GRAND ADMIRAL KARL DONITZ - AUTOGRAPH ENVELOPE SIGNED 08/26/1978 - HFSID 283428

GRAND ADMIRAL KARL DÖNITZ
Manila envelope front signed by World War II German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz in Aumühle, Germany in 1976. Dönitz settled in Aumühle after serving 10 years in prison for war crimes.
Autograph envelope signed "Abs: Dönitz/2005 Aumühle" in blue ink. Blue and black ink notations in unknown hand. 12x9. Postmarked Aumühle, Germany, Aug. 26, 1976. Addressed to Mr. Jerry Granat, Inwood, New York. Three West German stamps and airmail labels affixed. Aumühle is in Germany's state of Bavaria. Dönitz moved there after being convicted of war crimes in Nuremberg and spending 10 years in prison. During World War II, German Admiral Dönitz (1891-1980, born in Grünau-bei-Berlin, Germany) developed the idea of fighting in wolf packs. In January of 1943, Hitler named Dönitz to replace Erich Raeder as Commander in Chief of the German Navy. In that capacity, Dönitz gave permission for a radically improved U-boat to be built in 1944. Working closely with Albert Speer, the Minister of Armaments, Germany was producing 42 of these all-electric boats a month by 1945, but it was too late to make an impact on the outcome of the war. As the war was coming to a close, Hitler selected Dönitz to succeed him as Führer. After forming a new government, Führer Dönitz negotiated Germany's surrender on May 5, 1945. At the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, Dönitz was found guilty of war crimes and was sentenced to ten years in prison. He was 79 when he died on Christmas Eve in 1980. Envelope is open and empty. Lightly toned, soiled and creased. Tackhead-sized hole at right edge. Opened neatly at right edge. Folded once and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.