GRAND ADMIRAL KARL DONITZ - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 05/17/1975 - HFSID 283422

GRAND ADMIRAL KARL DÖNITZ
World War II German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz wrote this letter on his personalized stationery in 1975, saying that he didn't have any documents to send the recipient due to his imprisonment after the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. Accompanied by original mailing envelope.
Autograph letter signed "Dönitz". 1 page, 8¼x5¾, on Dönitz's personalized stationery. May 17, 1975. Written in German, translated: "Dear Mr. Granat! I thank you for your letter of May 4th. Due to my imprisonment until October 1956 I don't have any documents. I suggest the following: please read my three books which I have written since 1958. Many of your questions will then be answered. Very truly yours". Lightly toned and creased. Signature and body of letter are lightly smeared but legible. Folded in quarters and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by: Unsignedenvelope. 6¼x4½. Postmarked May 19, 1975. Addressed to Mr. Gerard L. Granat. Inwood, New York. Three West German stamps and air mail label affixed. Envelope is open and empty. Lightly toned, soiled and creased. Normal postal stamps, which touch address. Address has bled lightly in places but is legible. Paper loss and adhesive residue under flap and on verso (no show-through). Otherwise in fine condition. 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.