title: Karl Dönitz
text: Karl Dönitz ( ) (16 September 1891 – 24 December 1980) was a German naval leader. He commanded the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during the second half of World War II. Dönitz was also President of Germany for 23 days after Adolf Hitler's suicide. For his role in World War II, Dönitz was referred to as "der Löwe" (the Lion).
  
  Dönitz was born in Berlin. He entered the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) in 1911. During World War I, he served on surface ships. Later he was transferred to submarines (U-boats). He remained in the navy after the war and rose through the ranks of the German Navy of the Weimar Republic (Reichsmarine) and the German Navy of the Third Reich (Kriegsmarine). He became a Großadmiral. He served as Commander of Submarines (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote, B.d.U.). Later, he became Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine). He got this position, even though he never joined the Nazi Party. Under his command, the U-boat fleet fought the Battle of the Atlantic. He also served as Reichspräsident for 23 days after Adolf Hitler's suicide. He ended the war as a prisoner-of-war of the British.
  
  After the war Dönitz was charged and convicted of "crimes against peace" and "war crimes" at the Nuremberg Trials. He served ten years in prison. He ordered the unrestricted submarine warfare which was done by Germany in the North Atlantic. With this, he caused Germany to be in breach of the Second London Naval Treaty of 1936.
  At his trial, evidence was shown that the Allies had acted similarly. For this reason, this breach of international law had no impact on his sentence. After his release from prison, Dönitz moved to Aumühle, a small village near Hamburg. During his later years, he wrote two autobiographies. In them, he covered different periods in his life. He died of a heart attack on Christmas Eve, 1980.
  
  References
  
  1891 births
  1980 deaths
  Admirals
  Deaths from myocardial infarction
  German autobiographers
  German military personnel of World War I
  German military personnel of World War II
  German prisoners
  German war criminals
  Politicians from Berlin
  Politicians of the Nazi Party
  Presidents of Nazi Germany