Editing Karl Dönitz (section)

==Nazism and antisemitism==
Dönitz was a dedicated Nazi and a passionate supporter of Hitler,{{sfn|Terraine|1989|p=519}} something he attempted to obscure after the war.{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|pp=186–188}} Raeder described him as "a picture-book Nazi and confirmed anti-Semite".{{sfn|Wette|2007|p=154}} Several naval officers described him as "closely tied to Hitler and Nazi ideology."{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|pp=186–188}} On occasion, he spoke of Hitler's humanity.{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|pp=186–188}} His fervent pro-Hitler attitude led to him being known ironically as "[[Hitler Youth Quex]]", after the fictionalised hero of a Nazi novel and feature film.{{sfn|Beevor|2011}} He refused to help [[Albert Speer]] stop the [[scorched earth]] policy dictated by Hitler{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|pp=186–188}} and is also noted to have declared, "In comparison to Hitler we are all pipsqueaks. Anyone who believes he can do better than the Führer is stupid."{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|pp=186–188}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101II-MW-4012-04, Frankreich, Dönitz bei Offizieren.jpg|thumb|alt=Black and white photograph of men wearing military uniforms giving the nazi salute|Dönitz and other officers performing the [[Nazi salute]] in 1941]]

Dönitz contributed to the spread of Nazism within the {{lang|de|Kriegsmarine}}. He insisted that officers share his political views and, as head of the {{lang|de|Kriegsmarine}}, formally joined the Nazi Party on 1 February 1944, as member 9,664,999.{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|p=185}} He was awarded the [[Golden Party Badge]] for his loyalty to the party later that year. Dönitz's influence over naval officers contributed to none joining the [[Assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler|attempts to kill Hitler]].{{sfn|Rems|2015}}

From an ideological standpoint, Dönitz was [[anti-Marxist]] and [[antisemitic]]{{sfn|Zillmer|1995|p=141}} and believed that Germany needed to fight the "poison of Jewry".{{sfn|Harris|1999|p=289}} Several antisemitic statements by Dönitz are known.{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|pp=186–188}} When [[Sweden during World War II|Sweden]] closed its international waters to Germany, Dönitz blamed this action on their fear and dependence on "international Jewish capital."{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|pp=186–188}} In August 1944 he declared, "I would rather eat dirt than see my grandchildren grow up in the filthy, poisonous atmosphere of Jewry."{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|pp=186–188}}

His fellow officers noted he was under Hitler's influence, and closely wedded to Nazi ideology.{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|p=187}} On German Heroes' Day (12 March) of 1944, Dönitz declared that, without Adolf Hitler, Germany would be beset by "the poison of Jewry," and the country destroyed for lack of the "uncompromising ideology" of [[Nazism]]:
{{blockquote|What would have become of our country today, if the Führer had not united us under National Socialism? Divided along party lines, beset with the spreading poison of Jewry and vulnerable to it, because we lacked the defense of our present uncompromising ideology, we would have long since succumbed under the burden of this war and delivered ourselves to the enemy who would have mercilessly destroyed us.{{sfn|Harris|1999|p=289}}}}

At the [[Nuremberg trials]], Dönitz claimed the statement about the "poison of Jewry" was regarding "the endurance, the power to endure, of the people, as it was composed, could be better preserved than if there were Jewish elements in the nation."{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|p=187}} Later, during the Nuremberg trials, Dönitz claimed to know nothing about the [[Final Solution|extermination of Jews]] and declared that "nobody among my men thought about violence against Jews."{{sfn|Sprecher|1999|p=994}} Dönitz told [[Leon Goldensohn]], an American psychiatrist at [[Nuremberg]], "I never had any idea of the goings-on as far as Jews were concerned. Hitler said each man should take care of his business and mine was U-boats and the Navy."{{sfn|Goldensohn|2004|p=9}} Following the war, Dönitz tried to hide his knowledge of [[the Holocaust]]. He was present at the October 1943 [[Posen Conference]] where Himmler described the mass murder of Jews with the intent of making the audience complicit in this crime.{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|p=187}} It cannot be proven beyond doubt that he was present during Himmler's segment of the conference, which openly discussed the mass murder of European Jews.{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|p=187}}

Even after the Nuremberg Trials, with the crimes of the Nazi state well-known, Dönitz remained an antisemite. In April 1953, he told Speer that if it was the choice of the Americans and not the Jews, he would have been released.{{sfn|Steinweis|Rogers|Grier|2003|p=187}}