Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons
Born in Egypt · Nationality German — Politics / Nazi regime / aggressive war / Nuremberg trial
Documented profile covering 8 controversies, including “1947–1987: life imprisonment at Spandau, followed by suicide in prison aged 93” and “1945–1946: found fit despite memory problems; guilty on counts 1 and 2, acquitted on counts 3 and 4”.
Profile No. 2694 · Updated on 12 October 2026
§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology
Case · 5 documented stages
1947–17 August 1987
Hess was imprisoned at Spandau in Berlin and eventually became its only prisoner. He served his life sentence until committing suicide in 1987 at the age of 93.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
1945–1 October 1946
After medical assessment, the Tribunal refused to suspend his trial. Hess was found guilty of conspiracy and crimes against peace but acquitted of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
April–October 1939
Hess signed legislation incorporating the Sudetenland administratively and, following the invasion of Poland, decrees incorporating Danzig and Polish territories and establishing the General Government. Before the attack, he publicly accused Poland and the United Kingdom of responsibility for tensions.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
March–September 1938
Hess maintained links with clandestine Austrian Nazis, was in Vienna when German troops entered and signed the law uniting Austria with the Reich. During the Sudeten crisis, he helped make the party apparatus available for secret mobilisation.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
16 March 1935 et années suivantes
Hess signed the law introducing conscription in breach of the Versailles settlement and conducted propaganda supporting rearmament, calling on the population to sacrifice its standard of living in favour of armaments.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
10 May 1941
Hess flew alone to Scotland in an attempt to establish political contact and propose a German–British peace. He was arrested on arrival and remained in British custody until his transfer for the Nuremberg trial.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
September 1935–May 1938
Hess signed the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour, and his apparatus issued measures removing certain political rights from Jews, among other things; he also signed the extension of racial rules to Austria after the Anschluss.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
November 1923–1924
Hess participated in the Beer Hall Putsch and was subsequently imprisoned with Hitler at Landsberg, during which period he became one of Hitler's closest confidants.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
Documented biographical or institutional milestones (elections, appointments, foundings, acquisitions…). These are not controversies and are not counted as such.
Hitler appointed Hess his deputy, giving him extensive authority over the party leadership. As Minister without Portfolio, he also participated in screening and approving proposed Reich legislation.
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