Biografie

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