Hitler once spared the life of a Jew - his ex-officer

London - Adolf Hitler once ordered the Nazi secret police force Gestapo to spare the life of a Jew, according to a letter found by a newspaper.

Ernst Hess was saved because he had been the Fuhrer's commanding officer in World War I, The Sun reported.

The letter, written by Heinrich Himmler and dated Aug 27, 1940, was found in a file kept by the Dusseldorf Gestapo.

It was uncovered by a newspaper called Jewish Voice From Germany.

The letter granted Hess "relief and protection as per the Fuhrer's wishes". It said he was "not to be inopportuned in any way whatsoever".

The letter saved Hess, but his sister was among six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. Hess died in 1983.