BONN, West Germany -- The son of Rudolf Hess today sought permission for his father to examine the 'Hitler diaries' to determine if they are authentic.
Wolf Hess, a 44-year-old Munich architect, made the request in a telegram to the ambassadors of the United States, France, Britain and the Soviet Union, the four nations that operate the Spandau war crimes prison in West Berlin.
Hess, Hitler's former deputy, is serving a life sentence for 'crimes against peace.' He turned 89 this week.
'As the sole living and direct eyewitness, my father is in the position to make a pronouncement on the authenticity of the diaries,' the former Nazi leader's son said.
The telegram, also sent to the West German government, was made public by Stern magazine, which is publishing extracts from the diaries.
A spokesman for the British embassy in Bonn said the request had been received but refused further comment.
An informed source in Berlin said censorship rules barring Hess from discussing the Nazi period were strict and there was little chance he would be allowed to examine the diaries.
Hess, in jail for 42 years, may be the key to the mystery surrounding the diaries, whose authenticity has been questioned by historians and Hitler's former aides.
The Die Zeit newspaper said Thursday that Gerd Heidemann, the Stern magazine reporter who claims to have found 60 volumes of Hitler's personal writings between 1932 and 1945, was the go-between in a suggested deal 12 months ago between Nazis still free in South America and Moscow.
Die Zeit, co-published by former West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, said Heidemann met a group of Nazi exiles in Paraguay during his attempts to track down and authenticate the diaries.
The Nazis said they would reveal information on the whereabouts of Soviet art treasures looted by German troops during the war if Moscow would give its permission to free Hess.
The three Western allies -- France, Britain and the United States - have indicated they would be prepared to free Hess but Moscow has always vetoed the idea.
'When the Soviets showed interest, Heidemann raised the price of the proposal,' Die Zeit saidof the deal, which fell through.
Die Zeit said the timing of the first publication by Stern of excerpts from the diaries on Monday coincided with the eve of Hess's 89th birthday.
'Everything smells of (careful) timing,' Die Zeit said, 'of an attempt to sow mistrust between the Western powers and the Soviet Union.'
Hess's signature is carried on bands sealing some of the volumes of the alleged diaries, one of which is about Hess's flight to Scotland in 1941 to try to end the war.