Editing Erich Raeder

{{Short description|German admiral (1876–1960)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = 
| name                = Erich Raeder
| image               = Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1980-128-63, Erich Raeder.jpg
| image_upright       = 
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Raeder in 1940
| office              = [[Oberbefehlshaber der Marine|Chief of the German Navy High Command]]
| deputy              = [[Rolf Carls]]
| term_start          = 1 June 1935
| term_end            = 30 January 1943
| predecessor         = Himself<br/>{{resize|(as Head of the Naval Command)}}
| successor           = [[Karl Dönitz]]
| office2             = [[Reichsmarine#Naval headquarters|Head of the German Naval Command]]
| term_start2         = 1 October 1928
| term_end2           = 1 June 1935
| deputy2             = 
| predecessor2        = [[Hans Zenker]]
| successor2          = Himself<br/>{{resize|(as Oberbefehlshaber der Marine)}}
| pronunciation       = 
| birth_name          = Erich Johann Albert Raeder
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1876|04|24}}
| birth_place         = {{nobr|[[Wandsbek (quarter)|Wandsbek]], [[Province of Schleswig-Holstein|Schleswig-Holstein]],}} [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], [[German Empire|Germany]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1960|11|6|1876|04|24}}<ref name=britannica>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Erich Raeder |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erich-Raeder |author=((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica)) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] |date=2 November 2020 |orig-year=20 July 1998 |access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref>
| death_place         = [[Kiel]], [[Schleswig-Holstein]],<br/>[[West Germany]]
| death_cause         = 
| resting_place       = {{nobr|Nordfriedhof cemetery, Kiel<ref name="grave-site1">{{Cite news |title=Erich Raeder 24.IV.1876 – 06.XI.1960 |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/erich-raeder-24-iv-1876-06-xi-1960-a-9c89e1d8-0002-0001-0000-000043067503 |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |access-date=14 April 2021 |language=de}} Obituary.</ref><ref name="grave-site2">{{Cite magazine |last=Thorne |first=Stephen J. |date=30 October 2019 |title=Raeder's Defence: German Admiral Fights for His Doomed Fleet |url=https://legionmagazine.com/en/2019/10/raeders-defence-german-admiral-fights-for-his-doomed-fleet/ |magazine=Legion |access-date=14 April 2021 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414053731/https://legionmagazine.com/en/2019/10/raeders-defence-german-admiral-fights-for-his-doomed-fleet/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| party               = 
| spouse              = Augusta Schultz
| father              = Hans Friedrich Eduard Raeder
| mother              = {{nobr|Gertrud Wilhelmine Margaretha}}
| children            = 4
| signature           = Erich Raeder signature.svg
| signature_alt       = 
| website             = <!--Military service-->
| nickname            = 
| allegiance          = {{ubil|
* [[German Empire]] 
* [[Weimar Republic]]
* [[Nazi Germany]]}}
| branch              = {{plainlist|
* [[Imperial German Navy]]
* ''[[Reichsmarine]]''
* ''[[Kriegsmarine]]''
}}
| branch_label        = Branch
| serviceyears        = 1894–1943
| serviceyears_label  = Service&nbsp;years
| rank                = ''[[Großadmiral]]''
| unit                = 
| commands            = {{SMS|Cöln|1916|6}}
| battles             = {{tree list}}
* [[World War I]]
** [[Raid on Yarmouth]]
** [[Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby|Raid on Hartlepool]]
** [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of Dogger Bank]]
** [[Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft|Bombardment of {{indent|2}}Lowestoft]]
** [[Battle of Jutland]]
** [[Action of 19 August 1916]]
* [[World War II]]
{{tree list/end}}
| mawards             = [[#Awards and decorations|''See below'']]
| module              = '''Criminal conviction'''{{Infobox criminal
  |child      = yes
  |conviction = {{ubil|[[Criminal conspiracy|Conspiracy]] to commit<br/>[[crimes against peace]]|[[Crimes of aggression]]|[[War crimes]]}}
| trial       = Nuremberg trials
| conviction_penalty = [[Life imprisonment]]
| conviction_status = [[Deceased]]
}}
}}

'''Erich Johann Albert Raeder''' (24 April 1876 – 6 November 1960)<ref name=britannica/> was a German admiral who played a major role in the [[naval history of World War II]] and was convicted of [[war crimes]] after the war. He attained the highest possible naval rank, that of [[grand admiral]], in 1939. Raeder led the [[Kriegsmarine]] for the first half of the war; he resigned in January 1943 and was replaced by [[Karl Dönitz]]. At the [[Nuremberg trials]] he was sentenced to [[life imprisonment]] but was released early owing to failing health in 1955.

==Early years==
Raeder was born into a middle-class [[Protestant]] family in [[Wandsbek (quarter)|Wandsbek]] in the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] province of [[Province of Schleswig-Holstein|Schleswig-Holstein]] in the [[German Empire]]. His father was a headmaster. 

Raeder idolised his father Hans Raeder, who as a teacher and a father was noted for his marked authoritarian views, and who impressed upon his son the values of hard work, thrift, religion and discipline – all of which Raeder was to preach throughout his life.<ref name="Bird, Keith pp. 1-2">Bird ''Erich Raeder'' pp. 1–2.</ref> Hans Raeder also taught his children to support the existing government of alleged "non-political" experts led by Bismarck who were said to stand "above politics" and were alleged to only do what was best for Germany.<ref name="Bird, Keith pp. 1-2" /> In the same way, Hans Raeder warned his children that if Germany were to become a democracy, that would be a disaster as it would mean government by men "playing politics"-doing what was only best for their petty sectarian interests instead of the nation.<ref name="Bird, Keith pp. 1-2" /> 

Like many other middle-class Germans of his time, Hans Raeder strongly disliked the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]], whom he accused of playing "party politics" in the ''Reichstag'' by promoting working class interests instead of thinking about the national good, a stance that his son also adopted.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 2">Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. 2.</ref> Throughout his entire life, Raeder claimed that he was ''apolitisch'' (someone who was "above politics", i.e. only thought about the good of the nation instead of his party), and as an "apolitical" officer, Raeder thus maintained that his support for sea power was based upon objective consideration of the national good.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 2" />

==Naval career until World War II==
{{main|Pre–World War II career of Erich Raeder}}

===Imperial German Navy===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R10687, Vizeadmiral Hipper mit Stab.jpg|thumb|Erich Raeder (second from left) and the staff of Vice Admiral [[Franz von Hipper]] (center), 1916]]
Raeder joined the ''[[Kaiserliche Marine]]'' (Imperial Navy) in 1894 and rapidly rose in rank, becoming chief of staff for [[Franz von Hipper]] in 1912. Raeder's rise up the ranks was due mostly to his intelligence and hard work<ref name="ReferenceB">Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. xxvi.</ref> though from 1901 to 1903 Raeder served on the staff of [[Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929)|Prince Heinrich of Prussia]], and gained a powerful patron in the process.<ref name="Thomas">Thomas p. 51.</ref> Owing to his cold and distant personality, Raeder was a man whom even his friends often admitted to knowing very little about.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> The dominating figure of the Navy was Admiral [[Alfred von Tirpitz]], the autocratic State Secretary of the Navy. Tirpitz's preferred means of obtaining "world power status" was through his ''Risikotheorie'' (risk theory) where Germany would build a ''Risikoflotte'' (Risk Fleet) that would make it too dangerous for Britain to risk a war with Germany, and thereby alter the international balance of power decisively in the ''Reich''{{'s}} favor. Tirpitz transformed the Navy from the small coastal defense force of 1897 into the mighty High Seas Fleet of 1914.

In 1904, Raeder, who spoke fluent [[Russian language|Russian]], was sent to the [[Far East]] as an observer of the [[Russo-Japanese War]].<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 13">Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. 13.</ref> Starting in 1905, Raeder worked in the public relations section of the Navy, where he first met Tirpitz and began his introduction to politics by briefing journalists to run articles promoting the ''Seemachtideologie'' and meeting politicians who held seats in the ''Reichstag'' in order to convert them to the ''Seemachtideologie''.<ref>Bird ''Erich Raeder'' pp. 13–14.</ref> Working closely with Tirpitz, Raeder was heavily involved in the lobbying the ''Reichstag'' to pass the [[German Naval Laws|Third Navy Law]] of 1906 which committed Germany to building "all big gun battleships" to compete with the new British {{sclass|Dreadnought|battleship|4}} in the Anglo-German naval race that had only begun at the start of the 20th century.<ref name="Bird, Keith pp. 14–15">Bird ''Erich Raeder'' pp. 14–15.</ref>

Raeder was the captain of [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Kaiser Wilhelm II]]'s [[SMY Hohenzollern#SMY Hohenzollern II|private yacht]] in the years leading up to World War I. In itself, this was not a rewarding post, but often people in this post were quickly promoted afterwards.<ref name="BirdErich">Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. 17.</ref>

===World War I===
Raeder served as Hipper's chief of staff during World War I, as well as in combat posts. He took part in the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)|Battle of Dogger Bank]] in 1915 and in the [[Battle of Jutland]] in 1916. Raeder later described Hipper as an admiral who "hated paperwork"; accordingly, Hipper delegated considerable power to Raeder, who thus enjoyed more influence than his position as chief of staff would suggest.<ref>Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. 18.</ref>

During and after World War I the German navy was divided into two schools of thought. One, led by Admiral [[Alfred von Tirpitz]] (1849–1930), consisted of avid followers of the teachings of the American historian [[Alfred Thayer Mahan]] (1840–1914) and believed in building a "balanced fleet" centered around the battleship that would seek out and win a decisive [[battle of annihilation]] (''Entscheidungsschlacht'') against the Royal Navy in the event of war.<ref>Herwig p. 73.</ref> The other school, led by Commander [[Wolfgang Wegener]] (1875–1956), argued that because of superior British shipbuilding capacity Germany could never hope to build a "balanced fleet" capable of winning an ''Entscheidungsschlacht'', and so the best use of German naval strength was to build a fleet of cruisers and submarines that would wage a ''[[guerre de course]]'' (commerce raiding against an enemy's merchant shipping).<ref>Herwig pp. 83–85.</ref> After reading all three of Wegener's papers setting out his ideas, Admiral Hipper decided to submit them to the Admiralty in Berlin, but changed his mind after reading a paper by Raeder attacking the Wegener thesis as flawed.<ref>Hansen p. 89.</ref> This marked the beginning of a long feud between Raeder and Wegener, with Wegener claiming that his former friend Raeder was jealous of what Wegener insisted were his superior ideas.<ref name="Hansen pp. 81–108">Hansen p. 81.</ref>

In May 1916 Raeder played a major role planning a raid by Hipper's battlecruisers that aimed to lure out the British battlecruiser force which would then be destroyed by the main High Seas Fleet.<ref>Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. 23.</ref> This raid turned into the [[Battle of Jutland]]. Raeder played a prominent role, and was forced midway through the battle to transfer from {{SMS|Lützow}} to {{SMS|Moltke}} as a result of damage to Hipper's flagship.

As chief of staff to Admiral Hipper he was closely involved in a plan of Hipper's for a German battlecruiser squadron to sail across the Atlantic and sweep through the waters off Canada down to the West Indies and on to South America to sink the British cruisers operating in those waters, and thereby force the British to redeploy a substantial part of the [[Home Fleet]] to the New World.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 89">Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. 89.</ref> Though Hipper's plans were rejected{{when|date=February 2017}} as far too risky, they significantly influenced Raeder's later thinking.<ref>Hansen p. 93.</ref>

On 14 October 1918, Raeder received a major promotion with appointment as deputy to Admiral [[Paul Behncke]], the Naval State Secretary.<ref>Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. 31.</ref> Raeder had doubts about submarines, but he spent the last weeks of the war working to achieve the Scheer Programme of building 450 U-boats.

On 28 October 1918 the Imperial German [[Kiel mutiny|fleet at Kiel mutinied]] when some of the ships' crews refused to sail out for the a final battle against the British [[Grand Fleet]] that the Admiralty had ordered without the knowledge or approval of the German government.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 34">Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. 34.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="Nieder die Regierung! Tod dem Kapitalismus!" Die Matrosenaufstände 1918 |trans-title="Down with the Government! Death to Capitalism!" The Sailors' Uprisings 1918 |url=https://weimar.bundesarchiv.de/WEIMAR/DE/Content/Virtuelle-Ausstellungen/Raete-Revolution-Republik/matrosenaufstand.html |access-date=30 August 2024 |website=Bundesarchiv: 100 Jahre Weimarer Republik |language=de}}</ref> Raeder played a major role in attempting to crush the mutiny.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024|reason=In a fairly thorough search of the literature, I found no connection between Raeder and the Kiel Mutiny − GHStPaulMN}}

==Weimar Republic==
Raeder's two younger brothers were both killed in action in the First World War, and in 1919 his first marriage, which had been under heavy strain due to war-related stress, ended in divorce.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 49">Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. 49.</ref> For the puritanical Raeder, the divorce was a huge personal disgrace, and for the rest of his life he always denied his first marriage.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 49"/> The years 1918–1919 were some of the most troubled in his life.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 49"/>

===High Seas Fleet mutiny===
In the winter of 1918–19, Raeder was closely involved in the efforts of the naval officer corps, strongly backed by the Defense Minister [[Gustav Noske]] to disband the [[German workers' and soldiers' councils 1918–1919|workers' and soldiers' councils]] established after the Kiel mutiny.<ref>Bird ''Erich Raeder'' pp. 35–36.</ref> Noske was a [[Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany|Majority Social Democrat]] with firm "law and order" views. During this period, Raeder served as the liaison between the naval officer corps and Noske, and it was Raeder who suggested to Noske on 11 January 1919 that [[Adolf von Trotha]] be appointed commander-in-chief of the Navy.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 37">Bird ''Erich Raeder'' p. 37.</ref> Tirpitz's attacks on the Emperor's leadership during the war had caused a split in the officer corps between the followers of "the Master" and the Kaiser, and Raeder saw Trotha as the only officer acceptable to both factions.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 37"/> Noske in turn asked the Navy for volunteers for the ''[[Freikorps]]'' to crush uprisings from the Communists.<ref>Bird ''Weimar'' pp. 45–46.</ref> The Navy contributed two brigades to the ''Freikorps''.<ref>Bird ''Weimar'' pp. 46–52.</ref> Under the [[Weimar Republic]], the military considered itself ''überparteilich'' (above party), which did not mean political neutrality as implied.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 140">Bird ''Weimar'' p. 140.</ref> The military argued that there were two types of "politics": ''parteipolitisch'' (party politics) which was the responsibility of the politicians, and ''staatspolitisch'' (state politics) which was the responsibility of the military.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 140"/> ''Staatspolitisch'' concerned Germany's "eternal" interests and the "historic mission" of winning world power, which was to be pursued regardless of what the politicians or the people wanted.<ref name="Bird, Keith p. 140"/>

===Kapp ''putsch''===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1987-080-30A, Erich Raeder.jpg|thumb| Raeder in 1928]]
After the war, in 1920, Raeder was involved in the failed [[Kapp Putsch]] when, together with almost the entire naval officer corps, he declared himself openly for the "government" of [[Wolfgang Kapp]] against the leaders of the Weimar Republic.<ref name="Thomas" /> In the summer of 1920 Raeder married his second wife, with whom he later had one son.

After the failure of the Kapp ''Putsch'' he was marginalized in the Navy, being transferred to the Naval Archives, where for two years he played a leading role in writing the official history of the Navy in World War I.<ref>Thomas pp. 57–58.</ref> After this, Raeder resumed his steady rise in the navy [[hierarchy]], becoming ''[[Vizeadmiral]]'' (vice admiral) in 1925.

===Commander-in-chief===
{{main|Interwar naval service of Erich Raeder}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2005-0901-503, Kiel, Paul v. Hindenburg, Erich Raeder.jpg|thumb|Raeder and [[Paul von Hindenburg]] in Kiel, 1931 ]]
On 1 October 1928, Raeder was promoted to [[admiral]] and made chief of the Naval Command (''Chef der Marineleitung'') of the ''[[Reichsmarine]]'', the Weimar Republic Navy. On 1 June 1935, the ''Reichsmarine'' was renamed the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' and Raeder became its commander-in-chief with the title of ''Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine''. On 20 April 1936, Raeder was promoted to the new rank of ''[[General admiral|Generaladmiral]]'' and granted the rank and authority of a ''[[Reichsminister]]'' but without the formal title.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Volume V, pp. 542-543, Document 2879-PS |publisher=Office of United States Chief of Counsel For Prosecution of Axis Criminality |date=1946 |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/NT_Nazi_Vol-V.pdf |access-date=22 April 2021}}</ref> On 30 January 1937, Hitler conferred the [[Golden Party Badge]] on Raeder, thereby enrolling him in the Party (membership number 3,805,228).<ref>{{cite book |last=Wistrich |first=Robert| title=Who's Who in Nazi Germany |publisher=Macmillan Publishing Co. |year=1982 |page=239 |isbn=0-02-630600-X}}</ref>

==World War II==
{{main|Erich Raeder during World War II}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H12262, Nürnberg, Reichsparteitag, Tag der Wehrmacht.jpg|thumb|[[Erhard Milch]], [[Wilhelm Keitel]], [[Walther von Brauchitsch]], Raeder and [[Maximilian von Weichs]] at the 1938 [[Nuremberg Rally]]]]

Raeder believed the navy was unprepared for the start of World War II by at least five years. The surface fleet was inadequate to fight the [[Royal Navy]] and instead adopted a strategy of convoy raiding. Raeder wanted the Kriegsmarine to play an active part because he feared the budget would be cut after the war. The smaller ships were dispersed around the world in order to force the Royal Navy to disperse their ships to combat them, while the battleships would carry out raids in the [[North Sea]], with a view towards gradually reducing the Royal Navy's strength at home.

Raeder was unhappy with the outcome of the [[Battle of the River Plate]] and believed that [[Hans Langsdorff]] should not have scuttled the ship, but instead sailed out to engage the Royal Navy. Fleet commander [[Hermann Boehm (admiral)|Hermann Boehm]] was held responsible and was sacked by Raeder, who also issued orders that ships were to fight until the last shell and either win or sink with their flags flying.

The Allies were using Norwegian airfields to transfer aircraft to the Finns fighting against the Soviets in the [[Winter War]], as well as [[Operation Wilfred|mining Norwegian waters]], and the Germans were alarmed by these developments. If the Allies were to use Norwegian naval bases or successfully mine Norwegian waters, they could cut off Germany's vital iron ore imports from Sweden and tighten the blockade of Germany. The Allies had made [[Plan R 4|plans to invade Norway and Sweden]] in order to cut off those iron ore shipments. Admiral [[Rolf Carls]], commander of the Kriegsmarine in the Baltic Sea region, proposed the invasion of Norway to Raeder in September 1939. Raeder briefed Hitler on the idea in October, but planning did not begin until December 1939. The operation was in low-priority planning until the [[Altmark incident|''Altmark'' incident]] in February 1940, during which a German tanker carrying 300 Allied prisoners in then-neutral Norwegian waters was boarded by sailors from a Royal Navy destroyer and the prisoners were freed. After this, plans for the Norwegian invasion took on a new sense of urgency. [[Operation Weserübung|The invasion]] proved costly for the Kriegsmarine, which lost a heavy cruiser, two of its six light cruisers, 10 of its 20 destroyers and six U-boats. In addition, almost all of the other capital ships were damaged and required dockyard repairs, and for a time the German surface fleet had only three light cruisers and four destroyers operational in the aftermath of the Norwegian campaign.

The swift victory over [[Battle of France|France]] allowed the Kriegsmarine to base itself in ports on France's west coast. This was strategically important as German warships would no longer have to navigate through the dangerous English Channel in order to return to friendly ports, as well as allow them to range farther out into the Atlantic to attack convoys. With the surrender of France, Raeder saw the opportunity to greatly enhance the navy's power by confiscating the ships of the French Navy and manning them with his crews. Hitler however, vetoed this idea, afraid that doing so would push the French navy to join the Royal Navy. British fears of Raeder's plan resulted in the [[Attack on Mers-el-Kébir]], in which the Royal Navy attacked the French navy despite being at peace with France.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101II-MW-0952-17, Frankreich, Auszeichnungen für U-99-Besatzung.jpg|thumb|Raeder with [[Otto Kretschmer]] (left), August 1940]]
On 11 July 1940, Hitler and Raeder agreed to continue building the battleships called for by [[Plan Z]]. Raeder also had bases built at [[Trondheim]] on the [[Norwegian Sea]] and at [[Saint-Nazaire]] and [[Lorient]] on the [[Bay of Biscay]]. At this time, Raeder and other senior officers began submitting memos to invade (among others) Shetland, Iceland, the Azores, Iran, Madagascar, Kuwait, Egypt and the Dutch East Indies.

In January 1941, the battlecruisers {{ship|German battlecruiser|Scharnhorst||2}} and {{ship|German battlecruiser|Gneisenau||2}} were sent on a successful [[Operation Berlin (Atlantic)|commerce-raiding mission]] in the Atlantic. On 18 March, following the beginning of [[Lend-Lease]], Raeder wanted to start firing on US warships even if unprovoked. He declined to invade the Azores because of the surface ship losses the previous year. Raeder urged Hitler to declare war on the United States throughout 1941 so the Kriegsmarine could begin sinking American warships escorting British convoys.<ref>Murray, Williamson & Millet, Alan A War to Be Won Fighting the Second World War, Cambridge: Belknap Press, 2000, {{ISBN|9780674006805}}., p. 248</ref>

In April 1941, Raeder planned to follow up the success of ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau''{{'}}s commerce-raiding mission with an even larger mission involving a battleship, two battlecruisers and a heavy cruiser under the command of [[Günther Lütjens|Lütjens]], codenamed [[Operation Rheinübung]]. The original plan was to have the battlecruisers ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' involved in the operation, but ''Scharnhorst'' was undergoing heavy repairs to her engines, and ''Gneisenau'' had just suffered a damaging torpedo hit days before which put her out of action for six months. In the end only the {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck||2}} and {{ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2}} were sent out on the mission, which ended with ''Bismarck''{{'}}s sinking. The debacle almost saw the end of using capital ships against merchant shipping.{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}} Hitler was not pleased and saw the resources used in the construction and operation of the large ''Bismarck'' as a poor investment.

In late 1941, Raeder planned the [[Channel Dash|"channel dash"]] which sent the remaining two battleships in the French ports to Germany, for further operations in Norwegian waters. The plan was to threaten the Lend-Lease convoys to the Soviet Union, to deter an invasion of Norway, and to tie down elements of the Home Fleet that might otherwise have been used in the Atlantic against the U-boat wolfpacks.

After the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] Raeder, along with Field Marshal [[Wilhelm Keitel|Keitel]] and Reichsmarschall [[Hermann Göring|Göring]], urged Hitler to immediately declare war on the United States in view of the US war plan [[Rainbow Five]], and to begin the U-boat attacks off the US east coast, which was later called the "[[Second Happy Time]]" by German submariners.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ariwatch.com/Links/RainbowFive.htm |title=The Big Leak |access-date=17 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818061220/http://ariwatch.com/Links/RainbowFive.htm |archive-date=18 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Resignation===
{{main|Resignation and post-war life of Erich Raeder}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27590, Erich Raeder, Adolf Hitler retouched.jpg|thumb|Raeder with [[Adolf Hitler]], 1943]]
On 30 January 1943, following Hitler's outrage over the [[Battle of the Barents Sea]], [[Karl Dönitz]], the supreme commander of the Kriegsmarine's U-boat arm, was promoted to grand admiral, and Raeder was named admiral inspector, a ceremonial office. Raeder had failed to inform Hitler of the battle, which Hitler learned about from the foreign press. Hitler thought the ''[[German cruiser Deutschland|Lützow]]'' and {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Hipper||2}} lacked fighting spirit, according to [[Albert Speer]]. The reorganisation fitted Speer's goal of working more closely with Dönitz.<ref name="Speer">{{cite book|last1=Speer|first1=Albert|title=Inside the Third Reich|date=1995|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|location=London|isbn=978-1-84212-735-3|pages=374–375}}</ref>

==Post-war==
{{main|Resignation and post-war life of Erich Raeder}}
===Nuremberg trial===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-60485-0028, Berlin, Raeder mit Ehefrau.jpg| thumb| Raeder with his wife after being released from prison (September 26, 1955)]]
Raeder was captured by Soviet troops on 23 June 1945<ref>{{cite book |last=Biagi |first=Enzo |date=1983 |title=La seconda guerra mondiale, una storia di uomini |trans-title=The world war two, a history of men |language=it |location=Milan |publisher=Gruppo editoriale Fabbri |page=2743}}</ref> and imprisoned in [[Moscow]]. At the end of July, he was taken to [[Nuremberg]] to [[Nuremberg trials|stand trial]] on the counts of: (1) conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity; (2) planning, initiating, and waging wars of aggression; and (3) crimes against the laws of war.

Raeder was found guilty on all counts<ref name="Biagi 2757">Biagi, p. 2757</ref> and sentenced to life imprisonment.<ref name="Biagi 2759">Biagi, p. 2759</ref> He was surprised as he had expected to be sentenced to death.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bK3DoWaOvg0C&pg=PT201|title=Erich Raeder: Admiral of the Third Reich|last=Bird|first=Keith|date=2013|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1612513751|language=en}}</ref> His wife, supported by German veterans, led several campaigns to free him until, on account of his ill health, he was released on 26 September 1955.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bK3DoWaOvg0C&pg=PT174|title=Erich Raeder: Admiral of the Third Reich|last=Bird|first=Keith|date=2013|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1612513751|language=en}}</ref>

===Death===
[[File:Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Nordfriedhof NIK 2959.jpg|thumb|Raeder's Grave in [[Kiel]]]]
Raeder wrote his autobiography, ''Mein Leben'', using a [[ghostwriter]].{{cn|date=October 2023}}

He died of [[natural causes]] in [[Kiel]] on 6 November 1960.<ref name=britannica/><ref>{{Cite news |date=1960-11-07 |title=Admiral Erich Raeder Is Dead; Led German Navy Under Hitler; Played an Important Role in Developing of Nazi Fleet—Convicted for War Crimes |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/11/07/archives/admiral-erich-raeder-is-dead-led-german-navy-under-hitler-played-an.html |access-date=2023-09-18 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His wife had died the previous year. He is buried in the ''Nordfriedhof'' (North Cemetery) in Kiel.<ref name="grave-site1"/><ref name="grave-site2"/><ref>{{Cite news |date=1960-11-07 |title=Admiral Erich Raeder Is Dead; Led German Navy Under Hitler; Played an Important Role in Developing of JVczi Fleetu Convicted for War Crimes |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/11/07/archives/admiral-erich-raeder-is-dead-led-german-navy-under-hitler-played-an.html |access-date=2023-09-23 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Former Grand Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] attended his funeral on 12 November 1960.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GERMANY: KIEL: DOENITZ AT RAEDER FUNERAL |url=https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/922866 |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=Reuters Archive Licensing |language=en}}</ref>

==Service summary==
===Dates of Navy rank===
* ''[[Seekadett]]'' (Sea cadet): 26 Apr 1894
* ''[[Fähnrich zur See]]'' (Midshipman): 13 May 1895
* ''[[Leutnant zur See]]'' (Acting Sub-Lieutenant): 25 Oct 1897
* ''[[Oberleutnant zur See]]'' (Sub-Lieutenant): c. 1900
* ''[[Kapitänleutnant]]'' (Lieutenant): c. 1905
* ''[[Korvettenkapitän]]'' (Lieutenant-Commander): 15 Apr 1911
* ''[[Fregattenkapitän]]'' (Commander): c. 1915
* ''[[Kapitän zur See]]'' (Captain): 19 Nov 1919
* ''[[Konteradmiral]]'' (Rear-Admiral): 1 Aug 1922
* ''[[Vizeadmiral]]'' (Vice-Admiral): 1 Apr 1925
* ''[[Admiral]]'' (Admiral): 1 Oct 1928
* ''[[Generaladmiral]]'' (General-Admiral): 10 Apr 1936
* ''[[Grossadmiral]]'' (Grand Admiral): 1 Apr 1939

===Awards and decorations===
* [[Order of the Double Dragon]], 3rd class, 2nd Level (China, 10 October 1898)
* [[China Medal (German Empire)|China Medal]] (German Empire, 12 December 1901)
* [[Order of the Red Eagle]], 4th class (Prussia, 22 June 1907)<ref name="Dörr p142"/>
* Honorary Knight 2nd class of the [[House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis]] with Silver Crown (Oldenburg, 17 September 1907)<ref name="Dörr p142"/>
* Order of the Red Eagle, 4th class with Crown (Prussia, 5 September 1911)<ref name="Dörr p142"/>
* Commander's Cross of the [[Order of Franz Joseph]] (Austria, 16 September 1911)<ref name="Dörr p142"/>
* Commander's Cross of the [[Order of the Redeemer]] (Greece, 14 May 1912)<ref name="Dörr p142"/>
* [[Order of Saint Stanislaus]], 2nd class (Russia, 16 April 1913)
* [[Iron Cross]] (1914) 2nd Class (19 November 1914) & 1st Class (18 February 1915)<ref name="Dörr p142">Dörr 1996, p. 142.</ref>
* [[Imtiyaz Medal]] in silver with Swords
* [[Ottoman War Medal]] (also known as the "Gallipoli Star" or "Iron Crescent")
* [[Friedrich August Cross]], 1st and 2nd class (Oldenburg)
* Knight's Cross of the [[Royal House Order of Hohenzollern]] with swords (5 June 1916)
* [[Military Merit Order (Bavaria)|Military Merit Order]], 4th class with swords and crown (Bavaria, 20 December 1916)
* War Commemorative Medal (Bulgaria, 20 November 1917)
* [[Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)|Military Merit Cross]], 3rd class with war decoration (Austria-Hungary, 4 September 1918)
* Honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy, [[University of Kiel]] (31 May 1926)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Erich Raeder : Admiral of the Third Reich|last=Bird, Keith W.|date=2006|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1612513751|location=Annapolis, Md.|oclc=843883018}}</ref>
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Naval Merit (Spain)|Order of Naval Merit]] (Spain, 16 November 1928)
* Commander's Cross with Star of the [[Order of Merit (Chile)|Order of Merit]] (Chile, September 1928)
* World War Commemorative Medal with swords on (Hungary, 3 June 1931)
* Grand Officer of the [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]] (Italy, 7 May 1934)
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria)|Order of Military Merit]] (Bulgaria, 28 June 1934)
* [[The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918|Cross of Honour]] (9 October 1934)
* [[Order of Merit (Hungary)|Order of Merit]], 1st class (Hungary, 5 December 1934)
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of the White Rose of Finland]] (27 February 1936)
* [[Wehrmacht Long Service Award]], 1st class (2 October 1936)
* [[Olympic Games Decoration]], 1st class (16 August 1936)
* [[Golden Party Badge]] (30 January 1937)
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]] (Italy, 20 September 1937)
* [[Order of the Rising Sun]], 1st class (Japan, 9 November 1937)
* War Memorial Medal (Bulgaria, 30 November 1937)
* Golden Medal of Honour of Hamburg (1 April 1939)
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Naval Merit (Spain)|Order of Naval Merit]] in White (Spain, 21 August 1939)
* [[Sudetenland Medal]] (25 October 1938) with "Prague Castle" clasp (Sudetenspange) (19 September 1939)
* [[Memel Medal]] (26 October 1939)
* [[Clasp to the Iron Cross]], 1st and 2nd class (30 September 1939)
* [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]] (nr.1) (30 September 1939) as ''Großadmiral'' and ''Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine''<ref>Scherzer p. 611.</ref>
* [[Order of the Sword|Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword]] (Sweden, 18 October 1940)
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Sword]] (Sweden, 24 October 1940)
* Grand Cross of the [[Military Order of Savoy]] (4 April 1942)
* Grand Cross [[Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir]] with swords and other decorations (Croatia, 26 September 1942)
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit of the Kingdom of Hungary]] with war ribbon with swords (Hungary, 8 February 1943)
* Grand Cross of [[Order of St Alexander]] with swords (Bulgaria, 3 September 1941)
* [[Order of Michael the Brave]], 1st, 2nd and 3rd Class (Romania, 14 October 1941)<ref name="Dörr p142"/>
* [[Order of the Cross of Liberty|Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Liberty]] (Finland, 25 March 1942)<ref name="Dörr p142"/>

==References==

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* Alexander, Bevin, ''How Hitler Could Have Won World War II'', New York: Three Rivers Press. 2000. {{ISBN|0-609-80844-3}}.
* Bergen, Doris, "'Germany Is Our Mission: Christ Is Our Strength!' The Wehrmacht Chaplaincy and the 'German Christian' Movement" pp.&nbsp;522–536 from ''Church History'' Volume 66, Issue # 3, September 1997.
* Bird, Eugene, ''The Loneliest Man in the World, Rudolph Hess, in Spandau'', London: Sphere, 1976.
* Bird, Keith, ''Weimar, The German Naval Officer Corps and the Rise of National Socialism'', Amsterdam: Grüner, 1977, {{ISBN|90-6032-094-8}}.
* Bird, Keith, ''Erich Raeder Admiral of the Third Reich'', Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2006, {{ISBN|1-55750-047-9}}
* Buchanan, Patrick, ''[[Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War]]: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World'', New York: Random House, 2008, {{ISBN|0-307-40516-8}}.
* Dörr, Manfred (in German). ''Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine – Band 2:L–Z''. Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. 1996. {{ISBN|3-7648-2497-2}}.
* Fischer, Kurt (in German). ''Großadmiral Dr. phil. h.c. Erich Raeder''. In: [[Gerd R. Ueberschär]] (ed.): ''Hitlers militärische Elite Band 1: Von der Anfängen des Regimes bis zum Kriegsbeginn'' (pp.&nbsp;185–194). Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. 1998. {{ISBN|3-89678-083-2}}.
* Gilbey, Joseph, ''Kriegsmarine: Admiral Raeder's Navy – A Broken Dream'', 2006.
* [[Norman J. W. Goda|Goda, Norman]]: ''Tomorrow the World: Hitler, Northwest Africa, and the Path Toward America'', Texas A&M University, 1998, {{ISBN|0-89096-807-1}}.
* Goda, Norman: "Black Marks Hitler's Bribery of his Senior Officers During World War II" pp.&nbsp;96–137 from ''Corrupt Histories'' edited by Emmanuel Kreike and William Jordan, University of Rochester Press, 2005, {{ISBN|978-1-58046-173-3}}.
* Goda, Norman, ''Tales from Spandau: Nazi Criminals and the Cold War'', Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0-521-86720-7}}.
* Hankey, Maurice ''Politics, Trials and Errors'', Clark, New Jersey: Lawbook Exchange, 2002, {{ISBN|1-58477-228-X}}.
* Hansen, Kenneth "Raeder versus Wegener Conflict in German Strategy" pp.&nbsp;81–108 from ''U.S. Naval War College Review'', Volume 58, Issue # 4, Autumn 2005.
* Herwig, Holger, "The Failure of German Sea Power, 1914–1945: Mahan, Tirpitz, and Raeder Reconsidered" pp.&nbsp;68–105 from ''The International History Review'', Volume 10, Issue #1, February 1988.
* Kallis, Aristotle, ''Fascist Ideology Territory and Expansionism in Italy and Germany 1922–1945'', Routledge: London, 2000 {{ISBN|0-415-21612-5}}.
* Kershaw, Ian, ''Fateful Choices Ten Decisions that Changed the World 1940–1941'', Penguin: London, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-14-311372-0}}.
* Mulligan, Timothy P. "Ship-of-the-Line or Atlantic Raider? Battleship ''Bismarck'' Between Design Limitations and Naval Strategy" pp.&nbsp;1013–1044 from ''The Journal of Military History'', Volume 69, Issue # 4, October 2005.
* Murray, Williamson & Millet, Alan, ''A War to Be Won Fighting the Second World War'', Cambridge: Belknap Press, 2000, {{ISBN|978-0-674-00680-5}}.
* [[Peter Padfield|Padfield, Peter]], ''Dönitz: the Last Führer'', London: Victor Gollancz, 1984, {{ISBN|978-0-304-35870-0}}.
* Rahn, Werner, "The War at Sea in the Atlantic and in the Arctic Ocean" pp.&nbsp;301–441 from ''Germany and the Second World War Volume VI The Global War Widening of the Conflict into a World War and the Shift of the Initiative 1941–1943'' edited by Günther Roth, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2001 {{ISBN|0-19-822888-0}}.
* Raeder, Erich, ''[https://archive.org/details/mylife0000raed My Life]'', Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1960.
* {{Cite book
  |last=Scherzer
  |first=Veit
  |year=2007
  |title=Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives
  |trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives
  |language=de
  |location=Jena, Germany
  |publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag
  |isbn=978-3-938845-17-2
}}
*{{cite book |last= Shirer |first= William L. |author-link= William L. Shirer |year= 1960 |title= The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich |publisher= Simon & Schuster |location= New York |lccn = 60-6729 |title-link= The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich}}
* Thomas, Charles. ''The German Navy in the Nazi Era'', Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1990, {{ISBN|0-87021-791-7}}.
* [[Wolfram Wette|Wette, Wolfram]] ''[[The Wehrmacht: History, Myth, Reality]]'', Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-674-02213-0}}.
* Weinberg, Gerhard, ''The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany Diplomatic Revolution in Europe'', Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970, {{ISBN|978-0-391-03825-7}}.
* Weinberg, Gerhard, ''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|978-0-521-61826-7}}.
* Wheeler-Bennett, John, ''The Nemesis of Power: The German Army in Politics 1918–1945'', London: Macmillan, 1967, {{ISBN|978-1-4039-18123}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111118122638/http://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/dda9e948-7907-4d46-9978-254495b8ee94/Raeder-versus-Wagener--Conflict-in-German-Naval-St Raeder versus Wegener Conflicts in German Naval Strategy] by Commander Kenneth Hansen
* {{PM20|FID=pe/014034}}
* [https://ww2gravestone.com/people/raeder-erich-johann-albert/ Raeder, Erich Johann Albert] at World War II Graves (includes the plot number)

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{{s-bef|before=Admiral [[Hans Zenker]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commander in Chief of the ''[[Reichsmarine]]''|years=1928–1935}}
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{{s-bef|before=himself as Commander in Chief of the ''[[Reichsmarine]]''}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commander in Chief of the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]''|years=1935–1943}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Karl Dönitz]]}}
{{S-ach}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Sir Stafford Cripps]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of covers of Time magazine (1940s)|Cover of ''Time'' magazine]]
|years=20 April 1942}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Pierre Laval]]}}
{{S-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Raeder, Erich}}
[[Category:Erich Raeder| ]]
[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:Admirals of the Reichsmarine]]
[[Category:Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Franz Joseph]]
[[Category:German people convicted of the international crime of aggression]]
[[Category:German prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:German Protestants]]
[[Category:Grand admirals of the Kriegsmarine]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of Naval Merit]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (military)]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria)]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Cross of Liberty]]
[[Category:Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun]]
[[Category:Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Kapp Putsch participants]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Hamburg]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein]]
[[Category:Naval history of World War II]]
[[Category:People convicted by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg]]
[[Category:People from Wandsbek]]
[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by international courts and tribunals]]
[[Category:Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Silver Imtiyaz Medal]]