Eberhard Godt

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Eberhard Godt (born August 5, 1900 in Lübeck ; † September 13, 1995 ) was a German rear admiral in World War II , as well as a long-standing and close collaborator of Karl Dönitz in the leadership of the submarine war .

Life

Godt joined the Imperial Navy on July 1, 1918 as a midshipman ( crew 1918 ) and completed the Mürwik naval school until October 6, 1918. He then came on board the liner SMS Schlesien . There he served beyond the end of the First World War until November 30, 1918 and was then on leave until February 14, 1919.

He briefly joined the Ehrhardt Marine Brigade and was then taken over into the Reichsmarine . There he served one after the other on the small cruiser Arcona , the survey ship Panther , the tender Drache and the liner Hannover . Godt then completed an officer course from January 3 to September 27, 1924, during which he was promoted to lieutenant at sea on April 1 . He was then used as a company officer of the midshipmen on the Hessen . From October 1 to December 22, he completed a torpedo and signal course and then came as an adjutant to Coast Defense Department V, where he was promoted to first lieutenant on January 1, 1926 . For a year Godt then served in the 5th Marine Artillery Department. He was then from September 30, 1927 to September 21, 1929 officer on watch and adjutant in the 2nd Torpedo Boat Half Flotilla and then officer on watch in the 1st Torpedo Boat Flotilla for a year. He was then transferred until March 30, 1932, as an adjutant to inspect the blocking system . During this time he also acted as the commander of the torpedo boat T-155 . This was followed by assignments as a commander on the North Sea tender and on the torpedo boat G-10 , where he became lieutenant captain on July 1, 1933 . As a torpedo officer Godt came on September 26, 1934 on the light cruiser Emden , with which he took part in a trip abroad and on which he served as adjutant to the commandant Karl Dönitz .

From October 1 to December 20, 1935 Godt completed a submarine training. Then he was made available to the commander of the submarines. He completed the construction instruction for U 25 and on April 6, 1936 was appointed the first commander of this submarine, which belonged to the Weddigen U-Flotilla and which he commanded until January 3, 1938. On April 1, 1937 he was promoted to corvette captain . From January 1938 Godt served as first admiral staff officer in the staff of the commander in command of the submarines . He initially retained this position after the outbreak of the Second World War and from October 1, 1939, he served as chief of the operations department at the submarine commander. As such, Godt was promoted to frigate captain on July 1, 1940, and to sea captain on September 1, 1942 . Simultaneously with the promotion to rear admiral on March 1, 1943, he was appointed chief of the 2nd division in the high command of the Navy . He continued in his previous position as head of the operations department until the end of the war.

On May 31, 1945 Godt came in special area Mürwik in Flensburg in British captivity , from which he was released on 11 April 1947th During this time he testified as a witness before the Nuremberg war crimes trial . After his release he worked from 1949 to 1952 as an employee of the Naval Historical Team in Bremerhaven .

Godt Karl Dönitz remained on friendly terms until the death of his former boss. After the Second World War, Godt applied for admission to the German Navy , but withdrew the application after he was informed unofficially that he had no prospect of being taken over because of his proximity to Dönitz.

Awards

literature

  • Dermot Bradley (eds.), Hans H. Hildebrand, Ernest Henriot: Germany's Admirals 1849-1945. The military careers of naval, engineering, medical, weapons and administrative officers with admiral rank. Volume 1: AG. (Ackermann to Gygas), Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1988, ISBN 3-7648-1499-3 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dieter Hartwig: Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz - Legend and Reality , Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2010, ISBN 978-3-506-77027-1 , p. 309
  2. ↑ a b Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1932, p. 50.
personal data
SURNAME Godt, Eberhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German rear admiral in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH 5th August 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Lübeck
DATE OF DEATH September 13, 1995