After Adolf Hitler’s suicide in April 1945, Karl Dönitz became the last leader of Nazi Germany. By early May, Germany had formally surrendered, and the war in Europe was over. Yet the Nazi leadership did not immediately disappear. For nearly a month after surrender, Dönitz and his so-called Flensburg government continued to hold daily cabinet meetings at 10 a.m. Despite having no real authority, territory, or military power, they debated Germany’s future — including which Nazi symbols, uniforms,