Spouse: Ingeborg Weber Children: three children The consignment: NSDAP (1944-1945) Military service Years of service: 1910-1945 Affiliation: German empire German empire
Weimar Republic Weimar Republic
Third Reich Third Reich Type of army: Kaiserlichmarine
Reichsmarine
Kriegsmarine Rank: grand admiral Commanded: German submarine fleet
Kriegsmarine
Wehrmacht (April - May 1945) Battles:

• World War I :
• The Second World War :

Autograph: Awards:

	: incorrect or missing image

In December 1916, Dönitz returned to Germany to take a course as a submarine officer. Served as officer of the watch on U-39. On March 1, 1918, he was appointed commander of the submarine - UC-25 (type UC-II). During his command, the submarine achieved 4 victories (16 thousand brt). Then he was transferred to UB-68 (type UB-III), on which he made one military campaign. On October 3, 1918, the submarine attacked a guarded convoy, got into the transport Oopack, but was counterattacked by depth charges, received damage, surfaced, after which she was shot by naval artillery. The crew left the sinking boat and was captured (7 people from the crew died).

Between the wars

Karl Doenitz personally planned the operation against the British naval base Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands: on October 13-14, 1939, the German submarine U-47 under the command of Gunther Prien, specially selected for the attack on Scapa Flow by Donitz, entered the harbor of Scapa -Flow through the Kirk Sound, blocked by three blockhouses. As a result of three torpedo salvos from the submarine, the British battleship Royal Oak was sunk. U-47 returned safely to Wilhelmshaven on 17 October.

Karl Dönitz is credited with saving East Prussia in the spring of 1945 (largely based on his own memoirs). Researcher G. Schwendemann accuses him of the opposite. Only on May 6, 1945, Dönitz assigned the most important priority to the evacuation of the civilian population and gave reserves of fuel submarines for the needs of evacuation (since April, transport ships stood without fuel), and about 120,000 people were evacuated in 2 days. And from January 23 to May 1 (that is, in almost 100 days), only 800,000 refugees, 355,000 wounded and 215,000 soldiers were evacuated, but weapons, vehicles and etc.

As president

Before committing suicide, A. Hitler, in a political will of April 29, 1945, appointed Dönitz, who was then in northern Germany, as his successor to the post of President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Having become the head of the country, on May 2, 1945, Dönitz moved his residence to the building of the naval school in Flensburg-Mürwik in the north of Schleswig-Holstein. On the same day, Dönitz issued an Appeal to the German People, in which he announced the death of Adolf Hitler and his successor, and at the same time formed a new German government headed by Count L. Schwerin von Krosig. In the face of the inevitable defeat of Germany, Dönitz attempted to achieve the earliest possible conclusion of an armistice with the Western allies and to withdraw as many troops and civilians as possible from territories that could have been occupied by Soviet troops. On May 7, representatives of Dönitz signed in Reims the Act of Germany's surrender to the representatives of England, the USA and the USSR. On May 8, at the request of the Soviet side in Karlshorst, Field Marshal Keitel signed the act of unconditional surrender.

chief engineers mats

- I would have chased you off with a knapsack two, the laces would have worn out, - the infantryman said, wiping the dirt off his face with his sleeve; - otherwise it is not a man, but a bird! “That would have put you on a horse, Zikin, if you were dexterous,” the corporal joked over the thin soldier, twisted from the weight of his knapsack. “Take a club between your legs, here’s a horse for you,” replied the hussar. The rest of the infantry hurried across the bridge, spiraling like a crater at the entrance. Finally the carts all passed, the crush lessened, and the last battalion entered the bridge. Some of the hussars of Denisov's squadron remained on the other side of the bridge against the enemy. The enemy, visible in the distance from the opposite mountain, below, from the bridge, was not yet visible, since from the hollow along which the river flowed, the horizon ended in an opposite elevation no further than half a mile. Ahead was the desert, along which in some places the handfuls of our traveling Cossacks were moving. Suddenly, troops in blue hoods and artillery appeared on the opposite hill of the road. They were the French. Departure of the Cossacks trotted downhill. All the officers and people of Denisov's squadron, although they tried to talk about a stranger and look around, did not stop thinking only about what was there, on the mountain, and constantly peered into the spots overlooking the horizon, which they recognized as enemy troops. The weather in the afternoon cleared up again, the sun descended brightly over the Danube and the dark mountains surrounding it. It was quiet, and from time to time the sounds of horns and cries of the enemy came from that mountain. There was no one between the squadron and the enemies, except for small patrols. An empty space, three hundred yards, separated them from him. The enemy stopped firing, and the more clearly that strict, formidable, impregnable and elusive line was felt that separates the two enemy troops. “One step beyond this line, reminiscent of the line separating the living from the dead, and - the unknown of suffering and death. And what's there? who's there? there, behind this field, and the tree, and the roof, illuminated by the sun? Nobody knows, and one wants to know; and it is scary to cross this line, and I want to cross it; and you know that sooner or later you will have to cross it and find out what is there, on the other side of the line, as well as inevitably find out what is there, on the other side of death. And he himself is strong, healthy, cheerful and irritated and surrounded by such healthy and irritated lively people. " If he does not think so, then every person who is in the sight of the enemy feels, and this feeling gives a special brilliance and joyful sharpness of impressions to everything that happens in these minutes. The smoke of a shot appeared on the enemy's hillock, and the cannonball whistling flew over the heads of the hussar squadron. The officers who stood together went to their places. The hussars diligently began to align the horses. Everything fell silent in the squadron. Everyone looked ahead at the enemy and at the squadron commander, waiting for the command. Another, third core flew by. Obviously, they were shooting at the hussars; but the cannonball, whistling evenly quickly, flew over the heads of the hussars and struck somewhere behind. The hussars did not look back, but at every sound of a flying ball, as if on command, the entire squadron, with its monotonous diverse faces, holding its breath while the ball flew, rose on the stirrups and fell again. The soldiers, without turning their heads, looked sideways at each other, with curiosity looking out for the impression of a comrade. Every face, from Denisov to the bugler, showed one common feature of struggle, irritation and excitement near the lips and chin. The sergeant frowned, looking at the soldiers, as if threatening punishment. Junker Mironov bent down with each passage of the nucleus. Rostov, standing on the left flank on his feet touched but visible Grachik, had the happy air of a student, summoned before a large audience for an exam, in which he is sure that he will distinguish himself. He clearly and brightly looked around at everyone, as if asking to pay attention to how he calmly stood under the cannonballs. But in his face the same trait of something new and strict, against his will, appeared near the mouth. - Who is bowing there? Junkeg "Mig" ones! Hexog "osho, look at me" go! - shouted Denisov, who did not stand still and who was spinning on horseback in front of the squadron. The snub-nosed and black-haired face of Vaska Denisov and his whole small, knocked-down figure with his sinewy (with short fingers covered with hair) hand, in which he held the ephesus of the saber pulled out baldly, was exactly the same as always, especially in the evening, after drunk two bottles. He was only more reddened than usual and, throwing his shaggy head up like birds when they drink, ruthlessly pressing his spurs into the sides of the good Bedouin with his little feet, he, as if falling backward, galloped to the other flank of the squadron and shouted in a hoarse voice to inspect pistols. He drove up to Kirsten. The headquarters captain, on a broad and sedate mare, was walking at a step towards Denisov. The headquarters captain, with his long mustache, was as serious as always, only his eyes shone more than usual. - What? - he said to Denisov, - it will not come to a fight. You will see, we will go back. - Chog "t knows what they are doing - Denisov grumbled. - Ah! G" skeleton! He shouted to the cadet, noticing his cheerful face. - Well, I waited. And he smiled approvingly, apparently rejoicing at the cadet. Rostov felt completely happy. At this time, the chief appeared on the bridge. Denisov galloped towards him. - Your pg "evangelist! Let me attack! I will ogk them." “What kind of attacks are there,” said the chief in a boring voice, wincing as if from an annoying fly. - And why are you standing here? See, the flankers are retreating. Lead the squadron back. The squadron crossed the bridge and got out of the gunfire without losing a single person. The second squadron, which was in the chain, crossed after him, and the last Cossacks cleared the other side. Two squadrons of Pavlograd residents, crossing the bridge, one after the other, went back up the mountain. Regimental commander Karl Bogdanovich Schubert drove up to Denisov's squadron and rode at a pace not far from Rostov, not paying any attention to him, despite the fact that after the former clash for Telyanin, they now saw each other for the first time. Rostov, feeling himself at the front in the power of a man before whom he now considered himself guilty, did not take his eyes off the athletic back, the blond nape and red neck of the regimental commander. It seemed to Rostov that Bogdanych was only pretending to be inattentive, and that his whole goal now was to test the courage of the cadet, and he straightened up and looked around merrily; then it seemed to him that Bogdanych was going close on purpose in order to show Rostov his courage. Then he thought that his enemy would now deliberately send a squadron into a desperate attack to punish him, Rostov. It was thought that after the attack, he would come up to him and generously extend to him, the wounded, a hand of reconciliation. The figure of Zherkov, familiar to the people of Pavlograd, with high shoulders, (he recently left their regiment) drove up to the regimental commander. Zherkov, after his expulsion from the main headquarters, did not stay in the regiment, saying that he was not a fool in the front to pull the strap when at the headquarters, doing nothing, he would receive more awards, and knew how to settle down as an orderly to Prince Bagration. He came to his former boss with an order from the head of the ariegard. - Colonel, - he said with his gloomy seriousness, addressing the enemy of Rostov and looking around his comrades, - ordered to stop, to light the bridge. - Who is ordered? The colonel asked grimly. “I don’t know, Colonel, who was ordered,” the cornet answered seriously, “but only the prince ordered me:“ Go and tell the colonel that the hussars come back as soon as possible and light the bridge ”. Following Zherkov, a retinue officer drove up to the hussar colonel with the same order. Fat Nesvitsky rode up after the officer of the suite on a Cossack horse, which was forcibly carrying him at a gallop. - Why, Colonel, - he shouted while driving, - I told you to light the bridge, and now someone has turned it over; everyone goes crazy there, you can't figure it out. The colonel unhurriedly stopped the regiment and turned to Nesvitsky: “You told me about combustible substances,” he said, “but you didn’t tell me anything about lighting. - But how, father, - began to speak, stopping, Nesvitsky, taking off his cap and spreading his hair wet with sweat with a plump hand, - why did you not say that the bridge should be lit when the combustible substances were put in? “I’m not your“ father ”, Mr. Headquarters Officer, and you didn’t tell me to light the bridge! I know the service, and I’m in the habit of strictly following orders. You said the bridge will be lit, and who will be lit, I cannot know with the holy spirit ... “Well, that's always the case,” said Nesvitsky with a wave of his hand. - How are you here? - he turned to Zherkov. - Yes, for the same. However, you are damp, let me squeeze you out. “You said, mister headquarters officer,” the colonel continued in an offended tone ... - Colonel, - interrupted the officer of the suite, - we must hurry, otherwise the enemy will move the guns to a grapeshot shot. The colonel silently looked at the officer of the suite, at the officer's fat headquarters, at Zherkov, and frowned. “I’ll light the bridge,” he said in a solemn tone, as if expressing by this that, despite all the troubles he was doing, he would still do what he had to do. Striking the horse with his long, muscular legs, as if she was to blame for everything, the colonel moved forward to the 2nd squadron, the very one in which Rostov served under the command of Denisov, ordered to return back to the bridge. “Well, that’s right,” thought Rostov, “he wants to test me! His heart sank and the blood rushed to his face. “Let him see if I'm a coward,” he thought. Again on all the cheerful faces of the squadron people appeared that serious feature that was on them while they were standing under the cannonballs. Rostov, not taking his eyes off, looked at his enemy, the regimental commander, wanting to find confirmation of his guesses on his face; but the colonel never once looked at Rostov, but looked, as always in the front, sternly and solemnly. A command was heard. - Alive! Alive! - said several voices near him. Clinging with sabers to the reins, rattling spurs and hurrying, the hussars dismounted, not knowing what they would do. The hussars were baptized. Rostov no longer looked at the regimental commander - he had no time. He was afraid, with a sinking heart he was afraid that he would keep up with the hussars. His hand trembled as he handed the horse over to the groom, and he felt the blood rush to his heart with a thud. Denisov, falling back and shouting something, drove past him. Rostov saw nothing except the hussars running around him, clinging to their spurs and strumming with sabers. - Stretcher! - Shouted someone's voice from behind. Rostov did not think about what the demand for a stretcher meant: he ran, trying only to be ahead of everyone; but at the very bridge he, without looking at his feet, fell into the viscous, trampled mud and, stumbling, fell on his hands. Others ran around him. “On both sides, captain,” he heard the voice of the regimental commander, who, having driven ahead, stood on horseback near the bridge with a triumphant and cheerful face. Rostov, wiping his dirty hands on his leggings, looked back at his enemy and wanted to run further, believing that the farther he went forward, the better it would be. But Bogdanych, although he did not look and did not recognize Rostov, shouted at him: - Who is running in the middle of the bridge? On the right side! Juncker, back! - he shouted angrily and turned to Denisov, who, flaunting courage, rode astride the planks of the bridge. - Why take a risk, captain! You should get off, ”the colonel said. - NS! he will find the guilty one, - answered Vaska Denisov, turning on the saddle. Meanwhile, Nesvitsky, Zherkov and the officer of the retinue stood together outside the shots and looked either at this small group of people in yellow shakos, dark green jackets embroidered with strings, and blue leggings swarming by the bridge, then on the other side, at the blue hoods and groups approaching in the distance with horses that could easily be recognized as tools. “Will the bridge be lit or not? Who first? Will they reach and light the bridge, or will the French drive up to a grapeshot shot and kill them? " Each of the large number of troops that stood over the bridge and in the bright evening light looked at the bridge and the hussars and on the other side, at the moving blue hoods with bayonets and guns, involuntarily asked himself these questions with bated breath. - Oh! will go to the hussars! - said Nesvitsky, - no further than a grape-shot now. "It was in vain that he led so many people," said the officer of the suite. “Indeed,” said Nesvitsky. - There would be to send two fellows, it would be all the same. “Ah, your Excellency,” Zherkov intervened, not taking his eyes off the hussars, but all with his own naive manner, because of which it was impossible to guess whether what he was saying was serious or not. - Ah, your Excellency! How do you judge! Send two people, but who will give us Vladimir with a bow? And so, although they will beat them, you can imagine the squadron and get the bow yourself. Our Bogdanych knows the rules. - Well, - said the officer of the suite, - it's buckshot! He pointed to the French guns, which were removed from the front and hastily drove off. On the French side, in those groups where there were guns, smoke appeared, another, a third, almost at the same time, and the minute the sound of the first shot came through, a fourth appeared. Two sounds, one after the other, and a third. - Oh, oh! Gasped Nesvitsky, as if from burning pain, grabbing the officer of the suite by the arm. - Look, one fell, fell, fell! - Two, is it? “If I were a tsar, I would never have fought,” said Nesvitsky, turning away. The French guns were again hastily loaded. The infantry in blue hoods ran towards the bridge. Again, but at different intervals, haze appeared, and buckshot clicked and crackled across the bridge. But this time Nesvitsky could not see what was happening on the bridge. Thick smoke rose from the bridge. The hussars managed to set fire to the bridge, and the French batteries fired at them no longer in order to interfere, but so that the guns were aimed and there was someone to shoot at. - The French managed to make three buckshot shots before the hussars returned to the horse breeders. Two volleys were fired incorrectly, and the buckshot suffered all, but the last shot hit the middle of a bunch of hussars and knocked three of them down.

Bee Oography of Admiral Karl Doenitz

Karl Doenitz (born September 16, 1891 - death December 24, 1980) - German statesman and military-political leader, Grand Admiral, commander of the German submarine fleet, commander-in-chief of the Navy of the Third Reich.
Origin. Education. Service start
Karl Doenitz was born in 1891 in Grunau near Berlin to the family of an optical engineer named Emil Doenitz, who worked for the renowned Karl Zeiss company. The children were left without a mother early. After graduating from the gymnasium, Karl Doenitz studies at a real school. 1910 - young Doenitz entered the naval school in Kiel, after graduating he was enlisted.
1912 - Karl Doenitz was assigned to the light cruiser Breslau as a watch officer, and in the fall of the following year, Doenitz was promoted to lieutenant.
World War I
Breslau met the beginning of the First World War in the Mediterranean Sea. Having left for Turkey, the cruiser joined the Ottoman fleet and fought in the Black Sea against the Russian squadron. Repeatedly the cruiser took part in raids on Russian naval bases. But the attack by the German cruisers did not go unpunished. 1915 - "Breslau" was blown up by a mine. 1916 - Doenitz was awarded the rank of chief lieutenant and recalled to his homeland.
In Germany, Karl retrained as a submarine officer and in 1918 received command of the UC-25 submarine. Submarine Doenitz was sent to the Mediterranean Sea.
By that time, the hopes of the German command that with the help of submarine warfare it would be possible to undermine the power of the British fleet were dashed. A reliable convoy system was developed by the British. Powerful depth charges brought death to German submarines. Nevertheless, Doenitz was able to torpedo 5 enemy ships, which was a pretty good result. For successful actions, Doenitz was awarded the Order of the House of Hohenzollerns and transferred to a more modern submarine. 1918, October 4 - the crew of the submarine commanded by Doenitz had to surrender. However, the damaged submarine was sunk and did not fall to the enemy.

Revival of the German submarine fleet
1919 - Karl Doenitz, returning to Germany, continued to serve in the surface fleet, because under the terms of the Versailles Treaty, the German Navy was prohibited from having submarines.
The revival of the German submarine fleet began only in 1935, when Adolf Hitler ordered the construction of the submarine fleet, refusing to comply with the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty, which limited the military capabilities of Germany. 1936 - Hitler promoted Doenitz to rear admiral and appointed commander of the submarine forces, which by that time had only 11 small submarines.
Submarine commander
As commander of the submarine fleet, Admiral Doenitz immediately had a chance to engage in a fight with the supporters of the "big ships". The commander was able to prove that Britain is highly dependent on sea trade and therefore vulnerable. The loss of the merchant fleet can be extremely difficult to affect the state of the economy and, as a consequence, the armed forces. Submarines were one of the most effective means of destroying transport ships. The admiral was able to convince the OKM leadership that the submarine fleet has a future.
1938 - Karl Doenitz needed ocean-type submarines for operations on enemy communications. After long disputes, the admiral once again achieved his goal and received permission to build submarines of this type, which later played a key role in the actions of the German Navy in the Atlantic.
Gross-Admiral Raeder, carried away by large surface ships, paid no attention at all to the construction of the submarine fleet. Unlike his boss, Doenitz believed that 300 submarines were capable of winning the war with England.

The Second World War
Despite all the efforts of Doenitz, by the beginning of World War II, he had only 56 submarines at his disposal, of which only 22 were suitable for operations in the ocean. Nevertheless, by the end of the first month of the war, Doenitz was in fact able to prove that the submarine fleet is a fairly effective weapon of warfare.
Even with a comparatively weak submarine force, the German navy enthusiastically launched a war against England. The main efforts of the German Navy were aimed at destroying the British merchant fleet. The first victims of German submarines were ships returning to their countries - England and France. These ships were unarmed and could not fight submarines. However, soon merchant ships began to receive weapons and sonars. In addition, the British switched to a system of escorting transport ships by warships and aircraft; often the convoys were conducted away from the usual sea lanes.
After the fall of France, the admiral received new bases that were much closer to British communications. The route of the German submarines was cut three times. From June to December, England experienced enormous difficulties. 343 ships were lost. All ports on the south and east coast of Great Britain were paralyzed.

Germany also had serious difficulties. By that time, Doenitz had only 57 submarines, many with varying damage from ice and depth charges. The extremely low rate of production of submarines began to affect. Only by the end of 1940 was the production of submarines increased to six per month. During the first 12 months of the war, only 29 new submarines were commissioned, while 28 were lost.
By the end of 1941, the situation was in favor of Germany, which in two years sank as many ships as British and Canadian shipyards produced in 4. But after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Fuhrer declared war on America. After the Americans entered World War II, the Nazi submarine fleet fell on hard days.
But America was not fully prepared for war. At first, American ships went alone, without an escort, with burning lights. 1942, January 15 - Doenitz ordered the sinking of enemy ships off the coast of the United States.
In early 1943 Raeder retired. Karl Doenitz was promoted to admiral of the fleet and on January 30 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the navy. But by that time the fleet was already on the verge of defeat. Losses grew rapidly, and the number and tonnage of the sunk ships of the Allies steadily decreased. 1943, March - German submarines sank 120 enemy ships, but they themselves lost 11 submarines. The following month, 15 submarines did not return to base, and in May, the Allies sank 41 German submarines. Karl Doenitz gave the order to withdraw the submarines from the Atlantic Ocean. In the next three months, 60 enemy merchant ships were sunk, the Germans lost 79 submarines.

The last battle with the participation of German submarines unfolded off the French coast during the landing of the allied assault force. 36 submarines took part in the battle, more than half of which were killed. In total, during the summer of 1944, the German Navy lost 82 submarines, sinking only 21 enemy ships. Total losses of German submarines, from 1939 to 1945 participating in the "Battle of the Atlantic", amounted to 781 submarines. And out of 39 thousand submariners' personnel, 32 thousand sailors did not return home.
In a will written on April 29, 1945, the Fuehrer appointed Doenitz as his successor. Doenitz learned about the new appointment on April 30 from a radiogram. Taking over the nominal leadership of Germany, Doenitz ceased to obey the directives from Berlin. On May 2, he moved the capital of the Reich to Muerwik near Flensburg. The admiral did his best to end the war with the West. All remaining ships were sent to the Baltic ports, which were still under the control of the Third Reich. The troops were ordered to cover the evacuation of civilians, and then retreat to the West until the last opportunity.

Nuremberg trials
On May 23, by order of Dwight D. Eisenhower, agreed with the Soviet command, the Doenitz government was disbanded and arrested. Soon Karl Doenitz appeared before the International Military Tribunal. He was accused of waging an all-out submarine war, not provided for by international law. However, the Nazi admiral was helped to some extent by the American admiral Nimitz, who announced similar actions by the US fleet.
As a result, Doenitz was convicted as a war criminal and sentenced to 10 years in prison. 1956 - He was released from Spandau Prison. After his release, the former admiral settled in a small town in West Germany.
Death
Karl Doenitz died of a heart attack on December 24, 1980. He was buried on January 6, 1981 at the Waldfriedhof cemetery without military honors. Many former military personnel and foreign naval officers attended the funeral to pay tribute to him. But they were forbidden to attend the funeral in military uniform.
Y. Lubchenkov

Who, in addition to his success in destroying the allied tonnage, is also known for his marriage to Karl Denitz's daughter Ursula.

This photo shows the Hessler family - Gunther Hessler, his wife Ingeborga (née Doenitz). At the very bottom of the picture, the photographer captured only part of the head of the little boy, who is very similar to Karl Doenitz, and therefore may be presumably the son of Gunther and Ursula, and also, of course, the grandson of the future Grand Admiral and the last Reich President of Germany. I believe that many who saw this photo asked themselves this question. Today you can get an answer to it, as well as to other questions related to the family of Karl Doenitz.

Karl Doenitz was born on September 16, 1891. On May 27, 1916, a young 24-year-old naval officer Karl Doenitz married a nurse Ingeborga Weber. The history of their acquaintance is quite interesting and we can say that the reason for it was the First World War.

Ingeborg Weber was born on February 10, 1893 in the family of an officer of the imperial German army Erich Paul Weber, the future general from infantry. Weber, better known by his nickname "Pasha", left a definite mark in the history of the First World War. In 1914, with the rank of colonel in the German military mission, Weber was sent to Istanbul as a "military engineer and specialist in defensive structures." On April 18, 1915 he was promoted to Major General and nicknamed "Pasha". Took part in the hostilities on the Gallipoli Peninsula. He did not find a common language with General Liman von Sanders and was transferred to Germany. In 1916, commander of the 50th Infantry Division, which took part in the Battle of Verdun. Later, the commander of the 9th Infantry Division, which he commanded until the end of the war. After the surrender of Germany, he continued to serve in the Reichswehr. He retired on June 15, 1921 with the rank of General of Infantry. Died in 1933.

General Erich Paul Weber, Karl Doenitz's father-in-law

Leaving for Turkey, Weber took his family with him. So Ingeborga ended up in Istanbul, where she worked as a nurse in a hospital. It was there that she met a young officer from the cruiser "Breslau" Karl Doenitz, who soon proposed to her. After receiving permission to marry from the Command of the Navy and proving by Doenitz that his income as a naval officer was sufficient to support his family, Ingeborg and Karl were married in Istanbul by the priest of the embassy, ​​and in the future priest of Kaisermarine, Count von Luttihau.

Officers of the cruiser "Breslau" after being awarded the Iron Crosses. Karl Doenitz in the foreground sits cross-legged in Turkish style (left). This photo also features another famous person in the German navy. Third from the right in the row of standing officers, there is an artillery officer of the cruiser Lieutenant-Commander Karls, the future Admiral General Kriegsmarine.

Part of a group shot of the battle cruiser Goeben. Karl Doenitz holds the dog on his lap.

The first daughter Ursula was born in the family couple Doenitz (unfortunately, the date of her birth could not be established. The approximate year of birth is 1917-1920). Then, two years apart, Doenitz had two sons: Klaus (May 14, 1920) and Peter (March 20, 1922). It can be assumed that Karl and Ingeborg were happily married, although Ingeborg had to taste all the "charm" of a naval sailor's wife, especially during the war years, since her husband had practically no time for a family. First, he was captured by the British, then returned to the fleet again, went on a voyage around the world, disappeared at sea for a long time on exercises with his flotilla of submarines. And after that the war began, which ended with the surrender of the Reich and 10 years of imprisonment of Doenitz in Spandau by the verdict of the Nürberg Tribunal.

Grand Admiral Kriegsmarine. 1944 g.

Karl Doenitz. Nyurberg Tribunal 1946

The end of the term of imprisonment in Spandau. Karl and Inge Doenitz. 1956 g.

Klaus and Peter, who followed in their father's footsteps, chose the career of officers in the Kriegsmarine and both died during the war. Lieutenant zur see Peter Doenitz was killed in U 954 in the Atlantic.

Oberleutenant zur see Klaus Doenitz was killed aboard the German TKA S 141 in the English Channel. His death was ridiculous. According to the rules in force in the German navy, if a senior officer had several sons and lost one of them at the front, then his other sons could leave service after that. After the death of Peter, Klaus left the fleet and entered the University of Tübingen at the Faculty of Medicine. But he did not cease to keep in touch with his former colleagues and on the day of his 24th birthday he met with his officers in Cherbourg. For fun, he decided to go on the S 141 boat as a guest on a military campaign. The boat was discovered and sunk by Allied ships. Frigate "Steiner" and EM "La Combatant" were able to raise only 6 German sailors from the water. The sea gave the body of Klaus Doenitz only after a while, throwing it on the coast of France.

Eldest son Klaus

Youngest son Peter

Ursula married in 1937 the Kriegsmarine officer Gunther Hessler, who later became the commander of the U107 submarine and the future underwater ace. In marriage, they had three children: the eldest son Peter (1939), daughter Ute (1942) and Klaus (1945).

The family of Karl Doenitz.
Standing (from left to right): Klaus (youngest grandson, 11 years old), Peter (eldest grandson, 17 years old), Ingeborg's wife, daughter Ursula, son-in-law Gunther Hessler. Karl Doenitz and Ute (granddaughter, 14 years old) are sitting. 1956 g.

It is likely that Ingeborg Doenitz continued to work as a physician in the pre-war and war years, since after the war and during Karl Doenitz's stay in Spandau, from 1947 to 1956 she worked at a Hamburg hospital, first as a nurse, and then as a registrar with a professor of medicine. Henry Künstmann. With the exit of Karl Doenitz from Spandau in October 1956, Ingeborg left medicine and spent the rest of her years with her husband and grandchildren. Ingeborg Doenitz died on May 2, 1962 at the age of 69. Karl Doenitz outlived his wife by 18 years and died at the age of 89 on December 24, 1980.


Karl and Inge Doenitz.

After the war, Denitz's son-in-law Gunter Hessler opened his own business and later became the owner of the factory. However, at the age of 58, Hessler died on April 4, 1968. It was a difficult time for Karl Doenitz, when he first became a widower and then his daughter became a widow. There is no mention of the further fate of Ursula Doenitz, including her death. It is possible that she is still alive, although she may now be over 90 years old.

Returning to the question of taking a picture of the Hessler family, there is no doubt that the baby in the photo is none other than the eldest grandson of Karl Denitz Peter.

As a small addition, I will add that the reason for the death of Karl Doenitz's elder brother Friedrich has become known (I wrote about him). Frederick was killed during one of the Allied bombing raids on Berlin.

As usual, Vladimir Nagirnyak pored over the analysis.

Karl Dönitz (German Karl Dönitz; September 16, 1891, Berlin - December 24, 1980, Aumüle) - German statesman and military leader, Grand Admiral (1943). Commander of the Submarine Fleet (1935-1943), Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy (1943-1945), Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the German Armed Forces from April 30 to May 23, 1945.

Karl was born in 1891 near Berlin. From childhood he was interested in military affairs, and in 1910 he was able to enter the Imperial Naval Academy. Three years later, he graduated from it and began to serve in the German navy. In 1916, he began to serve in the newly created submarine fleet. Denz served as an officer on the U-68 submarine and later became its captain. In 1918, a submarine attacked an English convoy. The convoy ships sank it, and Karl and most of the crew were captured. Dönitz arrived in his homeland in 1919. Karl remained one of the few officers who still served in the small fleet. Charles served on warships, since the Versailles Treaty forbade Germany to have a submarine fleet. However, with Hitler's rise to power, everything changed. Doenitz returned to the submarine fleet. In 1935, Admiral Raeder gave him the order to lead the submarine fleet and reorganize it. Charles took command, but the state of the fleet was poor. Germany did not have its own submarines, teams, works on theory. Karl had to rely on his own experience and on foreign works on the strategy of the submarine fleet. Karl personally supervised the design of the submarines. He himself wrote manuals for the training of submariners.

Karl set himself the goal of creating a submarine fleet of three hundred submarines. However, work was slowed down due to the fact that there was a limitation on the steel resources that were needed by the conventional navy and army. Doenitz had only 56 boats by the start of World War II. Of these submarines, less than half were capable of fighting in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1939, Karl's submarines sank 114 merchant ships. New resources kept coming in and the number of submarines grew. In 1940, Hitler allowed Karl to wage submarine warfare without restrictions. In four months, Karl sank another 285 ships.

In 1941, America entered the war, which meant expanding the scope of the German submarine fleet. In 1942, submarines destroyed 585 American ships. In 1943, Doenitz became admiral and commander-in-chief of the German fleet. He continued to be responsible for the development of the German submarine fleet. Submarines could now be seen with radar, and that was a problem. German submarines won the Battle of the Atlantic in 1942, and the next year they could no longer effectively restrict the movement of ships across the ocean. Karl continued to fight. He had 398 more submarines at his disposal. Germany lost about 32 thousand submarine sailors and 781 submarines during the war. It should be noted that Karl Doenitz was Hitler's successor. He ordered him to become Reich Chancellor before committing suicide. On May 7, Karl Doenitz agreed to surrender. He was soon arrested as a war criminal. However, Karl was not a member of the Nazi party. Karl served 10 years in prison, and then lived quietly in Hamburg until his death in 1980. Both of his sons died in the navy during the war. Doenitz, on the other hand, was an excellent naval commander, who well understood the capabilities of his fleet.

Dönitz Karl. Admiral Dönitz created the German submarine fleet and tactics that allowed German submariners to jeopardize the transport of Britain and the United States.

Dönitz was born on September 16, 1891 in Grünau, near Berlin. The youngest son of the optical engineer Emil Dönitz from the Carl Zeiss company in Jena, he was left without a mother early. After grammar school and real school, the young man entered the Imperial Naval School in Kiel in 1910. In 1912 he was transferred to the naval school in Mürvik, then to complete his studies he was appointed as a watch officer of the light cruiser "Breslau" and in the fall of 1913 he was promoted to lieutenant. During the Balkan crisis, Breslau participated in the blockade of Montenegro. By the beginning of World War II, the cruiser was in the Mediterranean Sea, with Souchon's detachment broke through to the Black Sea and became part of the Turkish fleet. When in July 1915 "Breslau" was blown up by a Russian mine near the Bosphorus and got up for repairs, the lieutenant as a pilot and air observer took part in the hostilities near Gallipoli. In February 1916 he was promoted to chief lieutenant, and in the summer he was sent to retrain as a submariner.

From October 1, 1916 to January 1917, Dönitz underwent training in Germany. Then he was sent to the Adriatic Sea. On the U-39 submarine, Lieutenant Commander Walter Folstmann, Dönitz made a good showing and was seconded to Kiel for a submarine commander's course. In January 1918, he was assigned command of the UC-25 in the Mediterranean, a minelayer that could also be used in a torpedo version. In the first campaign, the young commander sank a steamer, then entered the roadstead of the port of Augusta (Sicily) and torpedoed an Italian coal miner. On the way back, the boat ran aground, and had to ask for help from the Austrians. Nevertheless, the Kaiser awarded the sailor the Order of the House of Hohenzollern. After repairs in July, Dönitz laid mines off the island of Corfur and attacked 4 ships with torpedoes, one of which washed ashore and the others probably sank. The sailor could not observe their death: he had to leave the escort, which the British accompanied the convoys.

As a reward for the successful cruise, Dönitz was assigned to command the more modern UB-68. On October 4, 1918, the commander attacked a British convoy, sank the Upek transport, but when diving, due to the inexperience of the crew, the boat sank to a depth beyond the limit. Dönitz ordered to blow through the tanks, put the rudders in a horizontal position and give a move. The boat was thrown to the surface in the center of the convoy, where it was attacked by British destroyers. It was not possible to submerge (the compressed air ran out). The chief lieutenant ordered the crew to leave the boat and flood it. Most of the crew were picked up by British ships.

In order to quickly return to his homeland, Dönitz, who was in the camp for officers in Riedmaier near Sheffield, feigned madness so naturally that the camp authorities believed and repatriated him. In July 1919, the chief lieutenant returned to Germany and served at the naval base in Kiel. Dönitz was one of the few former officers who remained in the small German fleet, which existed within the limits permitted by the Treaty of Versailles. Since the treaty forbade Germany to have submarines, in 1920 Dönitz became commander of the T-157 destroyer in Swinemünde (Pomerania), in 1921 he was promoted to lieutenant commander. Two years later, he returned to Kiel as an expert in the mine-torpedo-reconnaissance inspection, participated in the development of a new depth charge.

In the fall of 1924, after completing a staff officer course, Dönitz was sent to Berlin. He participated in the development of a new naval charter and provisions on military crimes. In 1928, Dönitz continued to serve as navigator of the cruiser Nymph in the Baltic, in November he was appointed commander of the 4th destroyer semi-flotilla. With 4 destroyers, the sailor practiced tactics during maneuvers similar to the subsequent actions of submarines. In the autumn maneuvers, he distinguished himself by “defeating” the convoy of the conditional enemy, and attracted the attention of Rear Admiral Walter Gladish, who was in charge of secret preparations for the submarine war. From the end of 1930 to 1934, Dönitz served in Wilhelmshaven, engaged in internal security. At the beginning of 1933, a sailor sent to the British and Dutch colonies visited Malta, the Red Sea, India, Ceylon, Batavia on Java, and Singapore. In October he was promoted to frigatten captain. In 1934 Dönitz improved his English in England, and upon his return he became the commander of the light cruiser Emden.

After Hitler came to power with his plan to immediately begin naval expansion, Dönitz returned to the submarine fleet. On February 1, 1935, the Fuhrer ordered the construction of submarines to begin, after 6 weeks he refused to comply with the articles of the Versailles Treaty. On June 8, Dönitz was appointed “Submarine Fuhrer”. He led the 1st submarine flotilla, which by September consisted of 11 small submarines. On October 1, the sailor was promoted to the "captains tsur zee".

Based on his own experience, as well as on foreign works on the strategy of the submarine fleet, Dönitz essentially created the German theory of submarine warfare. He himself supervised the design of submarines, took care of the improvement of engines, wrote manuals for the training of submariners. He had two main military concepts. First, Dönitz convinced his superiors that the main target of submarines should not be military, but merchant ships in order to disrupt the enemy's supply. The second concept, which played a particularly significant role in the conduct of submarine warfare, boiled down to the fact that submariners should act in stable groups, which Dönitz called "wolf packs." At his insistence, the construction of series 7 submarines, suitable for operations in the ocean, began. Dönitz's activities were supported by the commander of the fleet, Ralph Karls. However, Admiral Raeder, a supporter of the cruising war against Great Britain, wrote negative resolutions on Dönitz's notes, claiming that submarines were able to win the war.

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Dönitz set out to create a fleet of 300 boats, but this work was slowed down by the limited resources of steel, which were also claimed by the regular fleet and army. By the beginning of World War II, Dönitz had only 56 boats, of which less than half could fight in the Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, by the end of September, the loss of the allied tonnage reached 175 thousand tons, and U-47 Prina, according to Dönitz's plan, sank the battleship Royal Oak in the harbor of Scapa Flow on the night of October 14. Gross Admiral Raeder, who met the boat, promoted Dönitz to rear admiral right on the pier.

The shipyards produced only 2 submarines a month. The submarines that returned from the campaign turned out to be nothing to replace. In October the sunk tonnage was 125 thousand tons, in November - 80 thousand tons and in December - 125 thousand tons. The total losses of the Allied ships amounted to 343 610 tons until March 31, 1940, which Great Britain, which had a tonnage of 24 million tons and launched 200 thousand tons of ships per month, could withstand. The use of submarines in the Norwegian operation and problems with torpedo fuses reduced the sunk tonnage to 80 thousand tons in April. Only when, after the fall of France, Dönitz's submarines began to leave French ports, the time of their combat patrols increased and the destroyed tonnage increased sharply, reaching 343 ships in 7 months with a displacement of 1 million 754 thousand 501 tons, which has already begun to threaten the security of Great Britain, which is not managed to compensate for the losses.

In August 1940, Vice Admiral Dönitz moved the headquarters to Paris, from where it was more convenient to lead the submariners. He led a modest, measured life, took care of the life of the sailors, met them after the campaigns, gave them the opportunity to relax and relieve nervous tension, for which he was loved and called “Papa Karl” or “Lion”.

Only by the end of 1940, the number of submarines produced monthly increased from 2 to 6. On September 1, 1941, there were still only 57 submarines, counting unusable ones. The British, on the other hand, organized the protection of the convoys, began to use long-range anti-submarine aircraft, and the losses of German submariners began to grow.

Dönitz believed that the war could be won by sinking ships with a larger tonnage than the enemy could build. He stubbornly resisted Hitler's proposal to transfer part of the submarines to the Mediterranean, for he knew that they would not be able to return because of the strong western currents in the Strait of Gibraltar. When, nevertheless, 10 submarines had to be sent to the Mediterranean, this worsened the possibility of conducting operations in the Atlantic. Nevertheless, submariners and other military forces sank more ships than the Canadian and British shipyards were building.

Hitler's declaration of war on the United States after Pearl Harbor sharply worsened the position of Germany, for the German fleet was unable to cope with the power of American industry. Nevertheless, Dönitz did everything he could to increase the resistance. The scope of the German submarine fleet expanded. The Americans have not thought of a system for protecting their shipping. Already on January 15, 1942, Dönitz ordered the destruction of American ships off the coast of America; by May 10, 303 ships (2,015,252 tons) had been sunk. But in July, the Americans began to form convoys. The dispatch of some of the boats to the coast of Norway at the beginning of 1943 led to the fact that only 10-12 submarines operated on the American coast at the same time. Dönitz felt his powerlessness, and Hitler, as a consolation, promoted him to admiral in March 1942. When Raeder left the service, Hitler appointed Dönitz as commander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarine on January 30, 1943, with the rank of Grand Admiral. Moreover, the sailor continued to be responsible for the development of the German submarine fleet at the new stage of the war. Now the advantage at sea and on land has passed to the Allies. Submarines began to be detected with the help of radars, the Allies learned to break German codes and determine the location of the "wolf packs".

Dönitz moved to Berlin. He dissuaded Hitler from destroying the surface fleet and tried to use ships to hinder at least part of the ships of the British fleet. But nevertheless, he continued to direct the actions of the submariners, who were now commanded by Admiral Eberhard Goth. In March 1943, “packs of wolves” sank 120 ships (627,300 tons), losing 11 boats, and Hitler awarded Grand Admiral Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. But the losses of submariners grew due to the actions of the naval and base aviation of the American and British fleets on the boats that were going to sea and returning. In May, German submariners sank 56 ships, but they themselves lost 41 submarines.

In the last years of the war, Dönitz tried to build as many submarines as possible and use them in areas where operations were less dangerous, but led to good successes (Caribbean Sea, Azores region). He hastened the development of scientific research, tried to oppose the efforts of the allies snorkels, which allowed submarines to charge batteries under water. The improvement of engines and torpedo systems continued. But the boats of the 21st series, capable, in the opinion of the commander-in-chief, to achieve victory, began to enter service too late. The German submariners, who almost won the Battle of the Atlantic in 1942, were no longer able to effectively restrict cargo flows across the ocean in the next year. They sunk fewer merchant ships than they lost boats. An attempt to attack the allied forces that landed in Normandy ended in failure and heavy losses. Further attempts to massively use submarines could no longer bring success. Of the 820 boats that took part in the "Battle of the Atlantic" since 1939, 781 were killed, of 39 thousand submariners - 32, mainly at the end of the war.

Despite the defeat of the German troops, Dönitz remained a supporter of Hitler, justified all his decisions and at times made propaganda statements in the spirit of Goebbels. He attended Hitler's last birthday. Apparently, this is why the Fuhrer, before his death, appointed Dönitz as his successor as chancellor. On May 2, the Grand Admiral settled in the cadet corps in Muervik near Flensburg, tried to quickly end the war with the West and take as many Germans as possible by sea from the zone of Soviet influence. On May 23, 1945, he was arrested. When we checked the IQ, its index was 138, approaching the genius index.

As Hitler's successor, Dönitz was put on trial. Allied experts recognized that the American navy had waged an all-out submarine war from the very beginning and that the sinking of neutral ships in a zone declared dangerous was not a crime. The judge pleaded Dönitz's innocence on all charges. The Grand Admiral himself referred to the fact that he acted on orders. In the end, he received 10 years in prison - the mildest sentence ever passed in Nuremberg. He served his term in Spandau. After his release on October 1, 1956, Dönitz secured an Admiralty pension and lived with his wife in abundance. After the death of his wife on May 2, 1962, he lived alone in Aumüle. The sailor devoted almost all his time to writing, writing the books “10 years and 20 days” (1958), “My exciting life” (1968), “German naval strategy in World War II” (1968). He died on December 24, 1980 in Aumüle and was buried on January 6, 1981. The burial was attended by veterans - comrades in arms.