German naval commander of the U-boat fleet who briefly became head of state after Hitler's death.
Dönitz commanded Germany's U-boat force during the Second World War and became commander-in-chief of the Navy in January 1943. He continued to send submarines into battle through 1945 despite mounting losses. After Hitler's suicide, Hitler's will named him head of state; on 7 May 1945, Dönitz ordered Alfred Jodl to sign Germany's surrender instrument. Convicted at Nuremberg of crimes against peace and war crimes, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Activities and affiliations
- Military command · Germany state institutions
Career Timeline
- 1943Became commander-in-chief of the German Navy
- 1945Became head of state after Hitler's death and ordered Germany's surrender
Unrestricted submarine warfare and the Nuremberg trial
Once war began, the submarine force under Dönitz progressively loosened the rules governing attacks on merchant shipping. Naval treaties required submarines to stop and search merchant vessels that did not resist and to safeguard passengers and crews. From September 1939 German orders targeted ships sailing at night without lights; in October, Dönitz ordered attacks without warning on enemy merchant ships on the grounds that resistance was to be expected. In 1940 U-boats were also ordered to sink neutral ships without warning if they entered designated operational zones. The International Military Tribunal ruled that the order to sink neutral vessels in those zones violated the treaty. It also held Dönitz responsible for treaty violations because he ordered that rescue provisions not be carried out. By contrast, it found insufficient proof that War Order No. 154 of 1939 and the so-called Laconia Order of 1942 deliberately directed the killing of shipwreck survivors. The tribunal called the orders ambiguous and deserving of the strongest censure. Dönitz was convicted in 1946 of crimes against peace and war crimes. However, taking into account evidence that the British Navy had ordered ships sunk at sight in the Skagerrak and that the United States had waged unrestricted submarine warfare in the Pacific from its entry into the war, the tribunal did not use the violations of the law of submarine warfare to increase his sentence.