Karl Doenitz

German military officer. He joined the navy in 1910 and participated in World War I. In 1936, he was appointed commander of the newly established submarine fleet. His ideas of U-boat (submarine) group operations and nighttime surface attacks plagued the Allied forces during World War II. In 1943, he was promoted to commander in chief of the navy. His frankness with his superiors made him popular, and on April 30, 1945, Hitler appointed him as his successor as Führer and Commander in Chief of the Wehrmacht just before his suicide. After assuming his position on May 1, he attempted to negotiate surrender only with the US and British forces, but failed, so on the 8th, he ordered the surrender of all forces. On the 23rd of the same year, he was arrested along with all other government ministers, and was brought to the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, where he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1946. He completed his sentence in 1956.

[Shunichi Fujimura]

"The Spirit of the German Navy" by K. Doenitz, translated by Seizo Yamanaka (1981, Hara Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ドイツの軍人。1910年海軍に入り、第一次世界大戦に参戦。1936年新設の潜水艦隊司令官に就任した。彼の考案によるUボート（潜水艦）集団作戦および夜間浮上攻撃は、第二次世界大戦中、連合国側を悩ませた。1943年海軍総司令官に昇進。上司にも率直に意見を述べる性格が買われ、1945年4月30日、自殺直前のヒトラーによって後継の総統兼国防軍総司令官に指名された。5月1日就任後、米英軍とのみ降伏交渉を図ったが実現せず、8日、全軍に降伏を命令した。同23日、他の政府閣僚全員とともに逮捕され、ニュルンベルク国際軍事裁判に付され、1946年禁錮10年の判決を受けた。1956年刑期を終えた。

［藤村瞬一］

『K・デーニッツ著、山中静三訳『ドイツ海軍魂』（1981・原書房）』

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