Erich Raeder

Erich Johann Albert Raeder (24 April 1876 in Wandsbek - 6 November 1960 in Kiel) was a naval leader in Germany before and during the Second World War. He was made a "Großadmiral" (English: Grand Admiral, equivalent to Admiral of the Fleet) in 1939, which is the highest naval rank. Born in 1876 in Hamburg, Germany, Raeder joined the Imperial German Navy in 1894, rising through the ranks. Raeder played a significant role in planning naval strategy during World War I. After the war, he advocated for a powerful German navy. He played a key role in the buildup of the Kriegsmarine, advocating for submarine warfare. Raeder fell out of favor with Hitler later in the war. In 1943 he was replaced by Karl Dönitz in his position as head of the German Navy.

Raeder was arrested by the Allies in 1945 and was tried at the Nuremberg Trials, convicted of war crimes, and sentenced to life in prison. However, his sentence was reduced to 10 years. Raeder was released in 1955 due to health reasons and died in 1960.

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Erich Raeder Media

Kriegsmarine-Großadmiral (s)
Erich Raeder (second from left) and the staff of Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper (center), 1916
- For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme.
Raeder and Paul von Hindenburg in Kiel, 1931
Erhard Milch, Wilhelm Keitel, Walther von Brauchitsch, Raeder and Maximilian von Weichs at the 1938 Nuremberg Rally
Raeder with Otto Kretschmer (left), August 1940
Raeder with Adolf Hitler, 1943
Raeder with his wife after being released from prison (September 26, 1955)
Raeder's Grave in Kiel