Raeder, Erich (1876–1960)

German admiral. Chief of Staff in World War I, he became head of the navy 1928, but was punished by Adolf Hitler 1943 because of his failure to prevent Allied Arctic convoys from reaching the USSR and resigned. Sentenced to life imprisonment at the Nürnberg trials of war criminals, he was released 1955 on grounds of ill health.

He successfully evaded the restrictions of the Versailles treaty while expanding the navy in 1930s. He was behind the successful U-boat campaign against Britain and launched attacks against the Arctic convoys supplying the USSR. Following the humiliation of the Battle of Barents Sea December 1942, Hitler threatened to remove big guns from battleships and install them as coastal defence weapons. This was too much for Raeder and he resigned 1943.