Following the suicide of Adolf Hitler in April 1945, Großadmiral Karl Dönitz assumed the role of German head of state during the final weeks of the Second World War. Tasked with managing a collapsing nation, he oversaw the formal surrender of the German armed forces to the Allied powers in May 1945 before his administration was officially dissolved.
Naval Origins and First World War
Born in 1891 in Grünau, Dönitz entered the Imperial German Navy in 1910 and attended the Naval Academy at Mürwik. During the First World War, he served on the SMS Breslau before transitioning to the submarine branch. While commanding UB-68 in the Mediterranean, he was captured by British forces near Malta in 1918 and remained a prisoner of war until 1919.
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As supreme commander of the U-boat arm (Befehlshaber der U-Boote) at the start of the Second World War, Dönitz developed the Rudeltaktik or wolfpack doctrine for coordinated submarine attacks. He was promoted to Großadmiral in January 1943, succeeding Erich Raeder as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. Under his direction, U-boats contested Allied control of the Atlantic, though the campaign resulted in the loss of 648 vessels and approximately 30,000 personnel.
Head of State and Surrender
Designated as Hitler's successor in his last will, Dönitz served as president of Germany from April to May 1945. He presided over the Flensburg Government during the final stages of the conflict. On 7 May 1945, he instructed Alfred Jodl to sign the German Instrument of Surrender in Reims, France. The Allied powers dissolved his cabinet on 23 May 1945.
Post-war Trial and Imprisonment
At the Nuremberg trials, Dönitz was indicted for war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against the laws of war. While acquitted of crimes against humanity, he was convicted of crimes against peace and crimes against the laws of war. He received a ten-year prison sentence. After serving his term, he retired to a village near Hamburg, where he remained until his death in 1980 at Aumühle.
Fast facts
- Born: 1891, Grünau
- Died: 1980, Aumühle
- Military rank: Großadmiral
- Education: Naval Academy at Mürwik
- President of Germany: 1945
- Knight's Cross: Awarded with Oak Leaves in 1943
- Prisoner of war: 1918-1919
- Burial site: Aumühle Cemetery
Questions readers ask
What was the wolfpack tactic?
Commonly known as Rudeltaktik, it was a strategy formulated by Dönitz where U-boats operated in coordinated attack groups for greater efficiency instead of acting independently.
Why was he tried at Nuremberg?
He was indicted as a major war criminal for his role in waging wars of aggression, committing crimes against peace, and violating the laws of war.
Achievements
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves — 1943
- Educated at Naval Academy at Mürwik
- Worked as politician, autobiographer and submariner
