didn't ask people how to skydive, thinking it It's so simple!" Just as his landline ME-110 was falling, he remembered something: a friend once mentioned that the plane should be belly up.He flipped the plane over, turned his head down, and relied on the centripetal force to keep himself in the cabin.As a result, he saw the golden stars dancing in front of him.Just before he fainted, a thought flashed through his mind: "We will collide with him soon!"

Waking up, he caught a glimpse of the speedometer needle pointing to zero.He jumped out of the cabin and yanked the umbrella ring.Fortunately, before he lost consciousness, he had involuntarily completed a half-circle with the nose up and tail down.In this way, he was surprised to find that he was safely suspended in mid-air. After landing, he couldn't help leaning forward, fell to the ground, and lost consciousness again.A farmer found him and handed him over to the "Vigilante". The "militia" sent him to a barracks in Glasgow.He insisted that he was Alfred.Captain Han, requesting a meeting with the Duke of Hamilton. His letter was not delivered to Hitler in the Berghof until Sunday morning.While Engel was making his daily report to Hitler, Martin Bormann's brother Albert von came in to report that Hess's adjutant had urgently asked to see the Führer. "Didn't you see that I was giving a military report and didn't want to be disturbed?" Albert was kicked out.A moment later, Albert, whose face was as white as paper, squeezed in again.this time.He said nothing and refused to go out.There's something very important, perhaps very dangerous, he said.After speaking, he took out Hess' letter.Hitler reads letters with his glasses on.He didn't think so at first.When he read "My head of state, I will be in England when you read this letter", he sat down on the chair and shouted, the voice could be heard downstairs: "Ah, my God! My God! He has flown to England!" He went on to read about the technical difficulties of the flight, the purpose of which was to further the Führer's own plans for an alliance with Britain, and the reason why he To keep it secret because he knew that the Führer would not allow him to do so. "Furthermore, my Fuehrer, if this plan should fail - and I admit that the chances of success are remote - and fate should be against me, without fatal consequences for you or Germany, you may at any time deny All responsibility. Just say I'm crazy." The Führer turned pale with anger, and Engel asked Marshal Goering to answer the phone.Göring was near Nuremberg.Hitler shouted: "Göring, come to me at once!" He shouted for Albert Bormann to bring his brother and Ribbentrop, and ordered the arrest of the damned Hess' adjutant.Then, he kept pacing in the room, still resentful.When Martin Bormann arrived out of breath, Hitler asked, could Hess fly the ME-110 plane to England?The ace pilot of World War I, Air Force General Udet, answered this question.Unable to fly, he said, because of its limited range.The Führer murmured: "I hope he falls into the sea!" Hitler, too, went from angry to furious that day as time went on.The few friends who were hiding upstairs were terrified and guessed at the same time, not knowing what happened.At this time, Hitler hid in his study, racking his brains to come up with a convincing explanation to explain to the public.Will Japan and Italy doubt Germany's separate peace with Britain?Will his own soldiers stop fighting hard?Worst of all, had Hess leaked the Barbarossa plan?After the manuscript was changed again and again, a communiqué finally came out.It said Hess disobeyed orders and disappeared in the plane, presumed to have crashed, and that a letter left behind by him "disadvantageously shows signs of insanity. This gives reason to believe that he was the victim of hallucinations." ". Mrs. Farter heard the broadcast at supper.The tone of the broadcast was unfriendly, and she couldn't help but think, "He has been loyal all his life. Is this a thank you to him?" She hurriedly called Hess' brother Alfred.The two speculated on various possibilities on the phone.Mrs. Hess was called out by the youngest adjutant while she was watching a movie with the chauffeurs, servants and adjutants.In great distress he told her to get dressed at once.She was startled at the stupidity of the request.As soon as she heard that the radio station was speculating that her husband was dead, she replied angrily: "Nonsense!" She didn't believe that there would be a tragedy, and immediately hung up the emergency number to Berghof, wanting to talk to Hitler.But it was Bowman who answered the phone and said he had no news at all.She doesn't trust him because she knows her husband's assistant.She hung up and went to Berlin to find Alfred.Nor did he believe that Rudolph was dead. No news has come from the UK yet.Hess had identified himself to the Duke of Hamilton, told him about his mission, how he had negotiated with Elbrecht Haushofer, tried to meet him in Lisbon, and so on.Hamilton immediately went to see Churchill.Churchill said: "What about Hess and not Hess, I will talk about it after watching "The Marx Brothers." After watching the movie, the Prime Minister asked Hess in detail about the situation. Hours after Germany broadcast news of Hess' disappearance, Britain finally revealed that Hess had arrived in England.No details.At that time, the German press was preparing to publish the broadcast draft.Since the news had come from London, they had to come up with a more detailed official statement.The communiqué, which was published on Tuesday, 13th, admitted that the deputy head of state had landed in Britain on the one hand, and added to his mental state on the other hand: "People in the party know that in recent years, Hess has been seriously ill several times. Lately, in order to relieve his physical suffering, he has had constant recourse to the spells of hypnotists and astrologers. It is now being determined how responsible these persons were for the insanity that led to his exodus..." The confusion this statement created in Germany reached the highest levels.Goebbels told his staff, "At present, our task is to remain silent, not to react, not to explain, not to participate in the polemics. The situation will be clarified this afternoon. I will issue detailed instructions from Obersalzburg." He tried to assure his people that Hess' departure, while admittedly embarrassing, had never been viewed as a mere dramatic interlude. "However, we have no reason to be disheartened, or to think that this difficult time will not be overcome." After the meeting, Goebbels flew to Berchtesgaden to attend an emergency meeting of local and imperial prefects.After Bowman finished reading Hess' message, the Führer showed up.Hans Frank hadn't seen Hitler for a long time, and he couldn't help being surprised to see the "sad face" of the Führer.Regarding the departure of Hess, the Führer spoke "calmly, intermittently, and showed great melancholy" at the beginning.After a while, however, his tone changed and he became angry.He said that Hess's departure was completely insane. "First of all, Hess is a defector. If I catch him, he will have to pay the price just like any other traitor. Furthermore, I personally feel that Hess is deeply influenced by the astrologers around him. Therefore, The time has come to end all the nonsense of night stargazers (all astrologers, mystics, etc. who are suspected of being Hess have been mass arrested. performances, all outlawed). Thanks to the Hessian lunatics, our position is not shaken, but it is also made very difficult, especially in my beliefs-my belief is that in this war against state society In the war against Judaism, the enemy of communism, victory belongs to our white banner." His audience had already heard that Hess was very interested in raising lions, taking various therapeutic drugs, and relishing astrology, and believed that he was indeed Been deranged.However, they are also thinking like ordinary citizens: If this is the case, why does Hitler still let him stay in an important position? It is significant that the Führer said nothing to the leaders of his party about the imminent invasion of Russia and the possibility that Hess had leaked it to the British.He need not worry.Despite rigorous questioning by Hamilton and Sir Ivon Kirkpatrick, Hess insisted that "the rumors now circulating that Hitler was contemplating an early attack on Russia are groundless".All Hitler needed was a peace with Britain.He said that his trip was approved by Hitler, and the purpose was to "convince the responsible (British) people that since Britain cannot win this war, the most sensible way is to make peace now." When Elbrecht Haushofer heard that Hess had left, he ran into his father's study. "We talk politics with such fools!" he cried. The English would not have dealt with such a man under such absurd circumstances!His father agreed, saying gloomily, "Such a sacrifice is terrible and meaningless." Haushofer the Younger was ordered to go to Obersalzburg to write a report under supervision to the Führer - who did not want to see him. he.This report, titled "Contacts with the British and the Possibility of Applying the Northern Connections," told the truth in some detail without implicating some of its friends in the resistance movement.Elbrecht talks about his relationship with Hamilton and the letters he wrote to Hamilton at Hess' request.He also said that because of his extensive contacts in the UK, he would be indispensable in any future negotiations with the UK.The report advised Hitler not to act hastily.Hitler ordered Haushofer to be sent to the Gestapo Prison Elbrechtstrasse prison in Berlin for further interrogation.His father's forgiveness made Hitler particularly angry. "This Jewish professor has a guilty conscience about Hess!" he said.He also blamed himself for not taking steps sooner to "separate the Munich nest and silence them". Others connected to Hess - his brother Alfred, several of his aides, bodyguards, secretary and driver - were arrested.Ilse Hess was not imprisoned, but Bowman did his best to humiliate her.Bowman distanced himself from his former master as much as possible. He changed the first names of his two children, Rudolph and Ilse (after the Hesses), to give them more appropriate godparents.Chosen as Hess's successor, she wiped out all reminders of her former master.All photographs of Hess, as well as books and official documents in which his photograph was printed, were destroyed.He even wanted to confiscate Hess's house, a move that even Hitler thought was excessive.Hitler refused to sign the confiscation papers. The guests on the top floor of the Berghof were finally released, but no one dared to speak of leaving England.Someone deliberately asked, why didn't Hess' adjutant come to dinner?Bowman replied that he was in jail - "he's not coming out again".Engel commented in his diary, "Bowman was the only one who dared to walk up and down the hive. We all agree that he thought this was his moment of rampage." In Britain, the government decided not to release the details of Hess's interrogation to the public, leaving the Nazis to guess. On the evening of May 16, Hess was secretly taken to the "Tower of London" and became the most famous prisoner of war in the world.A few days later A. P. Herbert summed up the English opinion of Hess in verse: He's crazy.He is a dove of peace. He is Christ, he is Hitler's nephew. He's the most honest of them all. He is their most ruthless killer. He is tasked with safeguarding humanity. He's not an alcoholic, he's "blind." He's been mad since he was ten, But it has always been Hitler's Coats... Stalin was more worried about Hess' departure than Mussolini.According to Mussolini's son-in-law, he was "happy about it, because it would bring down German stocks, even for the Italians".People in the Kremlin heard rumors of an invasion and suspected that Britain was really playing a conspiracy with Hitler.They introduced new regulations: foreigners were not allowed to travel outside Moscow except in rare cases. Furious as he was, Hitler privately told several of his confidants that he had deep respect for Hess's willingness to sacrifice himself for such a dangerous mission.After thinking about it carefully, he realized that the risky escape of his deputy was entirely for him.Hitler didn't believe that Hess was crazy; he was just too stupid to see how big a political mistake he had made. This more sober view was later confirmed.A few months later, Mrs. Brookman's husband died.Hitler comforted her and said: "We all have our own graves, and we are becoming more and more lonely. But we have to overcome everything and continue to live, my dear lady! Among the people around me, there are only two The real favorites of my heart: Dr. Todt (builder of the "West Wall" and the highway) and Hess. Both are gone. Todt is dead and Hess flew away from me! " "You tell me that now," replied Mrs. Bruckman, who is reported to be famously outspoken, "but what does your official paper say? Year after year we go to White Wright and are deeply moved. , but who understands its true meaning? When our unfortunate times have produced a figure like Valkyrie, the Wonder Maiden who brought death into the Hall of Souls, a figure who can understand deeply the meaning of Watson's command, a Go after a man who, with heroic courage and self-sacrifice, will realize your most sacred desires, and he will be called a madman!" After saying this, she expected to be refuted by the Führer, but he said He remained silent, contemplating. "Isn't what I've told you—and you alone—about my true feelings enough?" he said at last, "isn't that enough for you?" As for Hess, what he did was enough.He wrote to his wife from the Tower of London that he was glad to be flying to England because what he called a "stubborn dragon" was driving him and haunting him. "Yes, I did nothing. I was powerless to stop this mad war from what I saw coming. I failed to save people, but I rejoice when I think about trying to do so" (as a In return, Hess - whom Weidmann called "the most righteous man" among the Nazi leaders - has spent more than 30 years in solitary confinement. He was the last Allied inmate in Spandau Prison A big table separated him from his prison visitors in those old days. He was never allowed to kiss or hug his loved ones).