ERICH RAEDER: ADMIRAL OF THE THIRD REICH

Authoritative account of the man who led the German Navy during World War II * Explores Raeder’s relationship with Hitler * Insight into the failings of the Kriegsmarine Erich Raeder led the German Navy during the last turbulent years of the Weimar Republic, the rise of Hitler, and through World War II. This study draws on archival resources and the rich scholarship of German naval history over the past five decades to review the evolution of Raeder’s concept of naval strategy and his attempts to achieve the political and military means necessary to attain the Navy’s global naval ambitions. The author clearly demonstrates the Navy’s affinity with Hitler’s fascism. Keith Bird refutes Raeder’s assertion that the Navy was non-political and independent, and shows Raeder to be a political activist and the architect of German naval policy. Raeder’s strict leadership of the Navy after 1928 and his relationship with Hitler and the Nazi state is placed in the context of Raeder’s formative years as an Imperial naval officer, his First World War combat experience, and his critical role in the survival and development of the post-war Reichsmarine. Blinded by his need to justify the navy’s existence and achieve his vision of world power, Raeder was ultimately defeated by the contradictions in his own policies and the realities of Germany’s military necessities.