Paul Wenneker

Paul Wennecker
Wenneker as naval attaché in Japan, 1940-45
Born(1890-02-27)February 27, 1890
Kiel, German Empire
DiedOctober 17, 1979(1979-10-17) (aged 89)
Bergstedt, West Germany
Allegiance German Empire
 Weimar Germany
 Nazi Germany
Branch Imperial German Navy
 Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
Years of service1909–1945
RankAdmiral
Commands

Paul Werner Wenneker (27 February 1890 – 17 October 1979) was a German admiral and diplomat who was most notable for serving as the German naval attaché in Japan from 1940 until the end of World War II in 1945. He served as the commanding admiral of German naval forces in Asia, and oversaw the activities of German U-boats and commerce raiders in the waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans during the war. Wenneker also attempted to share German submarine technology and tactics with the Japanese to assist them in the Pacific War, though his efforts in that regard were mostly treated with indifference by the Japanese. Wenneker also became associated with Richard Sorge and his Soviet spy ring at the German embassy in Tokyo. He was detained by American occupation authorities after the war and then returned to Germany.