Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, generally being the highest such rank present in any particular country. Its most notable use was in Germany — the German word is Großadmiral.

France[link]

In Bourbon Restoration France, the rank was an honorific one equivalent to that of marshal in the French Army.

Germany[link]

In the German Navy, the rank was the equivalent of a British admiral of the fleet or a United States fleet admiral. It was created in 1901, and like field marshals its holders were authorised to carry a baton.^[1]

World War I[link]

German Grand Admiral's sleeve insignia (1939-1945)

German Grand Admiral's shoulder insignia

Alfred von Tirpitz in the uniform of a grand admiral

Before and during World War I, the following men were made grand admirals of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy):

• Emperor Wilhelm II (1901)
• King Oscar II of Sweden (1901)
• Hans von Koester (28 June 1905)
• Prince Henry of Prussia (4 September 1909)
• Alfred von Tirpitz (27 January 1911)
• Henning von Holtzendorff (31 May 1918)

World War II[link]

Before and during World War II, the following men were made grand admirals of the German Kriegsmarine:

• Erich Raeder, then-Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine, was made a grand admiral on 1 April 1939
• Karl Dönitz, commander of the U-Boat fleet and later successor to Adolf Hitler, was made a grand admiral on 30 January 1943 upon succeeding Raeder as Commander-in-Chief.

The Kriegsmarine also used the rank of general admiral (Generaladmiral) which was senior to a full admiral, but junior to a grand admiral.

Italy[link]

The rank of grand admiral (in Italian, grande ammiraglio) was created by Benito Mussolini in 1924. It was established primarily to honour Paolo Thaon di Revel, who had been head of the Italian Regia Marina during World War I — he was the only person to be awarded the rank. It was equivalent to marshal of Italy in the army and also marshal of the Air Force.

Peru[link]

The rank of grand admiral of Peru (Spanish: gran almirante del Perú) was created by Peruvian Congress in 1967. It was posthumously awarded to Miguel Grau Seminario who was a renowned Peruvian naval officer of German ancestry and hero of the Naval Battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific (1879–1884).

Austria-Hungary[link]

Anton Haus, commander of the Austro-Hungarian navy for part of World War I, was given the title of grand admiral (Großadmiral) in 1916. No other active-duty officer (except members of the Imperial family) was ever given this rank (although Haus's immediate successor, Maximilian Njegovan, was promoted to grand admiral on the retired list in 1918).

In popular culture[link]

The rank of grand admiral also has appeared in science fiction literature, most significant of which is the literature of Star Wars. The Galactic Empire's Grand Admiral Thrawn, of the Timothy Zahn novels, is one such science fiction character who held this highest of naval ranks.

Footnotes[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2011)

Karl Dönitz
Großadmiral Karl Dönitz, later Reichspräsident of Germany
President of Germany
In office 30 April 1945 – 23 May 1945
Chancellor	Joseph Goebbels Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk (Leading Minister)
Preceded by	Adolf Hitler (as Führer) Paul von Hindenburg (in title)
Succeeded by	Theodor Heuss (as Bundespräsident)
Personal details
Born	(1891-09-16)16 September 1891 Berlin, German Empire
Died	24 December 1980(1980-12-24) (aged 89) Aumühle, West Germany
Nationality	German
Political party	National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) (1944–1945)[1]
Spouse(s)	Ingeborg Weber
Military service
Nickname(s)	Der Löwe (The Lion)
Allegiance	German Empire (1910–1918) Weimar Republic (1920–1933) Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Service/branch	Kaiserliche Marine  Reichsmarine  Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1910–1945
Rank	Großadmiral
Commands	SM UC-25 (February–September 1918) SM UB-68 (September–October 1918) Torpedo Boats (1920s) Emden (1934–1935) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1935–1936) FdU (1936–1939) BdU (1939–1943) OBdM (1943–1945) Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht (April–May 1945)
Battles/wars	World War I Black Sea Campaign Mediterranean U-boat Campaign World War II Battle of the Atlantic Convoy SC 7 Operation Paukenschlag
Awards	U-boat War Badge with Diamonds World War I U-Boat War Badge 1939 Clasp to the 1914 Iron Cross 1st Class Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Karl Dönitz (German pronunciation: [ˈdøːnɪts] ( listen); 16 September 1891 – 24 December 1980) was a German naval commander during World War II. He started his career in the German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine, or "Imperial 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^[2] ("pack tactic", commonly called "wolfpack"). At the start of World War II, he was the senior submarine officer in the German Navy. In January 1943, Dönitz achieved the rank of Großadmiral (Grand Admiral) and replaced Grand Admiral Erich Raeder as Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine). 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 Staatsoberhaupt (Head of State), with the title of Reichspräsident (President) and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. On 7 May 1945, he ordered Alfred Jodl to sign the German instruments of surrender in Rheims, France.^[3] Dönitz remained as head of the Flensburg Government, as it became known, until it was dissolved by the Allied powers on 23 May.

Early life and career[link]

Oberleutnant zur See Karl Dönitz as Watch Officer of U-39

Dönitz was born in Grünau in Berlin, Germany to Anna Beyer and Emil Dönitz, an engineer. Karl had an older brother, Friedrich. In 1910, Dönitz enlisted in the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). He became a sea-cadet (Seekadett) on 4 April. On 15 April 1911, he became a midshipman (Fähnrich zur See), the rank given to those who had served for one year as officer's apprentice and had passed their first examination.

On 27 September 1913, Dönitz was commissioned as an Acting Sub-Lieutenant (Leutnant zur See). When World War I began, he served in the light cruiser SMS Breslau in the Mediterranean Sea. In August 1914, Breslau and the battlecruiser SMS Goeben were sold to the Ottoman navy; the ships were renamed the Midilli and the Yavuz Sultan Selim, respectively. They began operating out of Constantinople (now Istanbul), under Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon, engaging Russian forces in the Black Sea. On 22 March 1916, Dönitz was promoted to Navy First Lieutenant (Oberleutnant zur See). When Midilli put into dock for repairs, he was temporarily assigned as airfield commander at the Dardanelles. From there, he requested a transfer to the submarine forces, which became effective in October 1916. He served as watch officer on U-39, and from February 1918 onward as commander of UC-25. On 5 September 1918, he became commander of UB-68, operating in the Mediterranean. On 4 October, this boat was sunk by British forces and Dönitz was taken prisoner on the island of Malta.

Inter-war period[link]

The war ended in 1918, but Dönitz remained in a British camp near Sheffield as a prisoner of war until his release in July 1919. He returned to Germany in 1920.

During the interwar period, Dönitz continued his naval career in the naval arm of the Weimar Republic's Armed Forces (Reichswehr). On 10 January 1921, he became a Lieutenant (Kapitänleutnant) in the new German Navy (Vorläufige Reichsmarine). Dönitz commanded torpedo boats by 1928, becoming a Lieutenant-Commander (Korvettenkapitän) on 1 November of that same year.

On 1 September 1933, Dönitz became a full Commander (Fregattenkapitän) and, in 1934, was put in command of the cruiser Emden. Emden was the ship on which cadets and midshipmen took a year-long world cruise in preparation for a future officer's commission.

On 1 September 1935, Dönitz was promoted to Captain (Kapitän zur See). He was placed in command of the 1st U-boat Flotilla Weddigen, which included U-7, U-8, and U-9.

During 1935, the Weimar Republic's Navy, the Reichsmarine, was replaced by the Navy of Nazi Germany, the Kriegsmarine.

Throughout 1935 and 1936, Dönitz had misgivings regarding submarines due to German overestimation of the capabilities of British ASDIC. In reality, ASDIC could detect only one submarine in ten during exercises. In the words of Alan Hotham, British Director of Naval Intelligence, ASDIC was a "huge bluff"^{[citation needed]}.

German doctrine at the time, based on the work of American Naval Captain Alfred Mahan and shared by all major navies, called for submarines to be integrated with surface fleets and employed against enemy warships. By November 1937, Dönitz became convinced that a major campaign against merchant shipping was practical and began pressing for the conversion of the German fleet almost entirely to U-boats.^[4] He advocated a strategy of attacking only merchant ships, targets relatively safe to attack. He pointed out that destroying Britain's fleet of oil tankers would starve the Royal Navy of supplies needed to run its ships, which would be just as effective as sinking them. He thought a German fleet of 300 of the newer Type VII U-boats could knock Britain out of the war.^[5]

Dönitz revived the World War I idea of grouping several submarines together into a "wolfpack" to overwhelm a merchant convoy's defensive escorts. Implementation of wolf packs had been difficult in World War I owing to the limitations of available radios. In the interwar years, Germany had developed ultra-high frequency transmitters which it was hoped would make their radio communication unjammable, while the Enigma cipher machine was believed to have made communications secure. Dönitz also adopted and claimed credit for Wilhelm Marschall's 1922 idea of attacking convoys using surface or very near surface night attacks. This tactic had the added advantage of making a submarine undetectable by sonar.^[6]

At the time, many – including Erich Raeder — felt such talk marked Dönitz as a weakling. Dönitz was alone among senior naval officers, including some former submariners, in believing in a new submarine war on trade. He and Raeder constantly argued over funding priorities within the Navy, while at the same time competing with Hitler's friends, such as Hermann Göring, who received greater attention at this time.

Since the surface strength of the Kriegsmarine was much less than that of the British Royal Navy, Raeder believed any war with Britain in the near future would doom it to uselessness, once remarking all the Germans could hope to do was die valiantly. Raeder based his hopes on war being delayed until the German Navy's extensive "Z Plan", which would have expanded Germany's surface fleet to where it could effectively contend with the Royal Navy, was implemented. The "Z Plan", however, was not scheduled to be completed until 1945.^[7]

Dönitz, in contrast, had no such fatalism and set about intensely training his crews in the new tactics. The marked inferiority of the German surface fleet left submarine warfare as Germany's only naval option once war broke out.

On 28 January 1939, Dönitz was promoted to Commodore (Kommodore) and Commander of Submarines (Führer der Unterseeboote).

World War II[link]

In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and World War II began. The Kriegsmarine was caught unprepared for war, having anticipated that the war's outbreak would be in 1945, not 1939. The Z Plan was tailored for this assumption, calling for a balanced fleet with a greatly increased number of surface capital ships, including several aircraft carriers. At the time the war began, Dönitz's force included only 57 U-boats, many of them short-range, and only 22 oceangoing Type VIIs. He made do with what he had, while being harassed by Raeder and with Hitler calling on him to dedicate boats to military actions against the British fleet directly. These operations had mixed success; the aircraft carrier HMS Courageous and battleship Royal Oak were sunk, and battleships HMS Nelson damaged and Barham sunk, at a cost of some U-boats, diminishing the small quantity available even further. Together with surface raiders, merchant shipping lines were also attacked by U-boats.^[5]

Commander of the submarine fleet[link]

On 1 October 1939, Dönitz became a Rear Admiral (Konteradmiral) and "Commander of the Submarines" (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote, BdU); on 1 September the following year, he was made a Vice Admiral (Vizeadmiral).

Karl Dönitz in 1943

By 1941, the delivery of new Type VIIs had improved to the point where operations were having a real effect on the British wartime economy. Although production of merchant ships shot up in response, improved torpedoes, better U-boats, and much better operational planning led to increasing numbers of "kills". On 11 December 1941, following Adolf Hitler's declaration of war on the United States, Dönitz immediately planned for implementation of Operation Drumbeat (Unternehmen Paukenschlag).^[8] This targeted shipping along the East Coast of the United States. Carried out the next month, with only nine U-boats (all the larger Type IX), it had dramatic and far-reaching results. The U.S. Navy was entirely unprepared for antisubmarine warfare, despite having had two years of British experience to draw from, and committed every imaginable mistake. Shipping losses, which had appeared to be coming under control as the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy gradually adapted to the new challenge, skyrocketed.

On at least two occasions, Allied success against U-boat operations led Dönitz to investigate possible reasons. Among those considered were espionage and Allied interception and decoding of German Navy communications (the naval version of the Enigma cipher machine). Both investigations into communications security came to the conclusion espionage was more likely, or else the Allied successes had been accidental. Nevertheless, Dönitz ordered his U-boat fleet to use an improved version of the Enigma machine (one with four rotors, which was more secure than the three-rotor version it replaced), the M4, for communications within the fleet, on 1 February 1942. The German Navy (Kriegsmarine) was the only branch to use this improved version; the rest of the German armed forces (Wehrmacht) continued to use their then-current three-rotor versions of the Enigma machine. The new system was termed "Triton" ("Shark" to the Allies). For a time, this change in encryption between submarines caused considerable difficulty for Allied codebreakers; it took ten months before Shark traffic could be read (see also Ultra codebreaking and Cryptanalysis of the Enigma).

By the end of 1942, the production of Type VII U-boats had increased to the point where Dönitz was finally able to conduct mass attacks by groups of submarines, a tactic he called "Rudel" (group or pack) and became known as "wolfpack" in English. Allied shipping losses shot up tremendously, and there was serious concern for a while about the state of British fuel supplies.

During 1943, the war in the Atlantic turned against the Germans, but Dönitz continued to push for increased U-boat construction and entertained the notion that further technological developments would tip the war once more in Germany's favour while briefing the Führer.^[9] At the end of the war, the German submarine fleet was by far the most advanced in the world, and late-war examples, such as the Type XXI U-boat, served as models for Soviet and American construction after the war. These, the Schnorchel (snorkel) and Type XXI boats, appeared late in the war because of Dönitz's personal indifference, at times even hostility, to new technology he perceived as disruptive for the production process.^[10] His opposition to the larger Type IX was not unique; Admiral Thomas C. Hart, who commanded the United States Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines at the outbreak of the Pacific War, opposed fleet boats as "too luxurious".^[11]

Dönitz was deeply involved in the daily operations of his boats, often contacting them up to seventy times a day with questions such as their position, fuel supply, and other "minutiae". This incessant questioning hastened the compromise of his ciphers, by giving the Allies more messages to work with. Furthermore, replies from the boats enabled the Allies to use direction finding (HF/DF, called "Huff-Duff") to locate a U-boat using its radio, track it, and attack it (often with aircraft able to sink it with impunity).

Dönitz wore on his uniform both the special grade of the U-Boat War Badge with diamonds, and his U-Boat War badge from World War I, along with his World War I Iron Cross 1st Class with World War II clasp.

Commander-in-chief and Grand Admiral[link]

Hitler meets Admiral Dönitz in the Führerbunker (1945)

On 30 January 1943, Dönitz replaced Erich Raeder as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine) and Grand Admiral (Großadmiral) of the Naval High Command (Oberkommando der Marine). His deputy, Eberhard Godt, took over the operational command of the U-boat force^[12] It was Dönitz who was able to convince Hitler not to scrap the remaining ships of the surface fleet. Despite hoping to continue to use them as a fleet in being, the Kriegsmarine continued losing what few capital ships it had. In September, the battleship Tirpitz was put out of action for months by a British midget submarine, and was sunk two months later by RAF bombers. In December, he ordered the battleship Scharnhorst (under Konteradmiral Erich Bey) to attack Soviet-bound convoys, having considered her success in the early years of the war with sister ship Gneisenau, but she was sunk in the resulting encounter with superior British forces led by the battleship HMS Duke of York

Hitler's successor[link]

In the final days of the war, after Hitler had installed himself in the Führerbunker beneath the Reich Chancellery gardens in Berlin, Hermann Göring was considered the obvious successor to Hitler, followed by Heinrich Himmler. Göring, however, had infuriated Hitler by radioing Hitler in Berlin asking for permission to assume leadership of the Reich. Himmler also tried to seize power himself by entering into negotiations with Count Folke Bernadotte. On 28 April, the BBC reported that Himmler had offered surrender to the western Allies and that the offer had been declined.^[13]

In his last will and testament, dated 29 April, Hitler named Dönitz his successor as Staatsoberhaupt (Head of State), with the title of Reichspräsident (President) and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The same document named Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels as Head of Government with the title of Reichskanzler (Chancellor). Further, Hitler expelled both Göring and Himmler from the party.^[14]

Rather than designate one person to succeed him as Führer, Hitler reverted to the old arrangement in the Weimar Constitution. Hitler believed the leaders of the Air Force (Luftwaffe) and SS (Schutzstaffel) had betrayed him. Since the German Navy had been too small to affect the war in a major way, its commander, Dönitz, became the only possible successor more or less by default.^[15]

However, on 1 May—the day after Hitler's death—Goebbels committed suicide. Dönitz thus became the sole representative of the crumbling German Reich. He appointed Finance Minister Count Ludwig Schwerin von Krosigk as "Leading Minister" (Krosigk had declined to accept the title of Chancellor) and they attempted to form a government.

That night, Dönitz made a nationwide radio address in which he spoke of Hitler's "hero's death" and announced that the war would continue "to save Germany from destruction by the advancing Bolshevik enemy." However, Dönitz knew even then that Germany's position was untenable and that the Wehrmacht was no longer capable of offering meaningful resistance. During his brief period in office, Dönitz devoted most of his efforts to ensuring the loyalty of the German armed forces and trying to ensure German troops would surrender to the British or Americans and not the Soviets. He feared vengeful Soviet reprisals against Nazi party members and high-ranking officers like himself, and hoped to strike a deal with the western Allies.^[15] In the end, the tactics of Dönitz were somewhat successful in that they enabled about 1.8 million German soldiers to avoid Soviet capture. However, this came at a high cost in bloodshed.^[16]

Flensburg government[link]

The rapidly advancing Allied forces limited the Dönitz government's jurisdiction to an area around Flensburg near the Danish border. Dönitz's headquarters were located in the Naval Academy in Mürwik, a suburb of Flensburg. Accordingly his administration was referred to as the Flensburg government. The following is Dönitz's description of his new government:

Late on 1 May, Himmler attempted to make a place for himself in the Flensburg government. The following is Dönitz's description of his showdown with Himmler:

On 4 May, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark, and northwestern Germany under Dönitz's command surrendered to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery at the Lüneburg Heath, just southeast of Hamburg, signalling the end of World War II in northwestern Europe.

Dönitz detention report and mugshot from 1945.

A day later, Dönitz sent Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, his successor as the commander in chief of the German Navy, to U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower's headquarters in Rheims, France, to negotiate a surrender to the Allies. The Chief of Staff of OKW, Colonel-General (Generaloberst) Alfred Jodl, arrived a day later. Dönitz had instructed them to draw out the negotiations for as long as possible so that German troops and refugees could surrender to the Western Powers. However, when Eisenhower let it be known he would not tolerate the Germans' stalling, Dönitz authorised Jodl to sign the instrument of unconditional surrender at 1:30 am on the morning of 7 May. Just over an hour later, Jodl signed the documents. The surrender documents included the phrase, "All forces under German control to cease active operations at 23:01 hours Central European Time on 8 May 1945." At Stalin's insistence, on 8 May, shortly before midnight, General Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) Wilhelm Keitel repeated the signing in Berlin at Marshal Georgiy Zhukov's headquarters, with General Carl Spaatz of the USAAF as Eisenhower's representative. At the time specified, World War II in Europe ended.

On 23 May, the Dönitz government was dissolved when its members were arrested by the Allied Control Commission at Flensburg.

Dönitz's relationship to Jews and Nazism[link]

Despite his postwar claims, Dönitz was seen as supportive of Nazism during the war.^[18] Several naval officers described him as "closely tied to Hitler and Nazi ideology."^[18] On one occasion, he spoke of Hitler's humanity.^[18] Another event, in which he spoke to Hitler Youth in what was defined as an "inappropriate way", earned him the nickname of "Hitler Youth Dönitz."^[18] He refused to assist Albert Speer in stopping a scorched earth policy dictated by Hitler^[18] and is also noted as saying, "in comparison to Hitler we are all pip-squeaks. Anyone who believes he can do better than the Führer is stupid."^[18]

There are several antisemitic statements on the part of Dönitz known to historians.^[18] When Sweden closed its international waters to Germany, he blamed this action on their fear and dependence on "international Jewish capital."^[18] In August 1944, he declared, "I would rather eat dirt than see my grandchildren grow up in the filthy, poisonous atmosphere of Jewry."^[18]

On German Heroes' Day (12 March) 1944, Dönitz declared that, without Adolf Hitler, Germany would be beset by the "poison of Jewry", and the country destroyed for lack of National Socialism, which, as Dönitz declared, gave defiance of an uncompromising ideology.^[19] At the Nuremberg Trials, Dönitz claimed the statement about the "poison of Jewry" was regarding "the endurance, the power to endure, of the people, as it was composed, could be better preserved than if there were Jewish elements in the nation." Initially he claimed, "I could imagine that it would be very difficult for the population in the towns to hold out under the strain of heavy bombing attacks if such an influence was allowed to work."

Author Eric Zillmer argues, that from an ideological standpoint, Dönitz was anti-Marxist and anti-Semitic.^[20] Later, during the Nuremberg Trials, Dönitz claimed to know nothing about the extermination of Jews and declared that nobody among "his men" thought about violence against Jews.^[19]

Dönitz told Leon Goldensohn, an American psychiatrist at Nuremberg, "I never had any idea of the goings-on as far as Jews were concerned. Hitler said each man should take care of his business, and mine was U-boats and the navy".^[21] To Goldensohn, Dönitz also spoke of his support for Admiral Bernhard Rogge, who was of Jewish descent, when the Nazi Party began to persecute the admiral.

Nuremberg war crimes trials[link]

17 October 1946 newsreel of Nuremberg Trials sentencing

Following the war, Dönitz was held as a prisoner of war by the Allies. He was indicted as a major war criminal at the Nuremberg Trials on three counts: (1) conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity; (2) planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; and (3) crimes against the laws of war. Dönitz was found not guilty on count (1) of the indictment, but guilty on counts (2) and (3).^[22]

Dönitz was for nearly seven decades the only head of state to be convicted by an international tribunal, until the conviction of Liberia's Charles Taylor in April 2012.^[23]

During the trial, Gustave Gilbert, an American Army psychologist, was allowed to examine the Nazi leaders who were tried at Nuremberg for war crimes. Among other tests, a German version of the Wechsler-Bellevue IQ test was administered. Dönitz scored 138, the third highest among the Nazi leaders tested.^[24]

Dönitz disputed the propriety of his trial at Nuremberg, commenting on count (2) that "One of the 'accusations' that made me guilty during this trial was that I met and planned the course of the war with Hitler; now I ask them in heaven’s name, how could an admiral do otherwise with his country's head of state in a time of war?"^[25] Numerous (over 100) senior Allied officers also sent letters to Dönitz conveying their disappointment over the fairness and verdict of his trial.^[26]

At the trial Dönitz was charged with:^[22]

• Waging unrestricted submarine warfare against neutral shipping (see below).
• Permitting Hitler's Commando Order of 18 October 1942 to remain in full force when he became commander-in-chief of the Navy, and to that extent responsibility for that crime. His defence was that the Order excluded men captured in naval warfare, and that the order had not been acted upon by any men under his command.
• That knowing that 12,000 involuntary foreign workers were working in the shipyards, he did nothing to stop it.
• Advice in 1945 when Hitler asked Dönitz whether the Geneva Convention should be denounced. Hitler's motives were twofold. The first was that reprisals could be taken against Western Allied prisoners of war and second it would deter German forces from surrendering to the Western Allies (as was happening on the Eastern front where the Geneva Convention was in abeyance). Instead of arguing that the conventions should never be denounced, Dönitz suggested that it was not currently expedient to do so, so the court found against him on this issue; but as the Convention was not denounced by Germany, and British prisoners in camps under Dönitz's jurisdiction were treated strictly according to the Convention, the Court considered these mitigating circumstances.

Among the war-crimes charges, Dönitz was accused of waging unrestricted submarine warfare for issuing War Order No. 154 in 1939, and another similar order after the Laconia incident in 1942, not to rescue survivors from ships attacked by submarine. By issuing these two orders, he was found guilty of causing Germany to be in breach of the Second London Naval Treaty of 1936.^[22] However, as evidence of similar conduct by the Allies was presented at his trial, and with the help of his lawyer Otto Kranzbühler, his sentence was not assessed on the grounds of this breach of international law.^[22]

On the specific war crimes charge of ordering unrestricted submarine warfare, Dönitz was found "[not] guilty for his conduct of submarine warfare against British armed merchant ships", because they were often armed and equipped with radios which they used to notify the Admiralty of attack^[22][27] but the judges found that "Dönitz is charged with waging unrestricted submarine warfare contrary to the Naval Protocol of 1936 to which Germany acceded, and which reaffirmed the rules of submarine warfare laid down in the London Naval Agreement of 1930... The order of Dönitz to sink neutral ships without warning when found within these zones was, therefore, in the opinion of the Tribunal, violation of the Protocol... The orders, then, prove Dönitz is guilty of a violation of the Protocol... the sentence of Dönitz is not assessed on the ground of his breaches of the international law of submarine warfare."^[22][28]

His sentence on unrestricted submarine warfare was not assessed, because of similar actions by the Allies: in particular, the British Admiralty on 8 May 1940 had ordered that all vessels in the Skagerrak should be sunk on sight; and Admiral Chester Nimitz, wartime commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, stated that the U.S. Navy had waged unrestricted submarine warfare in the Pacific from the day the U.S. entered the war. Thus although Dönitz's was found guilty of waging unrestricted submarine warfare against unarmed neutral shipping by ordering all ships in designated areas in international waters to be sunk without warning, no additional prison time was added to his sentence for this crime.^[22]

Dönitz was imprisoned for 10 years in Spandau Prison in what was then West Berlin.^[29]

Later years[link]

Dönitz was released on 1 October 1956, and he retired to the small village of Aumühle in Schleswig-Holstein in northern West Germany. There he worked on two books. His memoirs, Zehn Jahre, Zwanzig Tage (Memoirs: Ten Years and Twenty Days), appeared in Germany in 1958 and became available in an English translation the following year. This book recounted Dönitz's experiences as U-boat commander (10 years) and President of Germany (20 days). In it, Dönitz explains the Nazi regime as a product of its time, but argues he was not a politician and thus not morally responsible for much of the regime's crimes. He likewise criticizes dictatorship as a fundamentally flawed form of government and blames it for much of the Nazi era's failings.^[30]

Admiral Dönitz's second book, Mein wechselvolles Leben (My Ever-Changing Life) is less known, perhaps because it deals with the events of his life before 1934. This book was first published in 1968, and a new edition was released in 1998 with the revised title Mein soldatisches Leben (My Life as a Soldier).

Late in his life, Dönitz made every attempt to answer correspondence and autograph postcards for others. Dönitz was unrepentant regarding his role in World War II^[31][32] since he firmly believed that no one will respect anyone who compromises with his belief or duty towards his nation in any way, whether his betrayal was small or big. Of this conviction, Dönitz writes (commenting on Himmler's peace negotiations):

The betrayer of military secrets is a pariah, despised by every man and every nation. Even the enemy whom he serves has no respect for him, but merely uses him. Any nation which is not uncompromisingly unanimous in its condemnation of this type of treachery is undermining the very foundations of its own state, whatever its form of government may be.^[33]

Dönitz lived out the rest of his life in relative obscurity in Aumühle, occasionally corresponding with American collectors of German Naval history, and died there of a heart attack on 24 December 1980. As the last German officer with the rank of Grand Admiral, he was honoured by many former servicemen and foreign naval officers who came to pay their respects at his funeral on 6 January 1981. However, he had received only the pension pay of a captain because the West German government ruled all of his advances in rank after that had been because of Hitler. He was buried in Waldfriedhof Cemetery in Aumühle without military honors, and soldiers were not allowed to wear uniforms to the funeral.^[34] However a number of German naval officers disobeyed this order and were joined by members of the Royal Navy, such as the senior chaplain the Rev Dr John Cameron, in full dress uniform. Also in attendance were over one hundred holders of the Knight's Cross.

Wife and children[link]

On 27 May 1916 Dönitz married a nurse named Ingeborg Weber (1894–1962), the daughter of a German general Erich Paul Weber (1860–1933). They had three children whom they raised as Protestant (Evangelical) Christians, viz., daughter Ursula (b. 1917) and sons Klaus (b. 1920) and Peter (b. 1922).

In 1937 Karl Dönitz's daughter Ursula married the U-boat commander and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipient Günther Hessler.

Both sons of Dönitz were killed during the Second World War.^[35] The younger son, Peter, was a watch officer on U-954 and was killed on 19 May 1943, when his boat was sunk in the North Atlantic with all hands. After this loss, the older brother, Klaus, was allowed to leave combat duty and began studying to be a naval doctor. Klaus was killed on 13 May 1944 while taking part in an action against his orders. Klaus persuaded his friends to let him go on the torpedo boat S-141 for a raid on HMS Selsey off the coast of England on his twenty-fourth birthday. The boat was destroyed and Klaus died, though six others were rescued.

In popular culture[link]

Karl Dönitz has been portrayed by the following actors in film, television and theater productions.^[36]

• Gert Hänsch in the 1976 Czechoslovakian film Osvobození Prahy
• Richard Bebb in the 1973 British television production The Death of Adolf Hitler.^[37]
• Raymond Cloutier in the 2000 Canadian/U.S. TV production Nuremberg
• Peter Rühring in the 2005 German TV miniseries Speer und Er
• David Mitchell in the 2006 British TV sketch comedy That Mitchell and Webb Look.
• Simeon Victorov in the 2006 British television docudrama Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial.
• Thomas Kretschmann in the 2011 British/German TV production, The Sinking of the Laconia.

Summary of career[link]

Dates of rank[link]

• Fähnrich zur See (Midshipman): 15 April 1911
• Leutnant zur See (Acting Sub-Lieutenant): 27 September 1913
• Oberleutnant zur See (Sub-Lieutenant): 22 March 1916
• Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant): 1 January 1921
• Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander): 1 November 1928
• Fregattenkapitän (Commander): 1 October 1933
• Kapitän zur See (Captain): 1 October 1935
• Kommodore (Commodore): 28 January 1939
• Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral): 1 October 1939
• Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral): 1 September 1940
• Admiral (Admiral): 14 March 1942
• Großadmiral (Grand Admiral): 30 January 1943

Service history[link]

• Cadet training on board the SMS Hertha: April 1910 – March 1911
• Naval school: April 1911 – September 1912
• Serving on board the SMS Breslau: October 1912 – September 1916
• Airfield commander, San Stefano and Dardanelles: September–December 1916
• U-boat training: December 1916 – January 1917
• Watch Officer, U-39: January 1917 – February 1918
• Commander, SM UC-25: March–September 1918
• Commander, SM UB-68: September–October 1918
• In British captivity on Malta: October 1918 – July 1919
• Staff of the Naval Station of the Baltic Sea: July 1919 – March 1920
• Commander, Torpedo Boat V 5: March–April 1920
• Commander, Torpedo Boats T 157 and G 8: April 1920 – March 1923
• Adviser and Adjutant, Inspection of Torpedo and Mine Affairs: March 1923 – November 1924
• Adviser, Naval Defense Department of the Naval Command: November 1924 – October 1927
• Course and Information, SMS Nymphe: October–December 1927
• Navigations Officer, SMS Nymphe: December 1927 – September 1928
• Commander, 4th Torpedo Boat Half Flotilla: September 1928 – September 1930
• 1st Admiral Staff Officer, Staff of the Naval Station of the North Sea: September 1930 – September 1934
• Commander, German cruiser Emden: September 1934 – September 1935
• Commander, 1st U-boat Flotilla: September 1935 – October 1936
• Führer der U-Boote: January 1936 – October 1939
• Befehlshaber der U-Boote: October 1939 – January 1943
• Oberbefehlshaber der Marine: January 1943 – April 1945
• Wehrmacht Commander-in-Chief North: April 1945
• Reichspräsident and Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht: May 1945

See also[link]

• Glossary of German World War II military terms
• Glossary of Nazi Germany
• Last will and testament of Adolf Hitler
• List of Nazi Party leaders and officials

References & Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

Background information[link]

• Cremer, Peter. U-Boat Commander: A Periscope View of the Battle of the Atlantic. 1984. ISBN 0-87021-969-3
• Davidson, Eugene. The Trial of the Germans: Account of the Twenty-two Defendants Before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. 1997. ISBN 0-8262-1139-9
• Hadley, Michael L. U-Boats Against Canada: German Submarines in Canadian Waters. McGill-Queen's University Press: 1985. ISBN 0-7735-0801-5.
• Macintyre, Donald. U-boat Killer. 1999. ISBN 0-304-35235-7
• Werner, Herbert A. Iron Coffins: A U-boat Commander's War, 1939–45. 1999. ISBN 0-304-35330-2
• Prien, Gunther. Fortunes of War: U-boat Commander. 2000. ISBN 0-7524-2025-9
• Herwig, Holger H. Innovation ignored: The Submarine problem in Murray, Williamson and Millet Allan R. ed. "Military Innovation in the Interwar Period". Cambridge University Press 1998
• Failure to Learn: American Anti-submarine Warfare in 1942 in Cohen, Eliot A. and Gooch, John. Military Misfortunes Vintage Books 1991

Further reading[link]

• Jason Pipes The Reichsmarine 1919–1935
• Jason Pipes Kriegsmarine – The Navy 1935–1945
• Re-birth of the U-boat

External links[link]

Military of Germany portal

Media related to Karl Dönitz at Wikimedia Commons

• Quotations related to Karl Dönitz at Wikiquote
• Archives of news and details about Karl Dönitz
• uboat.net Comprehensive reference source for WW I and WW II U-boat information.

v t e German Field Marshals and Grand Admirals of World War II Field Marshals (Generalfeldmarschall) Heer Werner von Blomberg Fedor von Bock Eduard Freiherr von Böhm-Ermolli (honorary) Walther von Brauchitsch Ernst Busch Wilhelm Keitel Ewald von Kleist Günther von Kluge Georg von Küchler Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Wilhelm List Erich von Manstein Walter Model Friedrich Paulus Walther von Reichenau Erwin Rommel Gerd von Rundstedt Ferdinand Schörner Maximilian von Weichs Erwin von Witzleben Luftwaffe Hermann Göring (Reichsmarshall) Robert Ritter von Greim Albert Kesselring Erhard Milch Wolfram von Richthofen Hugo Sperrle Grand Admirals (Großadmiral) Kriegsmarine Karl Dönitz Erich Raeder

v t e Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves   Recipients of 1940 Eduard Dietl (Swords) Werner Mölders (Swords & Diamonds) Adolf Galland (Swords & Diamonds) Helmut Wick Günther Prien Otto Kretschmer (Swords) Joachim Schepke   Recipients of 1941 Martin Harlinghausen Walter Oesau (Swords) Erwin Rommel (Swords & Diamonds) Hermann-Friedrich Joppien Joachim Müncheberg (Swords) Heinrich Liebe Engelbert Endrass Herbert Schultze Herbert Ihlefeld (Swords) Wilhelm Balthasar Siegfried Schnell Rudolf Schmidt Werner Baumbach (Swords) Oskar Dinort Walter Storp Viktor Schütze Heinz Guderian Hermann Hoth (Swords) Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen Günther Lützow (Swords) Josef Priller (Swords) Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn Horst Niemack (Swords) Heinrich Bär (Swords) Hans Hahn Hans Philipp (Swords) Ludwig Crüwell Karl-Gottfried Nordmann Heinrich Hoffmann Kurt-Jürgen Freiherr von Lützow Gordon Gollob (Swords & Diamonds) Erbo Graf von Kageneck Ernst-Felix Krüder Josef Dietrich (Swords & Diamonds) Heinrich Eberbach Franz Scheidies Ernst-Georg Buchterkirch Bernhard Rogge Dietrich Peltz (Swords) Adelbert Schulz (Swords & Diamonds) Josef-Franz Eckinger Günther Hoffmann-Schönborn Karl Eibl (Swords) Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock Otto Weiß Georg Freiherr von Boeselager (Swords) Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach Josef Harpe (Swords) Reinhard Suhren (Swords) Hubertus Hitschhold   Recipients of 1942 Oskar von Boddien Hans Jordan (Swords) Karl-Wilhelm Specht Hans Freiherr von Wolff Hans-Valentin Hube (Swords & Diamonds) Karl-Heinz Noak Joachim Helbig (Swords) Otto Hitzfeld (Swords) Wilhelm Wegener (Swords) Hans Traut Werner von Gilsa Hermann Breith (Swords) Rolf Kaldrack Heinrich Borgmann Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Swords) Georg-Hans Reinhardt (Swords) Walter Model (Swords & Diamonds) Willibald Freiherr von Langermann und Erlencamp Walter Wessel Walter Hagen Albert Kesselring (Swords & Diamonds) Gerhard Köppen Kurt Ubben Max-Hellmuth Ostermann (Swords) Franz Eckerle Wolf-Dietrich Huy Hans Strelow Wilhelm Spies Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller (Swords) Erich Topp (Swords) Theodor Eicke Reinhard Hardegen Wolfgang Späte Alfred Wünnenberg Theodor Scherer Hermann Graf (Swords & Diamonds) Adolf Dickfeld Eberhard von Mackensen Leopold Steinbatz (Swords) Hans-Joachim Marseille (Swords & Diamonds) Helmut Lent (Swords & Diamonds) Robert-Georg Freiherr von Malapert Ludwig Wolff Friedrich Geißhardt Heinrich Setz Walter von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt Rolf Mützelburg Adalbert Schnee Erwin Clausen Viktor Bauer Franz-Josef Beerenbrock Anton Hackl (Swords) Traugott Herr (Swords) Werner Kempf Gerhard Kollewe Walter Gorn (Swords) Kurt Brändle Johannes Steinhoff (Swords) Walter Sigel Johann Zemsky Alfred Druschel (Swords) Ernst Bormann Gerhard Hein Werner Ziegler (Swords) Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke (Swords) Klaus Scholtz Heinz Schmidt Heinrich Bleichrodt Friedrich-Karl Müller Wilhelm Crinius Wolfgang Tonne Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild Hans Beißwenger Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert (Swords) Karl Torley Johannes Kümmel Günther Rall (Swords) Ludwig Kirschner Konrad Hupfer Max Stotz Heinrich Schweickhardt Wolfgang Schenck Hermann Seitz Josef Zwernemann Wolfgang Lüth (Swords & Diamonds) Werner Töniges Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz von Gross-Zauche und Camminetz (Swords & Diamonds) Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (Swords & Diamonds) Josef Wurmheller (Swords) Karl-Friedrich Merten Friedrich Lang (Swords) Alwin Boerst (Swords) Ekkehard Kylling-Schmidt Ernst Nobis Wolfgang Fischer Karl Allmendinger Heinrich Paepcke Hermann Balck (Swords & Diamonds) Walter Heitz Hermann Fegelein (Swords) Helmuth von Ruckteschell Felix Steiner (Swords) Hubert Lanz Helmuth Schlömer Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von Edelsheim (Swords) Hartwig von Ludwiger Harald von Hirschfeld Josef Bremm (Swords) Helmut Thumm Helmuth von Pannwitz Martin Fiebig   Recipients of 1943 Reiner Stahel (Swords) Fritz Feßmann (Swords) Friedrich Guggenberger Heinz Frank Ernst Kupfer (Swords) Bruno Dilley Gerhard Barkhorn (Swords) Wend von Wietersheim (Swords) Johann Mohr Friedrich Paulus Karl Willig Günter Goebel Günther von Kluge (Swords) Waldemar von Gazen (Swords) Hans Kreysing (Swords) Reinhard Günzel Hugo Primozic Willy Riedel Georg Michael Gustav Pressler Carl Rodenburg Reinhold Knacke Erwin Fischer Hermann Hogeback (Swords) Helmut Bruck Alfons König (Swords) Kurt Meyer (Swords) Paul Gildner Werner Streib (Swords) Ludwig Becker Werner Baumgarten-Crusius Fritz Witt Hans Mikosch Walter Scheunemann Gustav Schmidt Eberhard Zahn Johann Mickl Wilhelm von Malachowski Bruno Kohnz Georg Lassen Erich von Lewinski (Swords) Georg Rietscher Karl Langesee Josef Kult Walter Hörnlein Theodor Nordmann (Swords) Georg-Wilhelm Postel (Swords) Robert Ritter von Greim (Swords) Hans-Karl von Scheele Heinrich Schüler Helmut Hudel Hinrich Schuldt (Swords) Otto Kumm (Swords) Rudolf Schlee Karl Dönitz Albrecht Brandi (Swords & Diamonds) Gerhard von Kamptz Siegfried Wuppermann Erich Klawe Peter Frantz Hans-Ulrich Rudel (Golden Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds) Paul-Werner Hozzel Georg Dörffel Egon Mayer (Swords) August Dieckmann (Swords) Otto von Bülow Willibald Borowietz Hans-Günther Stotten Paul Laux Gustav Höhne Karl-Adolf Hollidt Gerhard von Schwerin (Swords) Wilhelm Niggemeyer Franz Griesbach (Swords) Erich Bärenfänger (Swords) Richard Grünert Ernst Kruse Georg Bochmann (Swords) Karl Löwrick Martin Grase Friedrich Kemnade Robert Gysae Hans von Obstfelder (Swords) Karl Göbel Friedrich Höhne Günter Klappich Gustav Rödel Carl Emmermann Werner Henke Fritz Bayerlein (Swords) Walther von Hünersdorff Bernhard Sauvant Paul Hausser (Swords) Franz Bäke (Swords) Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld Manfred Meurer Heinrich Ehrler Theodor Weissenberger Joachim Kirschner Werner Schröer (Swords) Hajo Herrmann (Swords) Bruno Kahl Lothar Rendulic (Swords) Dietrich von Müller (Swords) Georg von Küchler Ernst Busch Georg Lindemann Paul Conrath Otto Baum (Swords) Hans Freiherr von Funck Alexander Conrady Erhard Raus Dietrich von Saucken (Swords & Diamonds) Hans Gollnick Alfred Eidel Paul Schultz Hans-Detloff von Cossel Walter Krüger (Swords) Rolf Rocholl Hartmann Grasser Wolf-Udo Ettel Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (Swords) Hans Zorn Horst Großmann Walter Nowotny (Swords & Diamonds) Joachim Lemelsen Erich Jaschke Heinz Harmel (Swords) Hermann Prieß (Swords) Friedrich Hoßbach Siegfried Thomaschki Walter Lange Günther Pape Theodor Tolsdorff (Swords & Diamonds) Sylvester Stadler (Swords) Ulrich Kleemann Kurt Student Alfred-Hermann Reinhardt (Swords) Hans Fritsche Bodo Spranz Josef Schreiber Hubert-Erwin Meierdress Hans-Gotthard Pestke Julius Ringel Rudolf Freiherr von Roman Ernst Voß Herbert Otto Gille (Swords & Diamonds) Albert Graf von der Goltz Ernst Ziemer Eugen König Hermann Recknagel (Swords) Siegfried Grabert Heinrich Kiesling Otto von Knobelsdorff (Swords) Maximilian de Angelis Erich Brandenberger Otto-Ernst Remer Georg Christiansen Hans Dorr (Swords) Josef Heindl Willy Johannmeyer Karl-Friedrich Brill Johannes Block Hasso von Manteuffel (Swords & Diamonds) Gotthard Heinrici (Swords) Hans Schmidt Karl Mauss (Swords & Diamonds) Hans-Henning Freiherr von Beust Dietrich Hrabak Wilhelm Lemke Otto Schünemann Walter Hartmann (Swords) Ernst-August Fricke Ernst Wellmann Alfred Druffner Anton Grasser Kurt Walter Adolf Weitkunat Walter Elflein Willy Langkeit Andreas Thorey Sigfrid Henrici Heinrich Voigtsberger Karl Baacke Christian Tychsen Alfred Müller Hans-Joachim Kahler Ernst Kühl Kurt von der Chevallerie Wilhelm Schmalz Albert Frey Heinrich Ochs   Recipients of 1944 Bernd Klug Klaus Feldt Walter Krauß Horst Hannig Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt Helmut Kalbitz Josef-Georg Mulzer Maximilian Fretter-Pico Hans Schlemmer Heinrich Boigk August Schmidt Friedrich Wiese Walter Krüger Karl Koetz Hugo Kraas Eduard Hauser Joachim Peiper (Swords) Walter Fries (Swords) Walther Sievers Michael Wittmann (Swords) Bernhard Flachs Richard Heidrich (Swords) Walther Nehring (Swords) Botho Kollberg Erich Löwe Günther Hilt Fritz Breithaupt Robert Martinek Josef Schneider Walter Möse Friedrich Kirchner (Swords) Hans Källner (Swords) Theodor Wisch (Swords) Heinrich-Walter Bronsart von Schellendorff Karl Lorenz Meinrad von Lauchert Josef Karl Ferdinand Schörner (Swords & Diamonds) Wilhelm Stemmermann Theo-Helmut Lieb Robert Kaestner Ernst-Günther Baade (Swords) Rudolf Kolbeck Maximilian Wengler (Swords) Walter Mix Otto Benzin Werner Forst Helmuth Weidling (Swords) Friedrich Mieth Hermann Hohn (Swords) Erich Walther (Swords) Ludwig Heilmann (Swords) Kurt Bühligen (Swords) Horst Ademeit Walter Krupinski August Geiger Hans-Dieter Frank Johannes Wiese Reinhard Seiler Erich Hartmann (Swords & Diamonds) Hermann-Heinrich Behrend (Swords) Gustav Stühmer Fritz von Scholz Fritz von Scholz Edler von Rarancze (Swords) Willi Thulke Josef Rettemeier Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz (Swords) Josef Bregenzer Friedrich Schulz (Swords) Werner Mummert (Swords) Hans-Joachim Jabs Bernhard Jope Wilhelm Schmitter Maximilian Otte Hansgeorg Bätcher Georg Koßmala Georg Grüner Eduard Tratt Fritz Petersen Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin Ludwig Müller Heinz Wittchow von Brese-Winiary Herbert Schwender Hans Kroh (Swords) Günther Radusch Johannes Frießner Alfred Grislawski Erich Rudorffer (Swords) Emil Lang Otto Kittel (Swords) Rudolf Schoenert Wilhelm Herget Anton Hafner Johannes Mayer (Swords) Heinrich Hogrebe Rudolf Geisler Heinrich von Vietinghoff Egon von Neindorff Wilhelm Drewes Karl-Lothar Schulz (Swords) Günther Schack Otto Pollmann Hans-Karl Stepp Martin Möbus Albin Wolf Heinz Vinke Karl Decker (Swords) Erich Lorenz Wilhelm Eggemann Theodor von Lücken Otto Deßloch Leopold Münster Max Sachsenheimer (Swords) Martin Hrustak Johann Schwerdfeger Emil Vogel Rudolf Freiherr von Waldenfels Fritz Müller Kilian Weimer Walter Schmidt Karl Ullrich Karl Henze Willy Marienfeld Ferdinand Wegerer Wolf Hagemann Hans Strippel Friedrich Hochbaum Ernst-Eberhard Hell Alfons Hitter Wolfgang Pickert Gottfried Weber Horst Niederländer Georg Bonk Hubert Pilarski Ernst-Wilhelm Hoffmann Konrad Zeller Joachim Domaschk Emil Kaminsky Edwin Stolz Rudolf Petersen Götz Freiherr von Mirbach Diddo Diddens Ernst Sieler Erich Marcks Albert Brux Horst Kaubisch Hendrik Stahl Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (Swords & Diamonds) Adolf Glunz Eduard Skrzipek Reinhard Egger Josef-August Fitz Herbert Huppertz Clemens-Heinrich Graf von Kageneck Werner Kolb Martin Unrein Erich Abraham Fritz-Hubert Gräser (Swords) Friedrich Dollmann Gerd von Rundstedt (Swords) Hermann Wulf Erich Buschenhagen Heinz-Otto Fabian Karl Palmgreen Heinrich Hoffmann Heinz-Georg Lemm (Swords) Wilhelm Batz (Swords) Willy Kientsch Heinz Strüning Karl-Heinz Weber Otto Weßling Rudolf Frank Herbert Lamprecht Wilhelm von Salisch Gerhard Kruse Otto Carius Hermann von Oppeln-Bronikowski (Swords) Rudolf Demme Paul Schulze Kurt von Tippelskirch Hubert Mickley Willy Wesche Carl Hilpert Heinrich Nickel Curt Schille Martin Strahammer Karl Kloskowski Gerhard Simons Max Wünsche Dietrich Kraiß Rudolf Bacherer Andreas von Aulock Hermann Siggel Gerhard Pick Heinz Macher Hinrich Warrelmann Rudolf Wulf Werner Schulze Walter Melzer Bruno Hinz Hellmuth Mäder (Swords) Rudolf Holste Kurt Pflugbeil Wilhelm Bittrich (Swords) Eugen Meindl (Swords) Hermann Flörke Martin Bieber Hermann Klein Jakob Gansmeier Walter Misera Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz (Swords) Heinz Greiner Christian Sonntag Hellmuth Pfeifer Rudolf Flinzer Walter Neitzel Richard Seuss Otto Lasch Alois Weber Gerhard Lindemann Johannes Bölter Gustav Reimar Otto Kähler Erich Pietzonka Walter Gericke Heinrich Trettner Hans Thurner Paul Zorner Hans von der Mosel Rudolf Haen Helmut Scholz Otto Schury Werner Marcks Ehrenfried-Oskar Boege Hellmuth Becker Johannes Mühlenkamp Friedrich-August Schack Ernst König Ernst-Georg Philipp Wolfgang Kretzschmar (Swords) Otto Meyer Hermann Scharnagel Konrad Sauer Jörg Burg Gerhard Behnke Gerhard Kunert Wilhelm Kohler Heinz Reinefarth Erich Straube Georg Graf von Rittberg Mortimer von Kessel Willi Koch Friedrich Strohm Theodor Krancke Georg Jakob Walter Schuck Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte Herbert Bauer Franz Kieslich Diether Lukesch Wilhelm Bleckwenn Arthur Jüttner (Swords) Johann-Georg Richert Werner Gust Othmar Kreuzinger Franz Weller Karl Thieme (Swords) Hans-Christian Stock Gustav Schubert Johann Schalanda Helmut Leicht Günther Tonne Benno Reuter Paul Ecker Paul Freiherr von Hauser Fritz-Rudolf Schultz Heinrich Busse Eduard Brunner Max Simon Johannes Blaskowitz (Swords) Klaus Hilgemann Gerhard Friedrich Maximilian Felzmann Johann-Heinrich Eckhardt Werner Hartmann Walter Weiß Gustav-Adolf von Zangen Gerd Ruge Wilhelm Weidenbrück Helmut Dörner (Swords) Albrecht Krügel Emil Badorrek Klaus Mietusch Heinz Meyer Wilhelm Antrup Heinrich Höfer Gerhart Schirmer Hans Seidemann Hans Hoßfeld Werner Dörnbrack Hubert Pölz Rudolf Witzig Georg-Peter Eder Rudolf Rennecke Otto Dommeratzky Karl Kennel Gerhard Michalski Gerhard Bremer Klaus von Bismarck Artur Phleps Otto Wöhler Helmuth Reymann Curt Ehle Kurt Maier Georg Sattler Walther Hahm Christian Braun Fritz Arndt Gerhard Engel Jürgen Wagner Friedrich Jakob Harry Hoppe Eduard Crasemann Andreas Kuffner Fritz Biermeier Paul Klatt Günther-Eberhardt Wisliceny (Swords) Otto Weidinger (Swords)   Recipients of 1945 Heinrich Baron von Behr Kurt-Hermann Freiherr von Mühlen Walter Lucht Sigmund-Ulrich Freiherr von Gravenreuth Kurt Gröschke Kurt Herzog Alois Eisele Volprecht Riedesel Freiherr zu Eisenbach Joachim Brendel Wilhelm Hasse Hans-Detlef Gollert-Hansen Claus Breger Bruno Streckenbach Max Reinwald Richard Henze Walther Risse Alexander Löhr Gerhard Schmidhuber Wilhelm Schöning Herbert Kündiger Albert Henze Erich Reuter Kurt Dahlmann Kurt Plenzat Herbert Rollwage Max Schäfer Karl Pröll Hellmuth Böhlke Walter Süß Wilhelm Spindler Karl Arndt Kurt Wahl Joachim Rumohr August Zehender Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch Walther Dahl Karl Roßmann Ernst Jansa Jürgen Harder Otto Vincon Joachim Sander Georg Graf von Plettenberg Maximilian von Weichs Wilhelm Osterhold Georg Jauer Karl-Heinz Oesterwitz Herbert Wittmann Herbert Schramm Anton-Otto Frank Anton Müller Eduard Zorn Willi Schülke Günther Blumentritt Josef Heichele Georg Gebhardt Ernst Knebel Fritz Klasing Edmund Blaurock Ludwig Schulz Rolf Hermichen Hans Krebs Heinz-Martin Ewert Fritz-Georg von Rappard Josef Jakwert Horst Warschnauer Hans-Babo von Rohr Ernst-August Krag Heinrich Schmelzer Traugott Kempas Arthur Kullmer Michael Pössinger Ottmar Pollmann Bern von Baer Hans Reichardt Werner Ebeling Hermann Niehoff (Swords) Heinrich Götz Rudolf von Bünau Bruno Karczewski Erich Schneider Kurt Welter Helmut Renschler Wolfgang Rust Friedrich Sixt Kurt Witschel Clemens Betzel Franz Rogalski Johannes Grimminger Ernst Kutschkau Egon Aghta Wilhelm Schröder Karl-Heinz Becker Heinz Rökker Robert Weiß Werner Pötschke Alfred Matern Fritz Vogt Karl-Heinz Jaeger Max Wandrey Hans Engelien Heinrich Ruhl Bruno Frankewitz Paul Scheuerpflug Martin Becker Gerhard Werner Ernst-Georg Kedzia Kuno von Meyer Walter Prüß Günther Konopacki Hans-Georg Herzog Rudolf Trittel Karl Wanka Harald Freiherr von Elverfeldt Friedrich Jeckeln Fritz Fullriede Johannes Spielmann Heinrich Keese Lothar Berger Helmuth Hufenbach Erich Schroedter Horst von Usedom Günther Josten Alexander Gläser Wilhelm Stähler Gerhard Stüdemann Walter Girg Horst von Mellenthin Martin Steglich Rudolf Neubert Friedrich Richter Ernst Kuppinger Otto Paetsch Hans von Tettau Gerhard Thyben Theodor Burchardi August Thiele Bruno Richter Otto Skorzeny Ernst-Anton von Krosigk Helmut Borchardt Carl Becker Kurt Röpke Friedrich Rögelein Alfred Simm Gerhard Raht Hans-Arno Ostermeier Max Hansen Herbert Lütje Helmut Lipfert Josef Kraft Martin Drewes Hermann Greiner Paul Semrau Adolf Raegener Hans-Peter Knaust Franz Hack Paul-Albert Kausch Josef Brandner Eberhard Rodt Joachim Ziegler Hans-Joachim Kappis Karl Schrepfer Josef Prentl Rolf Thomsen Hans-Günther Lange Heinz-Oskar Laebe Heinrich Hax Hanns Laengenfelder Richard Daniel Wolfgang von Obstfelder Wolfgang von Bostell Gerhard Mokros Werner Ostendorff Rudolf Lehmann Karl Kreutz Heinz Werner Alfred Jodl Adalbert von Blanc Hermann Plocher Franz Graßmel Friedrich Lier Oskar-Hubert Dennhardt Matthias Kleinheisterkamp Hanns-Heinrich Lohmann Alfred Montag Hans Meier Alfons Rebane Walter Schlags-Koch Erich Schmidt Joachim von Siegroth Paul Stahl Georg Störck Franz Sensfuß Joseph von Radowitz   Foreign recipients (as individuals in the military of allies of the Third Reich) Mihail Lascăr Agustín Muñoz Grandes Isoroku Yamamoto (Swords) Corneliu Teodorini Petre Dumitrescu Mineichi Koga Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Léon Degrelle in chronological order see also: List of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients

v t e Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of the U-boat service Albrecht Achilles Klaus Bargsten Ernst Bauer Gerhard Bielig Gerhard Bigalk Heinrich Bleichrodt (Oak Leaves) Albrecht Brandi (Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds) Paul Brasack Otto von Bülow (Oak Leaves) Nicolai Clausen Peter-Erich Cremer Heinrich Dammeier Dr. jur. Kurt Dobratz Wilhelm Dommes Karl Dönitz (Oak Leaves) Alfred Eick Carl Emmermann (Oak Leaves) Engelbert Endrass (Oak Leaves) Horst-Arno Fenski Karl Fleige Ulrich Folkers Hans-Joachim Förster Siegfried Freiherr von Forstner Heinz Franke Wilhelm Franken Fritz Frauenheim Harald Gelhaus Friedrich Guggenberger (Oak Leaves) Robert Gysae (Oak Leaves) Reinhard Hardegen (Oak Leaves) Werner Hartenstein Werner Hartmann (Oak Leaves) Ernst Hechler Hans Heidtmann Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel Werner Henke (Oak Leaves) Hans-Georg Hess Günther Hessler Günther Heydemann Ulrich Heyse Horst Hofmann Otto Ites Karl Jäckel Gunter Jahn Hans Jenisch Hans Johannsen Walter Käding Ernst Kals Gerd Kelbling Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat Siegfried Koitschka Reinhard König Claus Korth Hans-Werner Kraus Günther Krech Otto Kretschmer (Oak Leaves & Swords) Heinz Krey Günter Kuhnke Herbert Kuppisch Carl-August Landfermann Hans-Günther Lange (Oak Leaves) Georg Lassen (Oak Leaves) Dipl.-Ing. Willi Lechtenbörger Hans Lehmann Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (Oak Leaves) Fritz-Julius Lemp Philipp Lichtenberg Heinrich Liebe (Oak Leaves) Johannes Limbach Siegfried Lüdden Wolfgang Lüth (Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds) Karl-Heinz Marbach Friedrich Markworth August Maus Waldemar Mehl Ernst Mengersen Karl-Friedrich Merten (Oak Leaves) Jost Metzler Karl-Heinz Moehle Helmut Möhlmann Johann Mohr (Oak Leaves) Rudolf Mühlbauer Günther Müller-Stöckheim Rolf Mützelburg (Oak Leaves) Karl Neitzel Victor Oehrn Jürgen Oesten Georg Olschewski Herbert Panknin Heinrich Petersen Adolf Piening Gustav Poel Fritz Poske Heinrich Praßdorf Günther Prien (Oak Leaves) Günther Pulst Hermann Rasch Reinhart Reche Hellmut Rohweder Wilhelm Rollmann Helmut Rosenbaum Hans-Rudolf Rösing Erwin Rostin Gerhard Schaar Harro Schacht Joachim Schepke (Oak Leaves) Georg Schewe Egon-Reiner Freiherr von Schlippenbach Adalbert Schnee (Oak Leaves) Herbert Schneider Klaus Scholtz (Oak Leaves) Heinrich Schonder Dietrich Schöneboom Heinrich Schroeteler Horst von Schroeter Otto Schuhart Heinz-Otto Schultze Herbert Schultze (Oak Leaves) Georg-Wilhelm Schulz Viktor Schütze (Oak Leaves) Günther Seibicke Heinz Sieder Georg Staats Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen Siegfried Strelow Hermann Stuckmann Gerd Suhren Reinhard Suhren (Oak Leaves & Swords) Max-Martin Teichert Rolf Thomsen (Oak Leaves) Karl Thurmann Hans-Dietrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen Heinrich Timm Erich Topp (Oak Leaves & Swords) Hans-Hartwig Trojer Johann-Friedrich Wessels Otto Westphalen Karl-Heinz Wiebe Werner Winter Hans Witt Helmut Witte Herbert Wohlfarth Erich Würdemann Robert-Richard Zapp Erich Zürn in alphabetical order see also List of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of the Kriegsmarine

v t e Related recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Brothers Adolf Borchers, Hermann Borchers and Walter Borchers  • Georg von Boeselager (Oak Leaves & Swords) and Philipp von Boeselager  • Eckart-Wilhelm von Bonin and Hubertus von Bonin  • Hellmut von der Chevallerie and Kurt von der Chevallerie (Oak Leaves) • Hermann Fegelein (Oak Leaves & Swords) and Waldemar Fegelein  • Friedrich Foertsch and Hermann Foertsch  • Maximilian Fretter-Pico (Oak Leaves) and Otto Fretter-Pico  • Helmut Friebe and Werner Friebe  • Adolf Galland (Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds) and Wilhelm-Ferdinand Galland  • Rudolf Geisler (Oak Leaves) and Siegfried Geisler  • Helmut Haugk and Werner Haugk  • Otto Heger and Rudolf Heger  • Hartmut von Hößlin and Roland von Hößlin  • Alfred Jodl (Oak Leaves) and Ferdinand Jodl  • Clemens-Heinrich Graf von Kageneck (Oak Leaves) and Erbo Graf von Kageneck (Oak Leaves)  • Friedrich Kittel and Heinrich Kittel  • Günther von Kluge (Oak Leaves & Swords) and Wolfgang von Kluge  • Eckardt Köppen and Gerhard Köppen (Oak Leaves)  • Boris Kraas and Hugo Kraas (Oak Leaves)  • Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger and Walter Krüger (Oak Leaves & Swords)  • Albrecht Lanz and Hubert Lanz (Oak Leaves)  • Erhard Milch and Werner Milch  • Johann Pflugbeil and Kurt Pflugbeil (Oak Leaves)  • Franz Schlieper and Fritz Schlieper • Hans-Jürgen Stumpff and Horst Stumpff  • Gerd Suhren and Reinhard Suhren (Oak Leaves & Swords) Brothers-in-law Kurt von Tippelskirch (Oak Leaves) and Curt Gallenkamp Cousins Ernst Lindemann and Georg Lindemann (Oak Leaves)  • Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz (Oak Leaves & Swords), Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz (Oak Leaves & Swords) and Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz von Gross-Zauche und Camminetz (Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds)  • Franz Ruhl and Heinrich Setz (Oak Leaves)  • Gerd von Rundstedt (Oak Leaves & Swords) and Gotthard Heinrici (Oak Leaves & Swords)  • Hans Graf von Sponeck and Theodor Graf von Sponeck  • Siegfried Weber and Werner Winter Father and son Rudolf von Bünau (Oak Leaves) and Rudolf von Bünau  • Heinz Guderian (Oak Leaves) and Heinz-Günther Guderian  • Franz Kornprobst and Otto Kornprobst  • Kurt von Tippelskirch (Oak Leaves) and Adolf-Hilmar von Tippelskirch  • Albrecht Wüstenhagen and Albrecht Wüstenhagen Father and son-in-law Karl Dönitz (Oak Leaves) and Günther Hessler  • Nikolaus von Falkenhorst and Erich Dethleffsen  • Erich von Manstein (Oak Leaves & Swords) and Edel-Heinrich Zachariae-Lingenthal  • Erhard Milch and Joachim Schlichting  • Hans-Jürgen Stumpff and Karl-Günther von Hase