- Born
- DiedOctober 14, 1944 · Herrlingen, Ulm, Württemberg [now Baden-Württemberg], Germany (forced suicide by poisoning)
- Birth nameErwin Johannes Eugen Rommel
- Nickname
- The Desert Fox
- Height5′ 6″ (1.68 m)
- Erwin Rommel, aka "The Desert Fox", was one of Adolf Hitler's most able generals during WWII. He joined the German army in 1910 and won awards for bravery in WW I. He was in the 7th Tank Division at the outbreak of WW II and headed the push to the English Channel. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, Rommel led the German army in Africa (known as The Afrika Korps) in its mostly successful North African campaign. He drove the British in Libya back to to El Alamein. This led to his promotion to the rank of Field Marshal. Eventually outmaneuvered by British Gen. Bernard L. Montgomery, he returned to Germany, where he was given charge of the defense of northern France. Implicated in the July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, he chose suicide rather than execution.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Crook <steve@brainstorm.co.uk>
- After school he began a military career. He attended the war school in Danzig and was promoted to lieutenant in 1912. In 1917, Rommel was awarded a medal of merit for his combat performance in the First World War. At the end of the war he took on the role of captain. From 1929 to 1933, Rommel worked as a tactics instructor at the Dresden Infantry School. At the same time, he was promoted to major in 1932. After Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP came to power in 1933, Rommel was appointed battalion commander in Goslar that same year. In 1935 he moved to Potsdam to work as a teaching group commander at the infantry school there.
In 1937 Rommel was promoted to colonel. In the same year he acted as a liaison officer in the Reichswehr Ministry for the Reich Youth Leadership. In September 1938, Rommel took part as a commander in the occupation of the Sudentenland, where Hitler discovered his military qualities for the first time. He then commanded a military school in Vienna. Rommel took part in the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939 as commander of the Führer's headquarters. In the same year he was appointed - as a major general - to command the 7th Panzer Division. On February 9, 1941, Rommel was promoted to commanding general of the German Africa Corps and to colonel general in January of the following year.
From January 1942 to February 1943 he was in command of the Africa Panzer Army, after which he was commander in chief of Army Group Tunis until March 1943. Rommel developed special leadership skills in tank warfare. He initially proved so successful in the National Socialist expansion and war policy that he was appointed field marshal in June 1942. In 1943, Rommel took command of Army Group B and fought in northern Italy and on the Western Front. At that time, the Field Marshal increasingly began to distance himself from National Socialist war policy. In July 1944, under the impression of the Allied invasion of Normandy, Rommel demanded that Hitler end the war.
A little later he was suspected of belonging to the exposed July 20th resistance group. At the same time he was seriously wounded in a bomb attack. After the "leader" gave him the choice between suicide or trial by the People's Court, the high-ranking military man opted for the first solution. On October 14, 1944, Erwin Rommel committed forced suicide by poison. However, due to the military leader's popularity, the suicide was kept secret from the public, who honored him with a state funeral. This marked the beginning of a legend surrounding the military leader, who was transfigured into a heroic figure by the film "Desert Rats" (USA 1953) and numerous publications.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth
- SpouseLucie Marie Rommel(November 27, 1916 - October 14, 1944) (his death, 1 child)
- ParentsErwin Rommel Sr.Helene von Luz
- His son Manfred Rommel became the mayor of Stuttgart, Germany.
- The circumstances surrounding his forced suicide are still murky. Although it is almost certain that he was not involved in the July 20, 1944, assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, he was known to be, if not inimical to, at the least not well-disposed toward the Nazi party ideology. It was said that he was targeted by the Gestapo and earned Hitler's vengeance mostly because one conspirator blurted out Rommel's name during a brutal interrogation session.
- He was given the option of suicide in deference to his high status and widespread popularity among the German people (prosecuting him in the kangaroo-court "Peoples' Court" could well have been a propaganda disaster for the regime), and he was given assurances that his family would not be harmed in any way if he took the suicide option.
- Despite rumors to the contrary, he did not play an active part in the attempt on Adolf Hitler's life. His name was mentioned by one of the conspirators while under torture. It is unlikely Rommel was even aware of the July Bomb Plot. Rommel apparently opposed the idea of trying to assassinate Hitler as it would have made the Commander-in-Chief a martyr, and caused a civil war in Germany as the SS would have still been in control.
- He refused to relay the Commando Order to his troops since he considered it to be contrary to honorable conduct. The order dictated that any captured Allied paratroopers or soldiers found operating behind the lines were to be shot.
- The German soldier has awed the world; the Italian soldier has awed the German.
- The greatest tragedy is that you British and we Germans are not fighting side by side against the real enemy, Russia.
- That's a political argument, and as a soldier you shouldn't be interested in politics at all.
- Once I have loved the Führer, and I still do.
- If I had to take hell, I would use the Australians to take it and the New Zealanders to hold it
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content