20 JULY 1944

I remember Rommel! He was a true hero of Germany.

Edited by Murtaza

I notice in the rush to Rommel's rectum nobody's notive the site doesn't even metion Rommel.

As far as I'm aware Rommel had nothing to do with the plot, other than it was used as an escuse to bump him off for other reasons. And of course nowadays sadly to keep the real heroes in obscurity.

Originally posted by Paul I notice in the rush to Rommel's rectum nobody's notive the site doesn't even metion Rommel. As far as I'm aware Rommel had nothing to do with the plot, other than it was used as an escuse to bump him off for other reasons. And of course nowadays sadly to keep the real heroes in obscurity.

Hear, hear!

I'm slightly mystified as well, why Rommel has to pop up in this thread.
His involvement in the plot was never convincingly proven, the opinions on this are divided. It might be part of an enduring Rommel myth that wants to portray him as a long standing opponent of Hitler. For most of his career, he was a willing tool of the Nazis, and unlike many others of his rank never openly opposed Hitler's policies or war plans, on the contrary.

Originally posted by Thegeneral Rommel had no direct part in the attack.  However, when Hitler was searching for the attackers, he found papers listing people that would be able to become the head of Germany once he was gone.  Sadly, Rommel was on that list.  And although he was not on that site, he was sadly eliminated after the attack. Rommel was a real hero!

I never heard of any papers mention Rommel as future leader, just a word uttered in delirius sleep by one of the plotters that sounded like "Rommel" and no proof this is true, the investigators could have made it up. 

Rommel as a hero is a  joke. He made war for Hitler, he supported him, he followed him round like a lap dog when he went on tour......and he gained fame and wealth from this for himself. And when the war started to go wrong he didn't get his way he sulked like a schoolboy. As a general he had some talent and person he was a shallow and vein prig.

If you're interested in what constitutes a real hero, check out The Munich Post or The White Rose Resistance Group to name but a few.

Originally posted by Thegeneral He never opposed Hitler because he didn't know who evil and phycotic he was.� He was convinced that Hitler knew nothing of the horrors.�

Rommel belonged to Hitler's close circle at the beginning of the war, for a while in charge of Hitler's safety, and was possibly quickly promoted because of his tight knit relationship with his "Fuehrer".
I'm sure he would have had amble oppurtunity to find out how psychotic and evil the dictator was, and reason enough to oppose Hitler's criminal plans, if he hadn't just obeyed orders like any other good German soldier.
Although Rommel cannot personally be accused of committing war crimes, the myths about his resistance to Hitler are part of the greater myth that the "Wehrmacht" was not either not aware or not involved in the atrocities that the Germans undertook in the occupied territories.
This myth has ben exposed as the lie that it was recently, and is has been shown that the Wehrmacht participated in the massacres of civilians just like any other SS unit.
There have been a number of officers and soldiers who actively opposed the Nazi crimes, and Rommel wasn't one of them.

Rommel was a soldier and did his duty as one.  That duty was to fight Germany's war.

If there is a question as to Rommel's honor and the respect in which he was held by the Allies, ask the few remaining British, Australian and Indian Eighth Army veterans about their opinion.  I think the vast majority of them would have a favorable opinion.  I think even the Italians admired him although he overshadowed them. 

so what should he do?

He should  give his country to Churchill(not much better guy than hitler) or stalin?

A standart soldiers should not be accused because of hitlers crime.

He fight his country, and realy fight fine.  He is a hero. What ever hitler did cannot change it.

Komnenos,

could it have been the duty of those, who might have had the oppurtunity, to fight Germany's war against it's own political leaders?

If this is duty, no one interested this duty much, most of the ordinary soldiers followed their national leader.

Because of hitler, you should not accuse all germany.

 

Originally posted by Thegeneral To say Rommel was not a hero, to both Germans and the allies, is ludacris!  He was one of the greatest generals in WWII.

so? He was a great general indeed. But someone who supports and fights for an evil cause is not generally called a hero.

That duty was to fight Germany's war.

He fight his country, and realy fight fine.

He cared  for his country.

Hasn't WW2 taught you anything? Supporting ones country whether it's right or wrong is exactly what has caused many war crimes in WW2.

War is not a crime.  What people were put on trial for was murder and mistreatment of prisoners.  Rommel did neither of those things.  He was remarked by the British as being the most honorable general in the war.  If he had lived, he would not have been put on trial.

Someone who supports an evil man is not a hero, but Rommel did not support an evil man.  He did this for his country, who just happened to be his Fuehrer.

Originally posted by Murtaza Still a Turkish life is more precious than a greek life(for Turks) And a greek life is more precious than a Turk(For greeks)

Though I fear that's the sad true, that's also the reason that both countries are like they are: hyper-militarized and hyper-ideologized of nationalism... a rather poor picture.

Still, I'm sure that for some Turks and Greeks, those that have a humanist philosophy, this is not the case and I admire them for being able to think more, farther and better than their compatriots inside the difficult context of such nationalistic (narcissistic) societies.

Again, this doesn't apply only to the aforementioned countries but to many other places... but it is a good example.

I do think that in the case of Nazi Germany and in so many other cases when human rights are violated, soldiers, as the responsible persons they are above anything else, are responsible of the crime they participate in and those they cover up as well.

Orders are no excuse not to do the right thing. That's a coward and inmoral attitude.