Editing Kriegsmarine (section)

==History==
===Post–World War I origins===
Under the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, Germany was only allowed a minimal navy of 15,000 personnel, six capital ships of no more than 10,000 tons, six [[cruiser]]s, twelve [[destroyer]]s, twelve [[torpedo boat]]s, and no submarines or [[aircraft carrier]]s. Military aircraft were also banned, so Germany could have no [[naval aviation]]. Under the treaty Germany could only build new ships to replace old ones. All the ships allowed and personnel were taken over from the ''Kaiserliche Marine'', which was renamed the {{Lang|de|[[Reichsmarine]]}}.

From the outset, Germany worked to circumvent the military restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans continued to develop U-boats through a submarine design office in the Netherlands (''[[NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw]]'') and a torpedo research program in Sweden where the [[G7e torpedo]] was developed.<ref>[http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1599&context=etd Wolves Without Teeth: The German Torpedo Crisis in World War Two] p. 24</ref>

Even before the [[Adolf Hitler's rise to power|Nazi seizure of power]] on 30 January 1933 the German government decided on 15 November 1932 to launch a prohibited naval re-armament program that included U-boats, airplanes, and an aircraft carrier.

The launching of the first [[Deutschland-class cruiser|pocket battleship]], {{ship|German cruiser|Deutschland||2}} in 1931 (as a replacement for the old [[pre-dreadnought battleship]] {{SMS|Preussen|1903|2}}) was a step in the formation of a modern German fleet. The building of the ''Deutschland'' caused consternation among the French and the British as they had expected that the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles would limit the replacement of the pre-dreadnought battleships to [[coastal defence ship]]s, suitable only for defensive warfare. By using innovative construction techniques, the Germans had built a heavy ship suitable for offensive warfare on the high seas while still abiding by the letter of the treaty.

===Nazi control===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1980-128-63, Erich Raeder.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Erich Raeder]], commander of the ''Kriegsmarine'' until 1943]]
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Hitler soon began to more brazenly ignore many of the Treaty restrictions and accelerated German naval rearmament. The [[Anglo-German Naval Agreement]] of 18 June 1935 allowed Germany to build a navy equivalent to 35% of the British surface ship tonnage and 45% of British submarine tonnage; battleships were to be limited to 35,000 tons. That same year the ''Reichsmarine'' was renamed as the ''Kriegsmarine''. In April 1939, as tensions escalated between the United Kingdom and Germany over [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]], Hitler unilaterally rescinded the restrictions of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement.

The building-up of the German fleet in the time period of 1935–1939 was slowed by problems with marshaling enough manpower and material for ship building. This was because of the simultaneous and rapid build-up of the German Army and Air Force which demanded substantial effort and resources. Some projects, like the [[D-class cruiser (Germany)|D-class cruiser]]s and the [[P-class cruiser]]s, had to be cancelled.

===Spanish Civil War===
{{see also|German involvement in the Spanish Civil War#Maritime operations}}
The first military action of the ''Kriegsmarine'' came during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Following the outbreak of hostilities in July 1936 several large warships of the German fleet were sent to the region. The heavy cruisers ''Deutschland'' and {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Scheer||2}}, and the light cruiser {{ship|German cruiser|Köln||2}} were the first to be sent in July 1936. These large ships were accompanied by the 2nd Torpedo-boat Flotilla. The German presence was used to covertly support [[Francisco Franco|Francisco Franco's]] Nationalists although the immediate involvement of the ''Deutschland'' was humanitarian relief operations and evacuating 9,300 refugees, including 4,550 German citizens. Following the brokering of the [[Non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War|International Non-Intervention Patrol]] to enforce an international arms embargo, the ''Kriegsmarine'' was allotted the patrol area between [[Cabo de Gata]] (Almeria) and [[Oropesa del Mar|Cabo de Oropesa]]. Numerous vessels served as part of these duties including {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Graf Spee||2}}. On 29 May 1937 the [[Deutschland incident (1937)|''Deutschland'' was attacked]] off [[Ibiza]] by two bombers from the [[Spanish Republican Air Force|Republican Air Force]]. Total casualties from the Republican attack were 31 dead and 110 wounded, 71 seriously, mostly burn victims. In retaliation the ''Admiral Scheer'' [[Bombardment of Almería|shelled Almeria]] on 31 May killing 19–20 civilians, wounding 50 and destroying 35 buildings.<ref>Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War''. Penguin Books. London. 2006. p.665</ref> Following further attacks by Republican submarines against the {{ship|German cruiser|Leipzig||2}} off the port of [[Oran]] between 15 and 18 June 1937 Germany withdrew from the Non-Intervention Patrol.

U-boats also participated in covert action against Republican shipping as part of [[Operation Ursula]]. At least eight U-boats engaged a small number of targets in the area throughout the conflict. (By comparison the Italian ''[[Regia Marina]]'' operated 58 submarines in the area as part of the ''Sottomarini Legionari''.)

===Plan Z===
{{Main|Plan Z}}
The ''Kriegsmarine'' saw as her main tasks the controlling of the [[Baltic Sea]] and winning a war against [[French Third Republic|France]] in connection with the German army, because France was seen as the most likely enemy in the event of war. But in 1938 Hitler wanted to have the possibility of winning a war against Great Britain at sea in the coming years. Therefore, he ordered plans for such a fleet from the ''Kriegsmarine''. From the three proposed plans (X, Y and Z) he approved Plan Z in January 1939. This blueprint for the new German naval construction program envisaged building a navy of approximately 800 ships during the period 1939–1947. Hitler demanded that the program be completed by 1945. The main force of Plan Z were six [[H-class battleship proposals|H-class battleships]]. In the version of Plan Z drawn up in August 1939, the German fleet was planned to consist of the following ships by 1945:
* 4 aircraft carriers
* 10 [[battleship]]s
* 15 armored ships (''[[Deutschland-class cruiser|Panzerschiffe]]'')
* 3 [[battlecruiser]]s
* 5 [[heavy cruiser]]s
* 44 [[light cruiser]]s
* 158 destroyers and torpedo boats
* 249 submarines
* Numerous smaller craft
Personnel strength was planned to rise to over 200,000.

The planned naval program was not very far advanced by the time World War II began. In 1939 two {{sclass2|M|cruiser|1}}s and two H-class battleships were laid down and parts for two further H-class battleships and three {{sclass2|O|battlecruiser|1}}s were in production. The strength of the German fleet at the beginning of the war was not even 20% of Plan Z. On 1 September 1939, the navy still had a total personnel strength of only 78,000, and it was not at all ready for a major role in the war. Because of the long time it would take to get the Plan Z fleet ready for action and shortage in workers and material in wartime, Plan Z was essentially shelved in September 1939 and the resources allocated for its realisation were largely redirected to the construction of U-boats, which would be ready for war against the United Kingdom more quickly.<ref>Siegfried Breyer: ''Der Z-PLAN.'' Podzun-Pallas-Verlag. Wölfersheim-Berstadt 1996. {{ISBN|3-7909-0535-6}}</ref>

===World War II===
{{Main|Baltic Sea Campaigns (1939–1945)|Battle of the Atlantic|Commerce raiding|Merchant raiders|Operation Sea Lion|Battle of the Mediterranean|Black Sea Campaigns (1941–44)}}
[[File:WW2 German Navy U-boat submarines (Kriegsmarine Unterseeboote U-boote) etc wartime contemporary photo U-boat photos. (57).jpg|thumb|U-boat crew]]
The ''Kriegsmarine'' took part in the [[Battle of Westerplatte]] and the [[Battle of Danzig Bay|Battle of the Danzig Bay]] during the [[invasion of Poland]]. In 1939, major events for the ''Kriegsmarine'' were the sinking of the British aircraft carrier {{HMS|Courageous|50|6}} and the British battleship {{HMS|Royal Oak|08|6}} and the loss of {{lang|de|Admiral Graf Spee}} at the [[Battle of the River Plate]]. Submarine attacks on Britain's vital maritime supply routes ([[Battle of the Atlantic]]) started immediately at the outbreak of war, although they were hampered by the lack of well placed ports from which to operate. Throughout the war the ''Kriegsmarine'' was responsible for [[coastal artillery]] protecting major ports and important coastal areas. It also operated anti-aircraft batteries protecting major ports.<ref name = "Feldgrau38">{{Cite web|url=https://www.feldgrau.com/ww2-german-navy-kriegsmarine-western-front/|title=Organization of the Kriegsmarine in the West 1940-45|date=4 August 2020|website=Feldgrau}}</ref>

In April 1940, the German Navy was heavily involved in the [[Operation Weserübung|invasion of Norway]], where it suffered significant losses, which included the [[heavy cruiser]] {{ship|German cruiser|Blücher||2}} sunk by artillery and torpedoes from Norwegian shore batteries at the [[Oscarsborg Fortress]] in the [[Oslofjord]]. Ten destroyers were lost in the [[Battles of Narvik]] (half of German destroyer strength at the time), and two light cruisers, the ''[[German cruiser Königsberg|Königsberg]]'' which was bombed and sunk by Royal Navy aircraft in Bergen, and the ''[[German cruiser Karlsruhe|Karlsruhe]]'' which was sunk off the coast of Kristiansand by a British submarine. The ''Kriegsmarine'' did in return sink some British warships during this campaign, including the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Glorious}}.

The losses in the [[Norwegian campaign|Norwegian Campaign]] left only a handful of undamaged heavy ships available for the planned, but never executed, invasion of the United Kingdom ([[Operation Sea Lion]]) in the summer of 1940. There were serious doubts that the invasion sea routes could have been protected against British naval interference. The [[Battle of France|Fall of France]] and the conquest of Norway gave German submarines greatly improved access to British shipping routes in the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]. At first, British [[convoy]]s lacked escorts that were adequate either in numbers or equipment and, as a result, the submarines had much success for few losses (this period was dubbed the [[First Happy Time]] by the Germans).

[[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]] entered the war in June 1940, and the [[Battle of the Mediterranean]] began: from September 1941 to May 1944 some 62 German submarines were transferred there, sneaking past the British naval base at [[Gibraltar]]. The Mediterranean submarines sank 24 major Allied warships (including 12 destroyers, 4 cruisers, 2 aircraft carriers, and 1 battleship) and 94 merchant ships (449,206 tons of shipping). None of the Mediterranean submarines made it back to their home bases, as they were all either sunk in battle or [[Scuttling|scuttled]] by their crews at the end of the war.<ref>[http://uboat.net/ops/med-ove.htm Uboat.net], U-boats in the Mediterranean – Overview</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101II-M2KBK-245-12, Frankreich, M-Boot im Hafen.jpg|thumb|The crew of a minesweeper in France, 1941]]

In 1941, one of the four modern German battleships, {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck||2}} sank {{HMS|Hood|51|6}} while breaking out into the Atlantic for commerce raiding. The ''Bismarck'' was in turn hunted down by much superior British forces after being crippled by an air-launched torpedo. She was subsequently scuttled after being rendered a burning wreck by two British battleships.

In November 1941 during the Battle of the Mediterranean, German submarine ''[[German submarine U-331|U-331]]'' sank the British battleship ''[[HMS Barham (04)|Barham]]'', which had a magazine explosion and sank in minutes, with the loss of 862, or 2/3 of her crew.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Battleship HMS Barham - Militär Wissen|url=https://www.militaer-wissen.de/battleship-hms-barham/?lang=en|access-date=2021-07-21|language=en-US}}</ref>

During 1941, the ''Kriegsmarine'' and the [[United States Navy]] became ''[[de facto]]'' [[belligerent]]s, although war was not formally declared, leading to the sinking of the {{USS|Reuben James|DD-245|6}}. This course of events were the result of the American decision to support Britain with its [[Lend-Lease]] program and the subsequent decision to escort Lend-Lease convoys with US war ships through the western part of the Atlantic.

The Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] and the subsequent [[German declaration of war against the United States]] in December 1941 led to another phase of the Battle of the Atlantic. In Operation Drumbeat and subsequent operations until August 1942, a large number of Allied merchant ships were sunk by submarines off the US coast as the Americans had not prepared for submarine warfare, despite clear warnings (this was the so-called [[Second Happy Time]] for the German Navy). The situation became so serious that military leaders feared for the whole Allied strategy. The vast American ship building capabilities and naval forces were however now brought into the war and soon more than offset any losses inflicted by the German submariners. In 1942, the submarine warfare continued on all fronts, and when German forces in the [[Soviet Union]] reached the [[Black Sea]], a few submarines were eventually transferred there.

In February 1942, the three large warships stationed on the Atlantic coast at [[Brest, France|Brest]] were evacuated back to German ports for deployment to Norway. The ships had been repeatedly damaged by air attacks by the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]], the supply ships to support Atlantic sorties had been destroyed by the Royal Navy, and Hitler now felt that Norway was the "zone of destiny" for these ships. The two battleships {{ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2}} and {{ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2}} and the heavy cruiser {{ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2}} passed through the English Channel ([[Channel Dash]]) on their way to Norway despite British efforts to stop them.<ref>{{cite book| last1 = Garzke| first1 = William H.| last2 = Dulin| first2 = Robert O.| year = 1985| title = Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II| publisher = Naval Institute Press| location = Annapolis| isbn = 978-0-87021-101-0|pages=145–146}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1 = Koop| first1 = Gerhard| last2 = Schmolke| first2 = Klaus-Peter| year = 1999| title = Battleships of the Scharnhorst Class| publisher = Naval Institute Press| location = Annapolis| isbn = 978-1-55750-045-8|page=111}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Hellwinkel| first = Lars| year = 2014| title = Hitler's Gateway to the Atlantic: German Naval Bases in France 1940-1945| publisher = Seaforth Publishing| location = Barnsley|edition= Kindle, English Translation| isbn = 978-184832-199-1|page= Kindle location 731 of 4855 }}</ref> Not since the [[Spanish Armada]] in 1588 had any warships in wartime done this. It was a tactical victory for the ''Kriegsmarine'' and a blow to British morale, but the withdrawal removed the possibility of attacking allied convoys in the Atlantic with heavy surface ships.

With the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941 Britain started to send [[Arctic convoys of World War II|Arctic convoy]]s with military goods around Norway to support their new ally. In 1942 German forces began heavily attacking these convoys, mostly with bombers and U-boats. The big ships of the ''Kriegsmarine'' in Norway were seldom involved in these attacks, because of the inferiority of German [[radar]] technology,<ref>{{cite web| last =Sieche| first =Erwin| title =German Naval Radar to 1945| publisher =Naval Weapons of the World| date =4 May 2007| url =http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNGER_Radar.htm| access-date = 23 December 2012}}</ref> and because Hitler and the leadership of the ''Kriegsmarine'' feared losses of these precious ships. The most effective of these attacks was the near destruction of [[Convoy PQ 17]] in July 1942. Later in the war German attacks on these convoys were mostly reduced to U-boat activities and the mass of the allied freighters reached their destination in Soviet ports.

The [[Battle of the Barents Sea]] in December 1942 was an attempt by a German naval surface force to attack an Allied Arctic convoy. However, the advantage was not pressed home and they returned to base. There were serious implications: this failure infuriated Hitler, who nearly enforced a decision to scrap the surface fleet. Instead, resources were diverted to new U-boats, and the surface fleet became a lesser threat to the Allies.

[[File:Tirpitz altafjord 2.jpg|thumb|The battleship {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} in Norway, 1944]]

After December 1943 when {{lang|de|Scharnhorst}} had been sunk in an attack on an Arctic convoy in the [[Battle of the North Cape|Battle of North Cape]] by {{HMS|Duke of York|17|6}}, most German surface ships in bases at the Atlantic were blockaded in, or close to, their ports as a ''[[fleet in being]]'', for fear of losing them in action and to tie up British naval forces. The largest of these ships, the battleship {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}}, was stationed in Norway as a threat to Allied shipping and also as a defence against a potential Allied invasion. When she was sunk, after several attempts, by British bombers in November 1944 ([[Operation Catechism]]), several British capital ships could be moved to the Far East.

From late 1944 until the end of the war, the surviving surface fleet of the ''Kriegsmarine'' (heavy cruisers: {{lang|de|Admiral Scheer}}, {{ship|German cruiser|Lützow|1940|2}}, {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Hipper||2}}, {{lang|de|Prinz Eugen}}, light cruisers: {{ship|German cruiser|Nürnberg||2}}, {{lang|de|Köln}}, {{ship|German cruiser|Emden||2}}) was heavily engaged in providing artillery support to the retreating German land forces along the Baltic coast and in ferrying civilian refugees to the western Baltic Sea parts of Germany ([[Mecklenburg]], [[Schleswig-Holstein]]) in large rescue operations. Large parts of the population of [[Former eastern territories of Germany|eastern Germany]] fled the approaching [[Red Army]] out of fear for Soviet retaliation (mass rapes, killings, and looting by Soviet troops did occur{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source|date=June 2023}}). The ''Kriegsmarine'' evacuated two million civilians and troops in the [[evacuation of East Prussia]] and [[Gdańsk|Danzig]] from January to May 1945. It was during this activity that the catastrophic sinking of several large passenger ships occurred: {{MV|Wilhelm Gustloff||2}} and {{MV|Goya||2}} were sunk by Soviet submarines, while {{SS|Cap Arcona||2}} was sunk by British bombers, each sinking claiming thousands of civilian lives. The ''Kriegsmarine'' also provided important assistance in the evacuation of the fleeing German civilians of [[Pomerania]] and [[Szczecin|Stettin]] in March and April 1945.

A desperate measure of the ''Kriegsmarine'' to fight the superior strength of the Western Allies from 1944 was the formation of the ''[[K-Verband|Kleinkampfverbände]]'' (Small Battle Units). These were special naval units with [[Frogman|frogmen]], manned torpedoes, motorboats laden with explosives and so on. The more effective of these weapons and units were the development and deployment of [[midget submarine]]s like the ''[[Molch]]'' and ''[[Seehund]]''. In the last stage of the war, the ''Kriegsmarine'' also organised a number of divisions of infantry from its personnel.<ref name = "Feldgrau38"/>

Between 1943 and 1945, a group of U-boats known as the [[Monsun Gruppe|''Monsun'' Boats]] (''Monsun Gruppe'') operated in the [[Indian Ocean]] from Japanese bases in the occupied [[Dutch East Indies]] and [[British Malaya|Malaya]]. Allied convoys had not yet been organised in those waters, so initially many ships were sunk. However, this situation was soon remedied.<ref>[http://uboat.net/ops/monsun.htm Uboat.net], U-boat Operations – The Monsun U-boats</ref> During the later war years, the ''Monsun'' Boats were also used as a means of exchanging vital war supplies with Japan.

During 1943 and 1944, due to Allied [[Anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine tactics]] and better equipment, the U-boat fleet started to suffer heavy losses. The turning point of the Battle of the Atlantic was during [[Black May (1943)|Black May]] in 1943, when the U-boat fleet started suffering heavy losses and the number of Allied ships sunk started to decrease. Radar, longer range air cover, [[sonar]], improved tactics, and new weapons all contributed. German technical developments, such as the [[Submarine snorkel|''Schnorchel'']], attempted to counter these. Near the end of the war a small number of the new ''[[Elektroboot]]'' U-boats (types [[Type XXI submarine|XXI]] and [[Type XXIII submarine|XXIII]]) became operational, the first submarines designed to operate submerged at all times. The ''Elektroboote'' had the potential to negate the Allied technological and tactical advantage, although they were deployed too late to see combat in the war.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yD3eSRfUIesC&pg=PA39 Submarines: an illustrated history of their impact] Paul E. Fontenoy p.39</ref>

===War crimes===
[[File:Nazi orders against Jews Liepaja 1941 01.jpg|thumb|right|Anti-Jewish measures ordered by the German naval commander in Liepāja, 5 July 1941<ref name = KzV_070541/>]]
{{See also|German occupation of Latvia during World War II|Liepāja massacres}}
Following the capture of [[Liepāja]] in [[Latvia]] by the Germans on 29 June 1941, the town came under the command of the ''Kriegsmarine''. On 1 July 1941, the town commandant ''[[Korvettenkapitän]]'' Stein ordered that ten hostages be shot for every act of sabotage, and further put civilians in the zone of targeting by declaring that Red Army soldiers were hiding among them in civilian attire.

On 5 July 1941 ''Korvettenkapitän'' Brückner, who had taken over from Stein, issued a set of anti-Jewish regulations<ref name = Ezer_209>Ezergailis, ''The Holocaust in Latvia'', at page 209</ref> in the local newspaper, ''[[Kurzemes Vārds]]''.<ref name = KzV_070541>{{in lang|lv}} [http://data.lnb.lv/nba01/KurzemesVards/1941/KurzemesVards1941-004.pdf ''Kurzemes Vārds'', 5 July 1941, page 1, at website of National Library of Latvia.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030164347/http://data.lnb.lv/nba01/KurzemesVards/1941/KurzemesVards1941-004.pdf |date=30 October 2018 }}</ref> Summarized, the regulations were as follows:<ref name = Ezer_233n26>Ezergailis, ''The Holocaust in Latvia'', at page 233, n.26 and page 287</ref>
* All Jews were to wear the [[Yellow badge|yellow star]] on the front and back of their clothing;
* Shopping hours for Jews were restricted to 10:00&nbsp;a.m. to 12:00 noon. Jews were only allowed out of their residences for these hours and from 3:00&nbsp;p.m. to 5:00&nbsp;p.m.;
* Jews were barred from public events and transportation and were not to walk on the beach;
* Jews were required to leave the pavement if they encountered a German in uniform;
* Jewish shops were required to display the sign "A Jewish-owned business" in the window;
* Jews were to surrender all radios, typewriters, uniforms, arms, and means of transportation

On 16 July 1941, ''[[Fregattenkapitän]]'' Dr. Hans Kawelmacher was appointed the German naval commandant in Liepāja.<ref name = Vestermanis_224>Dribins, Leo, Gūtmanis, Armands, and Vestermanis, Marģers, Latvia's Jewish Community: History, Tragedy, Revival (2001) at page 224</ref> On 22 July, Kawelmacher sent a telegram to the German Navy's Baltic Command in [[Kiel]], which stated that he wanted 100 [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] and fifty ''[[Schutzpolizei (Nazi Germany)|Schutzpolizei]]'' (protective police) men sent to Liepāja for "quick implementation Jewish problem".<ref name = Anders_126>Anders and Dubrovskis, ''Who Died in the Holocaust'', at pages 126 and 127</ref> Kawelmacher hoped to accelerate the killings, complaining: "Here about 8,000 Jews... with present SS-personnel, this would take one year, which is untenable for [the] pacification of Liepāja."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liepāja |url=https://www.liepajajews.org/LGhetto.pdf |website=Liepāja Jews in WWII}}</ref> Kawelmacher telegram on 27 July 1941 read: "Jewish problem Libau largely solved by execution of about 1,100 male Jews by Riga SS commando on 24 and 25.7."<ref name = Anders_126/>

In September 1939, U-boat commander [[Fritz-Julius Lemp]] of [[German submarine U-30 (1936)|''U-30'']] sank [[SS Athenia (1922)]] after mistaking it for a legitimate military target, resulting in the deaths of 117 civilians. Germany did not admit responsibility for the incident until after the war. Lemp was killed in action in 1941. U-247 was alleged to have shot at sunken ship survivors, but as the vessel was lost at sea with its crew, there was no investigation.

In 1945, U-boat Commander [[Heinz-Wilhelm Eck]] of {{GS|U-852||2}} was tried along with four of his crewmen for shooting at survivors. All were found guilty, with three of them, including Eck, being executed. In 1946, [[Hellmuth von Ruckteschell]] was sentenced to 10 years in prison, reduced to 7 years on appeal, for the illegal sinking of ships and criminal negligence for failing to protect the downed crew of the [[SS Anglo Saxon (1929)|SS Anglo Saxon]]. Ruckteschell died in prison in 1948.

===Post-war division===
After the war, the German surface ships that remained afloat (only the cruisers {{lang|de|Prinz Eugen}} and {{lang|de|Nürnberg}}, and a dozen destroyers were operational) were divided among the victors by the [[Tripartite Naval Commission]]. The US used the heavy cruiser {{lang|de|Prinz Eugen}} in [[nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll]] in 1946 as a target ship for the [[Operation Crossroads]]. Some (like the unfinished aircraft carrier {{ship|German aircraft carrier|Graf Zeppelin||2}}) were used for target practice with conventional weapons, while others (mostly destroyers and torpedo boats) were put into the service of Allied navies that lacked surface ships after the war. The training [[barque]] SSS ''Horst Wessel'' was recommissioned [[USCGC Eagle (WIX-327)|USCGC ''Eagle'']] and remains in active service, assigned to the [[United States Coast Guard Academy]]. The British, French, and Soviet navies received the destroyers, and some torpedo boats went to the Danish and Norwegian navies. For the purpose of mine clearing, the Royal Navy employed German crews and minesweepers from June 1945 to January 1948,<ref>[http://www.janmaat.de/m_gesch0.htm German Mine Sweeping Administration (GMSA)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420121039/http://www.janmaat.de/m_gesch0.htm |date=20 April 2008 }} (in German), accessed: 9 June 2008</ref> organised in the [[German Mine Sweeping Administration]] (GMSA), which consisted of 27,000 members of the former ''Kriegsmarine'' and 300 vessels.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8Uczn3-3F34C&dq=GMSA+mine+sweeping&pg=PA41 Google book review: ''German Seaman 1939–45''] Page: 41, author: Gordon Williamson, John White, publisher: Osprey Publishing, accessed: 9 July 2008</ref>

The destroyers and the Soviet share light cruiser {{lang|de|Nürnberg}} were all retired by the end of the 1950s, but five escort destroyers were returned from the French to the new West German Navy in the 1950s and three 1945 scuttled type XXI and XXIII U-boats were raised by [[West Germany]] and integrated into their new navy. In 1956, with West Germany's accession to [[NATO]], a new navy was established and was referred to as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy). Some ''Kriegsmarine'' commanders like [[Erich Topp]] and [[Otto Kretschmer]] went on to serve in the ''Bundesmarine''. In [[East Germany]] the ''[[Volksmarine]]'' (People's Navy) was established in 1956. With the [[German reunification|reunification of Germany]] in 1990, it was decided to use the name ''Deutsche Marine'' ([[German Navy]]).