German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Dönitz
"Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz"
Dönitz was born in Berlin and served in the German navy during World War One, including as the commander of a submarine (U-Boot*). Near the end of the war, his U-Boot was sunk and Dönitz was a taken prisoner. He remained in the treaty-restricted navy after the war, gradually moving up the ranks. By the mid 1930s, and with Hitler in power, the navy was once again developing and producing U-Boats, and Dönitz then served in that part of the navy. He believed any future war with Britain would require the Germans to greatly expand their fleet of submarines, and not their heavier surface fleet, and that a tight blockade of submarines around the British Isles to deprive the British of necessary supplies, including oil, would be more effective than trying to sink the whole British fleet. Traditionalist naval officers hated the idea, and Hitler, ever envious of Britain's fleet, chose an increased submarine fleet, but a major building program for powerful, but very expensive, battleships, like the famous "Bismarck," and even for aircraft carriers.** Dönitz became head of the limited submarine arm.
The German U-Boat arm was much feared by the Allies, and many ships with all sorts of cargo were sunk as they tried to make it to England. This aspect of the war was not without controversy, however, as the German navy practiced unrestricted submarine warfare against ships in certain zones, and that meant even ships of neutral countries, including the United States, which technically was neutral in the first two years of the war. Further, cargo and passenger ships of the Allies and then neutral America, were often armed, making the definition of what was "legal" a matter of perspective. (See further below)
In early 1943 Dönitz was named Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine) and promoted to Grand Admiral (Grossadmiral) by Hitler. By that time, German naval warfare was essentially limited to submarines, which was still quite potent. As the end of the war neared, Hitler, confined to his underground bunker in Berlin, named Dönitz as his successor in his last testament.*** The admiral set up a sort of "government" in the city of Flensburg, up near the Danish border (Denmark was then still under German occupation). It was this "government," represented by Colonel General Alfred Jodl, that learned and signed the Allied terms of surrender.
Dönitz was arrested and put on trial at Nuremberg as a major war criminal. The fact that Hitler had appointed him as his successor sure could not have done anything to help his case, but the charges against him had to do with conduct during the war, not his actions as Hitler's successor. The main charges, about unrestricted submarine warfare and of German submarine crews not always making efforts to save people from sinking ships, were heartily contested by his attorney, who introduced evidence the Allies had done the same things. Some Allied military people, perhaps fearful of their own reputations, actually supported Dönitz. In the end, the admiral was found guilty, but was only given ten years imprisonment, a sentence that drew protests from some Allied military people as too harsh. He was released in the mid 1950s and lived out his life in northern Germany, where he died in late 1980.
NOTE: There will be one more article on German military leaders of the Nazi era, before I move on to the Allies. The last article on the Germans will be "Heroes Against Hitler," about the valiant and dangerous efforts of German military officers to remove Hitler from power.
* The German word "Boot" is not pronounced as the English word, but like its English relative "boat," and "U-Boot" is just a shortened form of "Unterseeboot," or "under see boat." For those studying German, "Boot" is neuter; thus, "das Boot," just like the title of the famous movie.
** The beginning of the war in 1939 preempted the German naval build up, which was not scheduled for completion until the mid 1940s, and the aircraft carriers were not built.
*** Hitler named Dönitz as "Reichspräsident," which made him head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces (Wehrmacht). Joseph Goebbels, the famous Nazi propagandist, was named Reichskanzler (chancellor).
WORD HISTORY:
Sea-The origins of this word are uncertain outside of Germanic, as only the Germanic languages have forms that mean "body of water." Old Germanic had "saiwiz/saiwaz," which seems to have had the more general meaning "body of water." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "sae," which meant "sea or lake." This then became "see," before the modern spelling, and the more specific meaning "ocean." Seemingly only present in the Germanic languages, the close relatives of English have: German "See" (in the masculine form, "der See"=lake; in the feminine form, "die See"=sea), Low German "See," West Frisian "see," Dutch "zee," Icelandic "sær," Norwegian "sjø," Swedish "sjö," and Danish "sø."
Dönitz was born in Berlin and served in the German navy during World War One, including as the commander of a submarine (U-Boot*). Near the end of the war, his U-Boot was sunk and Dönitz was a taken prisoner. He remained in the treaty-restricted navy after the war, gradually moving up the ranks. By the mid 1930s, and with Hitler in power, the navy was once again developing and producing U-Boats, and Dönitz then served in that part of the navy. He believed any future war with Britain would require the Germans to greatly expand their fleet of submarines, and not their heavier surface fleet, and that a tight blockade of submarines around the British Isles to deprive the British of necessary supplies, including oil, would be more effective than trying to sink the whole British fleet. Traditionalist naval officers hated the idea, and Hitler, ever envious of Britain's fleet, chose an increased submarine fleet, but a major building program for powerful, but very expensive, battleships, like the famous "Bismarck," and even for aircraft carriers.** Dönitz became head of the limited submarine arm.
The German U-Boat arm was much feared by the Allies, and many ships with all sorts of cargo were sunk as they tried to make it to England. This aspect of the war was not without controversy, however, as the German navy practiced unrestricted submarine warfare against ships in certain zones, and that meant even ships of neutral countries, including the United States, which technically was neutral in the first two years of the war. Further, cargo and passenger ships of the Allies and then neutral America, were often armed, making the definition of what was "legal" a matter of perspective. (See further below)
In early 1943 Dönitz was named Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine) and promoted to Grand Admiral (Grossadmiral) by Hitler. By that time, German naval warfare was essentially limited to submarines, which was still quite potent. As the end of the war neared, Hitler, confined to his underground bunker in Berlin, named Dönitz as his successor in his last testament.*** The admiral set up a sort of "government" in the city of Flensburg, up near the Danish border (Denmark was then still under German occupation). It was this "government," represented by Colonel General Alfred Jodl, that learned and signed the Allied terms of surrender.
Dönitz was arrested and put on trial at Nuremberg as a major war criminal. The fact that Hitler had appointed him as his successor sure could not have done anything to help his case, but the charges against him had to do with conduct during the war, not his actions as Hitler's successor. The main charges, about unrestricted submarine warfare and of German submarine crews not always making efforts to save people from sinking ships, were heartily contested by his attorney, who introduced evidence the Allies had done the same things. Some Allied military people, perhaps fearful of their own reputations, actually supported Dönitz. In the end, the admiral was found guilty, but was only given ten years imprisonment, a sentence that drew protests from some Allied military people as too harsh. He was released in the mid 1950s and lived out his life in northern Germany, where he died in late 1980.
NOTE: There will be one more article on German military leaders of the Nazi era, before I move on to the Allies. The last article on the Germans will be "Heroes Against Hitler," about the valiant and dangerous efforts of German military officers to remove Hitler from power.
* The German word "Boot" is not pronounced as the English word, but like its English relative "boat," and "U-Boot" is just a shortened form of "Unterseeboot," or "under see boat." For those studying German, "Boot" is neuter; thus, "das Boot," just like the title of the famous movie.
** The beginning of the war in 1939 preempted the German naval build up, which was not scheduled for completion until the mid 1940s, and the aircraft carriers were not built.
*** Hitler named Dönitz as "Reichspräsident," which made him head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces (Wehrmacht). Joseph Goebbels, the famous Nazi propagandist, was named Reichskanzler (chancellor).
WORD HISTORY:
Sea-The origins of this word are uncertain outside of Germanic, as only the Germanic languages have forms that mean "body of water." Old Germanic had "saiwiz/saiwaz," which seems to have had the more general meaning "body of water." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "sae," which meant "sea or lake." This then became "see," before the modern spelling, and the more specific meaning "ocean." Seemingly only present in the Germanic languages, the close relatives of English have: German "See" (in the masculine form, "der See"=lake; in the feminine form, "die See"=sea), Low German "See," West Frisian "see," Dutch "zee," Icelandic "sær," Norwegian "sjø," Swedish "sjö," and Danish "sø."
Labels: English, etymology, German History, Germanic languages, Germany, Karl Dönitz, U-Boats
posted by Randy at 12:47 AM
3 Comments:
Wow the Germans were planning aircraft carriers.Ive seen some things about Donitz in old newsreels.
I didnt know about aircraft carriers either.Doenitz was Hitlers successor, too, hm.
My uncle served in the Navy in WW 2and was in the Atlantic. He would talk about U boats and Donitz. I do have to say, I didn't know he was Hitler's successor.
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