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ALS in German, signed “Erich,” one page, 8 x 11.75, U.S. Government "Prisoner of War" letterhead, March 24, 1946. Handwritten letter to "Liebe Annemie," in part (translated): "Hope your bad time is behind you; warm and bright here, so more getting outside. Am well. It can hardly end before May/June. If it were a legal affair, result could be good, but it's a purely political trial, so hard to foresee. Prefer being shot to any imprisonment, with or without hard labor. Would willingly go back with Eri to Moscow; impossible for us to live in this Germany. Would still like to write memoirs, so as to clear my name. Greatest worry is Eri, because of ill-health. The house looks after itself; so do Anita and the family. Hope you are all sound and well. Heinz? Your hands? Chalk's really good for them! In the British zone only 720 calories; in the US zone it's dropping even lower! And this law too on militarists and Nazis. Would you please give an outline account to Eri of one of the 2 letters which I am writing to you today, as well as of your reply. Afraid that mine don't get there." Raeder writes his full name and Nuremberg internment address at the bottom. In fine condition, with a tiny edge tear to the upper right.
This unusually candid letter offers a revealing private glimpse of Erich Raeder during the Nuremberg proceedings, as the former commander-in-chief of the German Navy confronted the possibility of a severe sentence. Raeder plainly characterizes the proceedings as a “purely political trial,” declares that he would prefer execution to imprisonment, and expresses his desire to write memoirs in order to “clear my name”—sentiments consistent with the defense later presented at trial, which sought to portray him primarily as a professional naval officer rather than a political conspirator.
These stark reflections appear alongside intimate concerns about family, health, food shortages, and postwar conditions in Germany, creating a rare human counterpoint to the formal petitions, interrogations, and courtroom documents of his defense. Raeder was ultimately convicted at Nuremberg and sentenced to life imprisonment.
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