Wartime Role

As the wartime commander of Germany’s U-boats, Dönitz achieved enormous success destroying allied ships in the Atlantic. His command sank more than 3,500 allied vessels in the protracted Battle of the Atlantic during the course of World War II.  Thousands of Allied sailors lost their lives to Dönitz's submarines. The German Navy lost approximately 784 submarines in the process, and Dönitz suffered personally when his two sons were killed while serving in the German navy.

Dönitz had only occasional contact with Hitler prior to 1943, but Dönitz met with the Führer twice a month after being named commander of the German navy. Even though Dönitz joined the Nazi party only in 1944, Hitler appreciated how Dönitz initiated a program of Nazi indoctrination for German sailors and Dönitz’s confidence that U-boats could still bring Britain to its knees. After July 1944, Hitler held Dönitz in even higher esteem when it was discovered that no German naval officers took part in the failed attempt to assassinate the Führer orchestrated by high-ranking Germany army officers. As Germany’s fortunes deteriorated, Dönitz remained steadfastly loyal to Hitler.  In fact, when it was discovered that Hermann Göring, the supposed successor to Hitler was seizing power for himself, Dönitz was named Hitler's successor as Führer of Germany.

In an attempt to allow Germany soldiers to surrender to the Western Allies rather than the Soviet Union, he delayed the unconditional surrender of Germany until the final moment possible.  While this may have saved the lives of many German soldiers, it did prolong the war further.