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Grand Admiral
Erich Raeder joined the German navy in 1894 and rose through its ranks to become commander in chief in 1935. In Grand Admiral he describes his forty-nine years in the navy, including the battle strategy that won him international fame during World War I and the tactical disagreements with Hitler that led to his final break with the Führer in early 1943. Though not a Nazi party member, Raeder was part of Hitler's war planning group, and Grand Admiral paints a vivid picture of what took place at Hitler's secret staff meetings before the invasions of Poland, Norway, and Russia. It also supplies previously undisclosed information about Operation Sea Lion, the proposed invasion of England.
- GenresGermany
464 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 12, 2021
This is the account of the Admiral who commanded the German Navy from 1935 -1943, when he "fell out" with Hitler.
It is a very good inside view from a man who loved his country but did not like where his country was heading. He was a very effective commander, and because of that, after the war, the Allies sent him to prison, Spandau Prison.
It could be argued that because of his command, many, many sailors and civilians met their early deaths in the sinking of their vessels by the German U-Boat fleet, and that is true.
Raeder was held responsible for this and classified as a "War Criminal".
At the same time, England, the United States, and the Soviet Union scrambled to protect numerous powerful and knowledgable Nazi's and gave them safe harbor as they recruited them to be on their side of the building "Cold War".
Read this book and judge for yourself. One main takeaway that I got was that Admiral Raeder never believed that it was Hitler's intent to push his empire beyond Europe. The reason? Raeder of all people knew what the German Navy was designed and built for and it was never in any way, or even planned to grow that large.
It is a very good inside view from a man who loved his country but did not like where his country was heading. He was a very effective commander, and because of that, after the war, the Allies sent him to prison, Spandau Prison.
It could be argued that because of his command, many, many sailors and civilians met their early deaths in the sinking of their vessels by the German U-Boat fleet, and that is true.
Raeder was held responsible for this and classified as a "War Criminal".
At the same time, England, the United States, and the Soviet Union scrambled to protect numerous powerful and knowledgable Nazi's and gave them safe harbor as they recruited them to be on their side of the building "Cold War".
Read this book and judge for yourself. One main takeaway that I got was that Admiral Raeder never believed that it was Hitler's intent to push his empire beyond Europe. The reason? Raeder of all people knew what the German Navy was designed and built for and it was never in any way, or even planned to grow that large.
January 28, 2022
Mein Leben , the autobiography of Grand Admiral Erich Raeder is a very important book. Raeder arguably was the most brilliant strategist in entire German Armed Forces and his memoir is a well written and highly informative work. Great book!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews