Karl Dönitz Autograph

Profession:
(1891-1980) German naval commander during World War II

Year of Birth: 1891

Karl Dönitz was a German Naval officer and politician who served as the Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy during World War II and briefly as President of Germany in 1945. He was born on 16 September 1891 in Grünau, a suburb of Berlin, to a middle-class family. His father was a career officer in the Prussian Navy. Dönitz was educated at the Naval Cadet School in Kiel. After graduating he joined the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) in 1910, and by the outbreak of World War I he was a lieutenant.

Dönitz served with distinction during World War I, taking part in several major naval actions. He was awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Order of the Crown, Fourth Class. After the war he remained in the navy, rising to the rank of Kapitän zur See (Captain). During the interwar period he served in a variety of roles, including in the research department of the Naval High Command and as chief of staff of the North Sea Station.

In 1935, Dönitz was promoted to the rank of Admiral and appointed as commander of U-boats. During the period of his command, German U-boat tactics were developed, leading to the devastating Battle of the Atlantic. He was also responsible for the sinking of many Allied ships, earning him the nickname “the Wolf of the Atlantic”.

In 1939, Dönitz was promoted to Grand Admiral and appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy. He held this position until the end of the war and was responsible for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of German troops and civilians from the eastern front. He also coordinated the sinking of thousands of Allied ships and the sinking of hundreds of Allied ships in the Baltic Sea.

At the end of the war, Dönitz was appointed President of Germany by Adolf Hitler in his will. He held this position for less than a month before being arrested by the Allies. He was tried at the Nuremberg Trials and sentenced to 10 years in prison for war crimes. After his release from prison, Dönitz wrote several books on naval strategy and served as a consultant to the West German Navy. He died in 1980 at the age of 88.

Karl Dönitz was an important figure in German military history. His tactics and strategies during World War II were instrumental in the German Navy’s success and he was a key figure in the German government in the closing days of the war. His legacy lives on today as one of the most important figures in the history of the German Navy.