Erich Raeder (Raeder)

Raeder, Erich (Raeder), (1876-1960), grand admiral, commander of the navy of the Third Reich. Born April 24, 1876 in the resort town Vandsbek near Hamburg in the family of school teachers. He graduated from the Naval School in Kiel, participated in the naval campaigns on the battleship "Deutschland" on the Baltic Sea, to India and the Far East. In 1905 he graduated from the Naval Academy. In 1910 he was assigned as navigator on the personal yacht of Kaiser Wilhelm II "Hohenzollern". During the 1-st world war Raeder participated in the largest naval battles in the Atlantic. In October 1918 he was appointed head of the Central Bureau of Navy command. Since the spring of 1920 Roeder supported antigovernment Kapp Putsch, . He was transferred to work in the archives of the Navy, . which enabled him to gather material for books on the history of the navy of Germany: Cruising the war in foreign waters, ", . "Activities of the light cruiser" Emden "and the" Karlsruhe ", . "War at Sea" and others,
. In his free time, Roeder attended the Philosophical Faculty of Berlin University, he was fluent in English, French and Russian languages. In 1923, Roeder was appointed to the rank of Rear Admiral inspector of naval education.

In October 1924 became commander of the forces of cruising in the North Sea, and in January 1925 - Commander of the Baltic naval area. October 1, 1928 Raeder was promoted to admiral and appointed commander of the Navy. Roeder welcomed the Nazis came to power, but not because of political sympathies, but in the hope that it will contribute to building a powerful new fleet. Once in March 1935, Hitler denounced the Treaty of Versailles 1919, . construction of the fleet began with full force: laid the giant battleship "Bismarck" (with a displacement of 41, . 7 tons) and "Tirpitz" (42, . 9 t), . by 1937 the stocks went down battleships "Sharnhost" and "Gneisenau", . later - the heavy cruiser "Hipper" and "Blucher",
. Was established on 1 st submarine flotilla under the command of Karl Doenitz. In 1937, Roeder was made an honorary member of the NSDAP. However, personal relations Raeder and Hitler gradually cool down, since Reder be properly protected the fleet from the Nazi influence: he defended the officers of the Jews, defended the navy priests, drove off with the fleet Gestapo agents. In addition, the distribution of industrial resources required for the construction of the fleet was concentrated in the hands of Hermann Goering, a personal enemy Roeder. In winter 1938-39 commander of the Navy has repeatedly warned Hitler that due to lack of funding could be disrupted the program of building a fleet and if in the next two years, war breaks out, the fleet ready for it will not be ". Raeder, Hitler replied: "To achieve the political goals of my fleet I will not need until 1946.
.
. January 27, 1939, Hitler approved a new plan developed by Roeder building a fleet that will run until 1947 (Plan "Z"), and gave the Navy absolute advantage over the Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe
. April 1, 1939 Roeder was given the rank of Grand Admiral. 2 The outbreak of World War I confirmed the worst assumptions Roeder: to war with Great Britain Germany Navy was not ready. "Our surface fleet - Roeder wrote in his diary - no choice, as only demonstrate that he can bravely die."
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. Nevertheless, under the leadership of Roeder was brilliantly carried out the operation "Vezeryubung" - the seizure of Norway
. And Germany's submarine fleet has shown itself at its best.

January 30, 1943 Roeder resigned, retaining the honorary title of Inspector-General of the fleet. He was replaced by Admiral Karl Doenitz. In May 1945, Roeder and his wife found themselves in Soviet captivity and were flown to Moscow. Later Roeder appeared before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and sentenced to life imprisonment. January 17, 1955 eighty Erich Raeder, was released on health. He settled in Kiel, where he wrote a book of memoirs "My Life". Raeder died Nov. 6, 1960 in Kiel at the age of 84 years.