Rudolf Hess is probably most famous for being the last prisoner in Spandau, but I hear surprisingly little about his famous flight and its repercussions.

My understanding is that Mr Hess had the intention of meeting with a member of the royal family (Duke of Hamilton) he was on good terms with, and convincing him that peace should be made with Germany. I suppose after this, the Duke would somehow influence Britain to leave the war, and Hess would return to Germany celebrated as a man of peace.

This sounds like a horrible, ridiculous idea that had no chance of success. Hess nor the Duke had the authority to end the war, just the authority to ask their bosses nicely.

Furthermore, of all the ways to engage in diplomacy, the way he went about it seems unprecedented and absurd. It’s like if Kamala Harris snuck out in the middle of the night and flew a solo flight to Siberia because she knows someone related to Putin who can convince him to end the war.

I feel this goes beyond bad judgement seems more like a mental breakdown or drug-induced craziness. I don’t know much about Hess other than he seemed to have a much lower profile than other high-ranking Nazis and seemingly never exhibited behaviour like this prior to the flight. What happened?