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Karl Dönitz

Karl Dönitz
Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1976-127-06A, Karl Dönitz - crop.jpg
Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, later Reichspräsident of Germany
President of the German Reich
In office
30 April 1945 – 23 May 1945
Chancellor Joseph Goebbels
Leading Minister Lutz von Krosigk
Preceded by Adolf Hitler
(Führer of Germany)
Succeeded by Theodor Heuss
(President of the Federal Republic of Germany)
Wilhelm Pieck
(President of the German Democratic Republic)
Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy
In office
30 January 1943 – 1 May 1945
Führer Adolf Hitler
Chancellor Joseph Goebbels
Deputy Eberhard Godt
Preceded by Erich Raeder
Succeeded by Hans-Georg von Friedeburg
Personal details
Born (1891-09-16)16 September 1891
Grünau, Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died 24 December 1980(1980-12-24) (aged 89)
Aumühle, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany
Nationality German
Political party National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) (honorary member, 1944–45)
Spouse(s) Ingeborg Weber
Children 3
Religion Lutheranism
Signature
Military service
Nickname(s) Der Löwe (The Lion)
Allegiance  German Empire (1910–18)
 Weimar Republic (1920–33)
 Nazi Germany (1933–45)
Service/branch  Kaiserliche Marine
 Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1910–18
1920–45
Rank Großadmiral
Commands SM UC-25 (1918)
SM UB-68 (1918)
Torpedo Boats (1920s)
Emden (1934–35)
1st U-boat Flotilla (1935–36)
Führer der Unterseeboote (1936–39)
Befehlshaber der U-Boote (1939–43)
Oberkommando der Marine (1943–45)
Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht (1945)
Battles/wars

World War I

World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Iron Cross 1st Class
U-boat War Badge with Diamonds

World War I

World War II

Karl Dönitz (German: [ˈkaɐ̯l ˈdøːnɪts]; 16 September 1891 – 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who played a major role in the naval history of World War II. Dönitz succeeded Adolf Hitler as the head of state of Germany.

He began his career in the Imperial German Navy before World War I. In 1918, while he was in command of UB-68, the submarine was sunk by British forces and Dönitz was taken prisoner. While in a prisoner of war camp, he formulated what he later called Rudeltaktik ("pack tactic", commonly called "wolfpack"). At the start of World War II, he was the senior submarine officer in the Kriegsmarine. In January 1943, Dönitz achieved the rank of Großadmiral (grand admiral) and replaced Grand Admiral Erich Raeder as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.

On 30 April 1945, after the death of Adolf Hitler and in accordance with Hitler's last will and testament, Dönitz was named Hitler's successor as head of state, with the title of President of Germany and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. On 7 May 1945, he ordered Alfred Jodl, Chief of Operations Staff of the OKW, to sign the German instruments of surrender in Reims, France. Dönitz remained as head of the Flensburg Government, as it became known, until it was dissolved by the Allied powers on 23 May. At the Nuremberg trials, he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment; after his release, he lived quietly in a village near Hamburg until his death in 1980.


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