Born in
Bielitz (now
Bielsko-Biała,
Poland), he entered the
Imperial German Navy on 13 April 1889. After serving as captain of several
torpedo boats, he commanded in turn the
light cruisers in 1911 and in 1912–13. As captain of the
battlecruiser in 1916–17, Zenker saw action in the
Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. Zenker joined the Admiralty Staff in 1917. He was appointed to the North Sea area command in 1918, holding this post when the German war effort collapsed in November 1918. After the war, he was an officer of the
Reichsmarine, serving as
Inspekteur der Marineartillerie from 1920 to 1923 and the top post of
Chef der Marineleitung (Chief of the Naval Command) from October 1, 1924, to September 30, 1928. His tenure as head of the Reichsmarine saw the beginning of the rebuilding of the German fleet with the construction of light cruisers and torpedo boats and the planning of ships, later built as the
Deutschland,
Admiral Scheer, and
Admiral Graf Spee. ==Family==