Erich Raeder

German grand admiral and convicted war criminal

He served as commander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarine from 1935 until his resignation in 1943.^[1][2] The German admiral Erich Johann Albert Raeder, born 24 April 1876 and deceased 6 November 1960, was found guilty of war crimes following World War II and had a significant impact on that conflict's naval history.^[3] On 6 November 1960, Raeder's life ended in Kiel due to natural causes.^[4]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Office: Chief of the German Navy High Command
Deputy: Rolf Carls
Took office: 1 June 1935
Left office: 30 January 1943
Predecessor: Himself (as Head of the Naval Command)
Successor: Karl Dönitz
Birth name: Erich Johann Albert Raeder
Born: 24 April 1876

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Raeder joined the Imperial Navy in 1894 and rose rapidly, becoming chief of staff for Franz von Hipper in 1912.^[5] After the war, Raeder was involved in the failed Kapp Putsch in 1920, declaring himself for Wolfgang Kapp's government.^[6] He was promoted to admiral and made chief of the Naval Command on 1 October 1928.^[1] After the Battle of the Barents Sea, Hitler promoted Karl Dönitz to grand admiral on 30 January 1943, and Raeder was named admiral inspector, a ceremonial office.^[2]

Soviet forces took Raeder into custody on 23 June 1945; subsequently, at Nuremberg, he received a life imprisonment sentence.^[7][8]

What the cited sources add

The same source states that Raeder "ließ sich bereitwillig mit Blindheit schlagen" (willingly let himself be blinded) to legitimize Hitler's rule before the officer corps.^[9] The article also reports that Raeder and Reich Marshal Goring joined in recommending the Axis occupation of the whole northern coast of Africa and the Suez Canal.^[10] A Der Spiegel piece characterizes Raeder as "kaisertreu und konservativ, militärfromm erzogen" (loyal to the emperor and conservative, raised in military piety).^[9]

References

Wikipedia, "Erich Raeder" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Volume V, pp. 542-543, Document 2879-PS", Office of United States Chief of Counsel For Prosecution of Axis Criminality, 1946; Wistrich, "Who's Who in Nazi Germany", Macmillan Publishing Co., 1982, p. 239 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Erich Raeder" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Speer, "Inside the Third Reich", Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1995, p. 374–375 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Erich Raeder" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica)), "Erich Raeder", 2 November 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Erich Raeder" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica)), "Erich Raeder", 2 November 2020; "Admiral Erich Raeder Is Dead; Led German Navy Under Hitler; Played an Important Role in Developing of Nazi Fleet—Convicted for War Crimes", The New York Times, 1960-11-07 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Erich Raeder" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bird Erich Raeder p. xxvi.; Thomas p. 51.; Bird Erich Raeder p. xxvi. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Erich Raeder" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thomas p. 51. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Erich Raeder" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Biagi, "La seconda guerra mondiale, una storia di uomini", Gruppo editoriale Fabbri, 1983, p. 2743 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Erich Raeder" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Biagi, p. 2757; Biagi, p. 2759; Bird, "Erich Raeder: Admiral of the Third Reich", Naval Institute Press, 2013; Bird, "Erich Raeder: Admiral of the Third Reich", Naval Institute Press, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"Erich Raeder 24.IV.1876 – 06.XI.1960", Der Spiegel. facts only, no text reused. spiegel.de
"The Big Leak". facts only, no text reused. ariwatch.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Erich Raeder (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.