Karl Doenitz (16 September 1891 – 24 December 1980) was President of Nazi Germany from 30 April to 23 May 1945, succeeding Adolf Hitler. Doenitz played a major role in the naval history of World War II as commander of the Kriegsmarine during the Battle of the Atlantic, and he served as commander-in-chief of the navy from 30 January 1943 to 1 May 1945, succeeding Erich Raeder and preceding Hans-Georg von Friedeburg. After Hitler's suicide, Doenitz became the short-lived leader of Germany, and he negotiated an end to the war.
Biography[]
Doenitz at the Nuremberg Trials
Karl Doenitz was born in Berlin, Prussia, German Empire in 1891. Doenitz commanded a U-boat during World War I, and he was put in charge of developing the German U-boat fleet in 1936. As commander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarine from 1943, he had a distinguished military record, and Adolf Hitler came to trust him more than his army or air force generals, with whom he always had an uneasy relationship. In his political testament, which became effective after his suicide on 30 April 1945, Hitler designated Doenitz was his successor, even though he had never been a prominent Nazi functionary. While Doenitz failed in his efforts to negotiate a separate settlement with the Western Allies to enable him to continue the fight against the Red Army, he did achieve an armistive in northwestern Europe on 4 May, while Germany did not officially surrender until 8 May 1945. This delay enabled the safe arrival in northern Germany of around 100,000 refugees from Eastern Europe. As the Allies needed a legitimate chain of command that was recognized by all Germans, Doenitz and his cabinet were not imprisoned until 23 May 1945. He was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment at the Nuremberg Trials, and he lived in a village near Hamburg until his death in 1980.