Dönitz and his colleagues had one final task – to distance themselves and the armed services from the crimes of the regime they had served. ‘We have nothing to be ashamed of,’ Dönitz decreed. ‘We stand without a spot on our honour as soldiers and can with justice appear full of pride and honour .…’[57] And a few days later – after Keitel had been arrested – Jodl stressed to his staff that their attitude to the enemy powers had to be:
