Jan’s search for the truth about Hitler’s deputy

Jan Needle: book delves into truth about Rudolf Hess

SADDLEWORTH author Jan Needle has joined Britain’s biggest eBook publisher to uncover one of the great unsolved mysteries of World War II.

Jan’s book “Death Order” tells the story of the flight by Hitler’s Deputy Rudolf Hess, who was eventually jailed for life at Nuremberg in 1946, and who is believed to have committed suicide in Berlin’s Spandau Prison at the age of 93 in 1987.

Historians have argued that the man who died was possibly not Hess and was unlikely to have committed suicide.

Normally restricted Government papers examined by researchers cast doubt on many aspects of the story.

Jan said: “It is unlikely the truth will ever be fully revealed, but the mystery will just not go away. Many historians have written about the case, but few believe the official version - that Prisoner Number Seven was indeed Rudolf Hess and that he killed himself.

“Army surgeon Dr Hugh Thomas examined the prisoner in Spandau, and said it could not be Hess under any circumstances. Hitler’s deputy was shot through the lung while a World War one infantryman - but the prisoner’s body had no chest scars.”

The question that has fascinated Jan for years is how the switch was made.

It seems likely Hess flew to Scotland in May 1941 and was transferred to the Tower of London for questioning after crash-landing near Glasgow.

“When DNA technology was perfected towards the end of the last century, the body of Prisoner Number Seven was suddenly exhumed and cremated,” Jan said. “The ashes were scattered at sea.

“The other enormous question is why?

“Death Order” is available for £2.99 on Amazon.