Donitz was the commander of the [[U-Boat]] arm of the German Navy during the [[Second World War]], having served as a U-Boat captain during the [[First World War]]. Upon Hitler's suicide, he became Reichsfuhrer of the collapsing [[Nazi]] state, and headed the shadowy German government that subsisted for several weeks at [[Flensburg]] following the German surrender. At the [[Nuremberg Trials]] he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for war crimes, largely related to his policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
+
Donitz was the commander of the [[U-Boat]] arm of the German Navy during the [[Second World War]], having served as a U-Boat captain during the [[First World War]]. Upon Hitler's suicide, He was delegated to succeed Hitler by Hilter's last will and testament upon the collapse of the [[Nazi]] state, and signed the German surrender. At the [[Nuremberg Trials]] he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for war crimes, largely related to his policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.