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Epilogue y 285

allied army officer. e judges conferred again and ruled that since the origin of the docu-
ment in the courtroom was unknown, it could not be put before the witness.
Dr. Seidl’s efforts bore bitter fruit. He had revealed to the world that a heinous secret
pact existed, but the ruling to prevent him from producing the actual document in court
prevented him from aiding the defense of his client. Rudolf Hess was not found guilty of
crimes against humanity and war crimes, but he was found guilty of conspiracy to wage ag-
gressive war and of crimes against peace. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on October
1, 1946. e Soviet member of the tribunal objected to Hess’s sentence, arguing that Hess
should have been sentenced to death. Hess spent the rest of his life in prison until he died by
suicide at age ninety-two, on August 17, 1987, the last of the convicted Nazi war criminals
and the sole occupant of West Berlin’s Spandau prison. e Soviet Union rejected all efforts
to permit Hess early release.
Had Hess been released, his family and those who urged his release would have been
free to draw attention to Stalin’s own guilt for crimes against peace and conspiracy to wage
aggressive war.