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Rudolf Hess, the son of a wealthy German merchant, was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He served as a pilot in World War I. After the war, when economic and social instability plagued the new Weimer Republic, many Germans believed the country did not need a Social Democracy, but rather a strong leader who would take charge. Hess, and others like him, were drawn to Hitler and his fiery speeches promising change. Hess joined the National Socialist Party, some time between 1921 and 1922. In 1923, he took part in Hitler's failed "Beer Hall Putsch" or coup d'etat against the Bavarian government. Hess turned himself in to authorities when it was made public that Hitler had been arrested. Along with Hitler, he was tried and convicted of treason. While both were in Landsberg Prison, he acted as secretary to Hitler, who dictated his personal manifesto, Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"), to Hess.

In 1939, the "Führer" promoted Hess, who then became second in command to General Hermann Goering in the Nazi Party. Hess remained loyal to Hitler; however, in 1941, he and other top officials in the party feared Hitler's ambitious plans to invade the Soviet Union while still actively waging war in the west would break the German Army. Presumably unbeknownst to anyone, the former military pilot took a small plane and flew to England to attempt to negotiate a peace treaty. He was captured and when brought before Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister at the time, he said he was acting alone, argued that England could not win the war and offered to negotiate peace. Churchill dismissed him and had him imprisoned in the Tower of London for the remainder of the war. Notably, though Hitler was initially furious, later, when it became apparent that Hess had not revealed Hitler's plans to attack the Soviet Union, the Führer confided to a top Nazi official that he realized Hess's intentions were, in fact, altruistic.

In 1945, Hess was tried by the Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.