Biographical Summary:

• professional Naval officer 1911-1933
• 1814 -1916 combat service as a junior officer on cruiser in the Black Sea
• 1916 -1918 junior officer on submarine
• 1918 -1919 prisoner of war in British detention
• 1920 -1933 professional naval officer - torpedo boat commander
• 1933 -1935 captains a naval cadet-midshipman world sailing cruiser Emden
• 1935 -1939 Commander of 1st U-boat flotilla Weddigen (three submarines)
• 1939 -1940 Leader of Submarines (Führer der Unterseeboote)
• 1939 October: promoted into admiral's rank
• 1940 Commander of Submarines (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote)
• 1943 -1945 Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy
• April 30 - May 23 1945 -- President of the so-called Flensburg Government in his role as Hitler's personally appointed successor.
• Charged with War Crimes related to his conduct of unrestricted submarine warfare contrary to international laws, treaties and customs
• 1946 -1956 ten-year prison sentence
• 1956 -1980 author of memoirs and retiree
• ties with Herman Goring for third-highest IQ scores among Nuremberg defendants: 138