Holtzendorff's dismissal and legacy

Hindenburg, Wilhelm II, and Ludendorff removed Holtzendorff and replaced him with Reinhard Scheer as the Navy's ability to alter the war narrowed. The change of leadership could not overcome the combined industrial capacity of Britain and the United States. Holtzendorff's earlier preference had been to avoid conflict with Britain and the need to find a naval solution after that conflict began. He died in June 1919 before seeing what followed for Germany. He had also adopted two girls described as nieces when they could not otherwise be cared for, although the precise family relationship remains uncertain. The closing assessment allows sympathy for the man and his impossible position while condemning the destructive policy he ultimately supported.