I accept responsibility for U-boat warfare from 1933 onward, and of the entire navy from 1943 on, but to make me responsible for what happened to Jews in Germany, or Russian soldiers on the east front it is so ridiculous all I can do is laugh.

I'm an old man at 54, without teeth, and with rheumatism.

The north German does not go in for extremes. He has broader horizons than the men from the mountains of Bavaria and Austria.

I was fascinated by the [operation] of a U-boat ... where every single man was an indispensable part of the whole. Every submariner, I am sure, has experienced in his heart [the joy of] the task entrusted to him [and] felt as rich as a king.

I accept responsibility for U-boat warfare from 1933 onward, and of the entire navy from 1943 on, but to make me responsible for what happened to Jews in Germany, or Russian soldiers on the east front it is so ridiculous all I can do is laugh.

Only ... from personal experience [can a man] take the necessary measures without a preliminary process of trial and error.

Our losses have reached an intolerable level. The enemy air force played a decisive role in inflicting these high losses.