Editing Karl Dönitz (section)

==Early career and personal life==
[[File:Oberleutnant zur See Karl Dönitz as Watch Officer of U-39.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Oberleutnant zur See]]'' Karl Dönitz as Watch Officer of ''U-39'' during World War I]]

Dönitz was born on 16 September 1891 in [[Grünau (Berlin)|Grünau]], near [[Berlin]], to Anna Beyer and Emil Dönitz, an engineer. Karl had an older brother. In 1910, Dönitz enlisted in the {{lang|de|Kaiserliche Marine}} ("Imperial Navy").{{sfn|Zabecki|2014|p=354}}

On 27 September 1913, Dönitz was [[Commissioned officer|commissioned]] as a {{lang|de|[[Leutnant zur See]]}} (acting sub-lieutenant). When [[World War I]] began, he served on the [[light cruiser]] {{SMS|Breslau}} in the [[Mediterranean Sea]].{{sfn|Zabecki|2014|p=354}} In August 1914, the ''Breslau'' and the battlecruiser {{SMS|Goeben}} were sold to the [[Ottoman Navy]]; the ships were renamed the ''Midilli'' and the ''Yavuz Sultan Selim'', respectively. They began operating out of [[Constantinople]], under Rear Admiral [[Wilhelm Souchon]], engaging [[Imperial Russian Navy|Russian]] forces in the [[Black Sea]].{{sfn|Kraus|Dönitz|1933}}{{page needed|date=December 2019}} On 22 March 1916, Dönitz was promoted to {{lang|de|[[Oberleutnant zur See]]}}. He requested a transfer to the submarine forces, which became effective on 1 October 1916. He attended the submariner's school at Flensburg-Mürwik and [[passing out (military)|passed out]] on 3 January 1917.{{sfn|Terraine|1989|pp=162–164}} He served as watch officer on {{SMU|U-39||2}}, and from February 1918 onward as commander of {{SMU|UC-25||2}}. On 2 July 1918, he became commander of {{SMU|UB-68||2}}, operating in the Mediterranean.{{sfn|Terraine|1989|pp=164–165}} On 4 October, after suffering technical difficulties, Dönitz was forced to surface and scuttled his boat. He was captured by the British and incarcerated in the [[Lodge Moor camp|Redmires camp]] near [[Sheffield]]. He remained a prisoner of war until 1919 and in 1920 he returned to Germany.{{sfn|Williamson|2007|p=10}}

[[File:Datei 2159 Kinder von Karl Dönitz b.jpg|thumb|right| Karl Dönitz's sons both died in World War II: Lieutenant Peter Dönitz on May 19, 1943, as a watch officer on the ''U-954'', Oberleutnant Klaus Dönitz on May 13, 1944, on the [[E-boat]] ''S-141''.]]

On 27 May 1916, Dönitz married a nurse named Ingeborg Weber (1893–1962), the daughter of the German general [[Erich Weber]] (1860–1933). They had three children, whom they raised as Protestant Christians: a daughter named Ursula (1917–1990) and their sons Klaus (1920–1944) and Peter (1922–1943).{{citation needed|date=February 2025}} 

Both of Dönitz's sons were killed in action during the Second World War.{{sfn|Miller|2000|p=145}} Peter was killed on 19 May 1943 when {{GS|U-954||2}} was sunk in the North Atlantic with all hands.{{sfn|Blair|1998|pp=283, 338, 569}} Hitler had issued a policy stating that if a senior officer such as Dönitz lost a son in battle and had other sons in the military, the latter could withdraw from combat and return to civilian life.{{sfn|Blair|1998|p=569}} After Peter's death, Klaus was forbidden to have any combat role and was allowed to leave the military to begin studying to become a naval doctor. However, on 13 May 1944, his 24th birthday, he persuaded his friends to let him go on the [[E-boat]] ''S-141'' for a raid on [[Selsey]]. The boat was sunk by the {{ship|French destroyer|La Combattante|up=yes}} and Klaus was killed.{{sfn|Blair|1998|p=569}}