HESS, RUDOLF – NUREMBERG WAR CRIMES TRIALS – SPANDAU PRISON – COLD WAR – BRITISH MILITARY GUARDS – 1945–1987. The Last Nazi in Spandau.

HESS, RUDOLF – NUREMBERG WAR CRIMES TRIALS – SPANDAU PRISON – COLD WAR – BRITISH MILITARY GUARDS – 1945–1987. The Last Nazi in Spandau. An unusual and historically interesting newspaper photographic archive comprising ten vintage black-and-white press photographs of Rudolf Hess (1894–1987), Hitler's former Deputy Führer, accompanied by original press captions, photographic agency material, editorial correspondence and contemporary reports concerning his imprisonment at Spandau Prison in West Berlin. The photographs include an informal image of Hess seated at a table during the Nuremberg period, formal close-up portraits, an earlier photograph of Hess in Nazi uniform, various later newspaper reproductions of historic images, composite press photographs relating to his imprisonment and death, and a detailed aerial photograph of Spandau Prison issued in August 1987, shortly before the building's demolition. The collection is particularly notable for its extensive surviving press documentation, including Associated Press material dated October 1966 identifying Hess as the last remaining senior Nazi prisoner at Spandau following the release of Albert Speer and Baldur von Schirach; a substantial original typescript report dated May 1973 describing Hess's solitary confinement and recording observations attributed to British soldiers guarding or stationed near the prison; further press material dating from 1982–84 concerning proposals for demolition and redevelopment; and contemporary Press Association photographs and captions dated August 1987 following Hess's death. The 1973 reporting includes accounts attributed to Lance Corporal Dave Howell and Sergeant Alan Turner, both associated with British military service in West Berlin, describing Hess's daily walks, behaviour, clothing, the prison's security arrangements and the remarkable circumstances of guarding a single ageing prisoner within a vast Allied-controlled institution. Particularly interesting are the descriptions of Hess collecting conkers, moving through the prison garden, and the atmosphere surrounding the guard towers. These are contemporary journalistic accounts rather than independently authenticated prison records. The 1987 material documents Hess's death at the age of 93 and the subsequent decision to demolish Spandau Prison. The surviving photographs are of varying dates and formats; several are later period press reproductions of earlier images rather than contemporary impressions from the original events. From the original photographic archive of the Shields Gazette, South Shields, North East England, retaining press agency captions, original newsroom markings, manuscript editorial instructions, date stamps and associated typescript correspondence. Various sizes. Mixed vintage condition, with creasing, handling wear, occasional tears, fading and age-related discolouration, particularly affecting some of the working press prints and associated paperwork. A coherent and unusually informative photographic and documentary collection tracing the continuing newspaper coverage of Rudolf Hess from the Nuremberg Trials through four decades of imprisonment to his death in August 1987. The ten photographs and associated documentary material are offered together as one collection. Stock reference: 004280.…