Rolf Carls

Rolf Hans Wilhelm Karl Carls was a high-ranking German admiral and deputy to Kriegsmarine commander-in-chief Erich Raeder during much of World War II. Carls served as Flottenchef, the navy's highest ranking administrative officer, and was a member of the Oberkommando der Marine. He was instrumental in planning German naval operations during Operation Weserübung – the invasion of Denmark and Norway. When Raeder resigned as head of the navy in early 1943, he suggested Carls as a candidate to succeed him. After Adolf Hitler appointed Admiral Karl Donitz to succeed Raeder, Carls was discharged from the navy. A recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, he was killed in a British air raid on the town of Bad Oldesloe on 24 April 1945.