On October 14, 1944, Erwin Rommel took cyanide at his home in Herlingen near Ulm. Two generals sent by the German military command gave him a choice: suicide or a trial for his alleged involvement in the July 20 plot against Adolf Hitler. Rommel was 52 years old.
Initially, the Nazi authorities presented his death as a consequence of the severe wounds he received in July when Allied aircraft attacked his car in France. The funeral was organized as a state ceremony, and Hitler ordered a day of national mourning. The truth about the forced suicide became known after the end of the war.
From a young officer to the “Desert Fox“
Rommel was born on November 15, 1891 in Heidenheim, Württemberg. He joined the army in 1910 and distinguished himself during World War I with his actions on the Western and Italian fronts. After the war, he worked as an instructor and wrote the military manual “Infantry Attacks“, which attracted the attention of the German military leadership.
In 1940, Rommel commanded the 7th Panzer Division during the invasion of France. Its rapid advance earned him a reputation as a commander who preferred risk, speed, and attack from an unexpected direction. A year later, he took command of German forces in North Africa, sent to support the Italian troops.
There he received the nickname “Desert Fox“. In 1942, his troops captured Tobruk, and he was promoted to field marshal. However, his successes were limited by shortages of fuel, ammunition and reinforcements. After the defeat at El Alamein, the German-Italian forces were gradually pushed out of Africa.
A commander who saw the end of the war
In 1944, Rommel was in charge of the German defense in Normandy. He insisted that the Allied invasion be stopped along the coast before the enemy gained superiority in soldiers, tanks and aircraft. On July 17, he was seriously wounded in an air raid and returned to Germany for treatment.
Just a few days before, on July 15, Rommel sent Hitler a report on the hopeless situation of the German army. According to the text quoted by “Le Monde“, it said: “Everywhere our soldiers are fighting like heroes, but this unequal struggle is nearing its end.“
Rommel has not been proven to have participated in the preparation of the July 20 attack. Historical data indicate that he maintained contacts with some of Hitler's opponents and was inclined to politically remove the dictator, but was not the central organizer of the conspiracy. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, he was more likely to have been a sympathizer of the opposition's plans, without taking a decisive role in them.
Between military reputation and historical myth
After the war, Rommel was often presented as an "honorable general" who opposed Nazi crimes. However, this picture remains incomplete. He served the regime, accepted a rapid rise thanks to Hitler's personal trust, and commanded troops in a war waged by Nazi Germany.
At the same time, there is evidence that he refused to carry out some criminal orders, including the murder of prisoners. Historians debate the extent of his political loyalty to Hitler and how much he understood the scale of Nazi persecution. Therefore, Rommel remains both a talented military commander, an important propaganda tool, and a figure whose image was changed according to the political needs of the time.
Sources: history.com, lemonde.fr