November 15- Birth of Erwin Rommel

Having lived as a German in England for a long time, it has always struck me as quite remarkable, how this alleged German war-hero had a far higher public recognition and admiration in the lands of his former enemies, than in the �Fatherland� himself.

On November 15, 1891, Erwin Rommel, German Field Marshal in the second World war, was born in Heidenheim, South Germany, as son of a school headmaster.
Rommel was a professional career soldier, having joined cadet school in the former independent Kingdom of W�rttemberg at the age of 19, and raised to the rank of Lieutenant two years after, he served in the First World War with high distinction, collecting Iron Crosses on the way and being awarded Prussia�s highest military order, the �Pour le Merite�.
Rommel survived the in-glorious days of the German army in the Weimar Republic, when one of the stipulations of the Versailles treaty reduced its numbers and military equipment to a minimum, as a teacher and instructor at various military schools.
With the resurgence of German militarism under the Nazi-Regime, Rommel�s hour came in 1937, after he had attracted Hitler�s attention. His first major task was the military training of the Hitler-Jugend, the compulsory youth organisation in Nazi-Germany, but his many talents let him soon rise to the commander of Hitler�s personal bodyguard, a position that transferred him into the innermost circle of the leadership of the Nazi state.



Feldmarschall Erwin Rommel


At the outbreak of WW2, Rommel went to the front, first serving as commander of a tank battalion in France, and then in 1941, he was sent to North Africa, into the colonies of Germany�s closet ally, the fascist Italy.
In the deserts of Libya and Egypt, Rommel�s �Afrika Korps� fought for two years against the numerically and technically superior British troops. After a number of initial successes, Rommel had to bow to the inevitable in 1943, the German African adventure ended in defeat at the hands of the British Field Marshal Montgomery and Rommel had to return to Europe.
The Battles between Rommel and Montgomery in North-Africa have a become a classic of the popular conception of WW2; far removed from the genocidal killing fields of Eastern Europe, the African theatre of war and the strategic struggles between the two Field Marshals gained a certain romantic notion, that has survived until today, especially in the country of the eventual victor. Rommel was christened the �Desert Fox�, a honourable and valiant enemy in the eyes of the British, and the later legends about his subsequent career are the result of this.
After his return to Europe, Rommel was put on ice for a while, having fallen out of favour with Hitler, but was ordered back into action when the war in the West demanded a few more capable commanders. Rommel was sent to France, but neither he nor anyone else could do any thing to prevent the allied landing in June 1944.
During an air attack on his car, Rommel was seriously wounded on the 17th July 1944, and therefore heard from his hospital about the unsuccessful assassination attempt on Hitler�s life only three days later.
A number of high ranking Wehrmacht officers had been involved in the plot, and somehow Rommel�s name appeared on the list. Rommel�s actual involvement has been the stuff of heated debates, on the whole there is no substantial proof that he was part of the conspiracy. Hitler however believed otherwise, and Rommel escaped the execution that the other conspirators suffered, by suicide on October 24, 1944.
There is indeed no indication that Rommel ever seriously opposed Hitler other than in purely military questions, his closeness to the Nazi-leader in the two years before the war must have meant that he was familiar up to certain extent with both the expansionist and criminal plans of Hitler. Unlike many other Wehrmacht officers that actively opposed Hitler�s politics and plans even before the war, Rommel was an obedient servant of Nazi-Germany, a very capable and honourable maybe, but nevertheless someone who facilitated Nazi-Germany�s war-crimes. Amongst all this unhealthy war romanticism, that is sometimes forgotten.


Complete list of events:

Wikipedia

Edited by Komnenos

Thanks, Oguzoglu, for bringing this momentous event to our attention, especially as it hadn't done so before on AE, or at least not very often.
I'm certain, there are a number of members on AE who have a very different view on this occasion, denouncing the declaration of the independence of Northern Cyprus an invalid and illegal act after an illegal occupation by Turkish troops of parts of the Island.
I'm certain, it would be possible to have a fascinating debate on this topic,..... but not here.




Edited by Komnenos

Originally posted by Hannibal Barca Komnenos. May I inform you that Rommel was not EVER a member of the Nazi party. He was simply a general. He never facilitated any war crimes during his time in command.

Thanks for enlightening me.
The question remains however, why Rommel, being both such a high ranking officer and intimate of Hitler before the war, did not actively oppose Hitler's agressive plans as early as 1939, unlike others, most notable General Ludwig Beck. Rommel had a chance there, but did nothing and went ahead with Hitler, I suppose "only obeying orders", and thus, like any other German military leader, must carry part of blame for both the war itself and the horrendous crimes that were committed in its course.

Why do you think that when he returned he started to plan the Fuhrer's downfall.

Although Rommel was in the last years of the war highly critical of Hitler's military leadership, if you want to call it that, he did not oppose him politically, and there is no evidence that he was actively involved in the July 20 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler.
He was accused of having been so, as it gave those in the German military leadership who wanted to get rid of him for being somewhat critical of their tactics, a convenient excuse to do so.

Edited by Komnenos

He was a general of the Nazi's but he was never a party member and never had anything to do with any war crimes. He stayed a proffesional until Hitler had him killed.

Originally posted by Paul Sigh�not another noble Rommel post. What can be said abut the man. When from Spain to Berlin�every person was faced with one of three choices, putting their lives on the line and fighting for freedom, putting their heads down and hoping to avoid trouble overhead, or becoming�helping the�Nazis. Rommel freely chose to fight for Nazism. That's the measure of the man. Yes you can argue he was nice to POW's, Himler cried at his budgie's funeral and I'm sure Jacj the Ripper was nice to children. Doesn't change what he was in the big picture. A Nazi lackey.

Good man.
At last, a Brit who doesn't like Rommel.
For some obscure reason Rommel is much more popular in the UK than in the Fatherland itself.

He is popular in Britain because he beat their pale backs! They know that. Monty was the most overrated general of WWII. He came in with a much stronger and larger force than Rommel and still failed to destroy the Afrika Korps. Had Rommel stayed he might have been able to counterattack the Brits. Every book I have read that has been written by a Brit just overglorifies their victory over Rommel. They continue to say that Germany was really looking for Rommel to be victorious so they kept him with an invincible and mighty force. Truth is Germany didn't care. They never gave Rommel enough supplies or support. About a fourth of his force was of Italian vehicles and troops. He was always outnumbered and outgunned, yet he still was able to overcome these obstacles time and again.

 

Well Rommel is not responsible for WWII. Did he support Germany's agressive actions, yes very much so. He had every right to. He felt insulted by the Allies just like MOST of the other German officers did and he stood up for Germany and fought for it once again. In France, he was even worse supplied than in the desert. Most of his tanks were formerly for training and he was given a small amount of men. He was able to consistantly defeat the much stronger and larger French forces and became a major deciding factor in the conquest. Now you are criticizing people like Guderian and Manstein who nothing but brilliant generals who went to war for Germany. Rommel had no part in the genocide once again. I can;t believe you still think this.

If the Democrats say we will leave Iraq and the Republicans say we will stay..... That's pretty obvious.

How?

Ug, I am disgusted with anyone who believe Rommel was a Nazi and fought for the Nazis.  It shows your ingorance, if nothing else!

And no, Hannibal, you did not misunderstand Paul.  Paul just likes to rant on how he think Rommel was a moron and not a good leader!  It sickens me!

ahh

Actually I was saying American soldiers in Iraq were fighting for Republican party policy not America.

Possibly the way I made the comment was unclear.

So I'll reiterate. Repubican party policy is to stay in Iraq. Democratic party policy is to pull out of Iraq. Therefore if you are fighting in Iraq you are fighting for the Republican view not the Democrat view, so fighting for Republican policy.