Two personnel disputes illustrate Raeder's controlling approach to naval leadership. In one case, a staff officer pursued a resigned officer on his honeymoon and repeatedly urged him to commit suicide after a divorce and remarriage. In another, Raeder cashiered an officer for ending one engagement and marrying someone else. Such moral policing consumed effort and created lasting personal enemies. One of those enemies, Wilhelm Canaris, later rose in German military intelligence, leaving Raeder to maneuver against his advancement instead of benefiting from a durable professional relationship.
Notable Point · 19:39-21:42
Personal discipline, lasting enemies, and Wilhelm Canaris
Raeder's intervention in officers' private lives shows how his loyalty-based management created enemies who later held influential posts.