The administration of Karl Dönitz, head of state and supreme commander of Germany's armed forces following Hitler's suicide, marks a key period in World War II. Author Walter Lüdde-Neurath served at Dönitz's side through the final, chaotic weeks of fighting, the infighting among the Nazi elite as they tried to save themselves, and the negotiations for surrender. With this memoir Lüdde-Neurath provides an insider's view of what happened as the Third Reich collapsed around them.
Walter Lüdde-Neurath served as adjutant to Karl Dönitz, the commander in chief of the German navy and charged by Hitler to be the head of state upon his death.