Karl Dönitz was a naval leader in Nazi Germany during World War II. Despite never joining the Nazi Party, Dönitz attained the high rank of Grand Admiral and served as Commander in Chief of Submarines, and later Commander in Chief of the German War Navy. Under his command, the U-boat fleet fought the Battle of the Atlantic, attempting to starve the United Kingdom of vital supply shipments. He also briefly served as President of Germany following the death of Adolf Hitler. Following the war, Dönitz went on trial as a war criminal in the Nuremberg Trials, charged with conspiracy to commit crimes against peace and planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression. Dönitz produced an affidavit from Admiral Chester Nimitz who testified that the United States had used unrestricted warfare as a tactic in the Pacific and that American submarines did not rescue survivors in situations where their own safety was in question. Ultimately, the tribunal found Dönitz guilty of both charges. He served ten years in Spandau Prison, West Berlin. Later, numerous Allied officers sent letters to Dönitz expressing their dismay over the verdict of his trial.

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1415 Battle of Agincourt: Despite being greatly outnumbered, Henry V of England and his lightly armored infantry and archers defeated the heavily armored French cavalry in a muddy battlefield. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt)

1971 The People's Republic of China replaced the Republic of China as China's representative in the United Nations. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_the_United_Nations)

1983 Operation Urgent Fury: The United States and Caribbean allies invaded Grenada, six days after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several of his supporters were executed in a violent coup d'état. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Grenada)

2001 Windows XP, the latest desktop version of the Windows operating system from Microsoft, was released. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP)

Wikiquote of the day:

"Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live." ~ Dorothy Thompson (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dorothy_Thompson)