Of course I would go.'. He believed that arresting Hitler and placing him under trial would be the best solution. Gertrud exchanged hundreds of letters with her famous father. Rommel did not agree with the assassination of Hitler, believing that such a gesture would transform the Fhrer into a martyr. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. The only men in the house apart from my father, were Captain Aldinger. Death masks may be mementos of the dead or be used for the creation of portraits. As he went into the hall, his little dachshund which he had been given as a puppy a few months before in France, jumped up at him with a whine of joy. 'I have just had to tell your mother,' he began slowly, 'that I shall be dead in a quarter of an hour.' On October 14th, 1944 Manfred was given leave to return to his home where his father continued to convalesce. Eh? MEGACAUST Michael Walsh. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. EUROPE RENAISSANCEdepends on your support. Father did not turn his head when the car left and disappeared after a curve. Me and Aldinger left the room. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. My father pushed his Marshal's baton under his left arm, and with his face calm, gave Aldinger and me his hand once more before getting in the car. Although Rommel would later become known for his bold battlefield tactics, his sister described him as a gentle and docile child.. On October 14th, 1944 Manfred was given leave to return to his home where his father continued to convalesce. If I accept this, the usual measures will not be taken against my family, that is against you. Rommel's family put pressure on him to leave her and return to his fiance Lucie Mollin, whom he soon married. Make sure that the file is a photo. happening. His 70 books include best-selling historical books THE ALL LIES INVASION (Paperback / Ebook), THE All LIES INVASION II (Paperback / Ebook), Odyssey Adolf Hitler, MY LAST TESTAMENT LET GOD JUDGE ME, WITNESS TO HISTORY,TESTIGO DE LA HISTORIA: HISTORIA SIN CENSURA (SPANISH EDITION),REICH AND WRONG,HEROES HANG WHEN TRAITORS TRIUMPH, HEROES OF THE REICH, THE HOLY BOOK of ADOLF HITLER, The Reich Declaration of War on the USSR,TROTSKYS WHITE NEGROES,MEGACAUST, THE RED BRIGANDS,RANSACKING THE REICH, SCULPTURES OF THE THIRD RIECH: ARNO BREKER AND REICH SCULPTORS, SCULPTURES OF THE THIRD REICH Volume II Josef Thorak and Reich Sculptors, SCULPTURES OF THE THIRD REICH VOLUME III Porcelain and Reich Sculptors andDEATH OF A CITY. generals - Burgdorf, a powerful florid man, and Maisel, small and slender - alighted There are 150 markshere. Among his British adversaries, he earned a strong reputation forchivalry, and the North African campaign has often been called a War Without Hate. In 1943, Hitler charged Rommel to coordinate the fortification of the "Atlantic Wall" along the French coast, the defensive line that the Germans wanted to use to repel the inevitable Allied invasion in Europe (which would take place in June 1944). Rommels son, Manfred, was 15 years old in 1944 and was enrolled in an antiaircraft crew near home. She knitted him a scarf which he wore frequently at the battlefront. Aldinger and I left the room. my father's permission to speak to him alone. Ovidiu Popa is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. 'I must go, they've only given me ten minutes.' by Frankfurter 28 Oct 2010, 22:43, Post Touring Germany, Rommel was appalled at the devastation of the Allied bombing raids and the erosion of the peoples' morale. By the way, I have been charged to put you under a promise of the strictest silence. I just had to tell your mother that in a quarter of an hour I will be dead. 1. Lucie met Erwin Rommel in 1911 while he was attending Officer Cadet School at Danzig, West Prussia (Danzig is now part of Poland and is renamed Gdansk). The two generals were standing at the garden gate. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. He was the recipient of numerous foreign honours. He made no apologies for his service to the Reich: I served my Fatherland to the best of my ability and would do so again. Credit The Hidden World. There, she answered the telephone call from a furious Hitler who ordered him back to Africa. When World War II ended in Europe in May 1945, most Western military leaders and analysts regarded Erwin Rommel as the war's greatest . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Erwin Rommel was a respectful general. She died at the town of Kempten. Manfred is his son right? by Napoleon XIV 16 Sep 2003, 07:16, Post According to Gertrud's son Josef Pan, "Rommel was Walburga's only love. She was twenty years old and working as a fruit-seller in Weingarten (Wrttemberg) when she met Rommel, who was assigned to the area to train army recruits. General Rommel passed away on the 14th October 1944 from a heart attack brought on by three skull fractures suffered when a Canadian Spitfire strafed his car off the road three months earlier. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. German article about Rommel's and Stemmer's family history, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walburga_Stemmer&oldid=1161149847, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, This page was last edited on 21 June 2023, at 00:04. Germany's most popular general without revealing to the German people that My father put his wallet carefully back in his pocket. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119984619/lucia-maria-rommel. "To die at the hands of one's own people is hard," Rommel told his 15-year-old son Manfred minutes before he left their house for the last time. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). You have chosen this person to be their own family member. She stayed close to the family even after Rommel's forced suicide, and his letters to and from Walburga and Gertrud were inherited by her son Joseph, who made the story public in 2000 after Gertrud's death. Hitler's wreath is carried in Rommel'sfuneral procession Oct. 18, 1944 We walked slowly down the path, the crunch of the gravel sounding unusually loud. He was later buried with full military honours. Death mask of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, discovered by U.S. ", In adulthood, Manfred Rommel served as Mayor of Stuttgart, General Burgdorf committed suicide in Berlin during the last days of the war, 1945, Attack At Pearl Harbor - the Japanese View, Attack At Pearl Harbor - The White House Reacts, Normandy Invasion, 1944: A Civilian's View. After he left, me and Aldinger walked back home in silence. For a time, Erwin Rommel was Hitler's favorite general. German General Erwin Rommel. The S.S. driver swung the door open and stood to attention. by Mackiavelli 21 Sep 2003, 10:29, Return to The Dieter Zinke Axis Biographical Research Section. ). Anyway, we've practically no ammunition.' He came in contact with members of a growing conspiracy dedicated to ousting Hitler and establishing a separate peace with the western allies. Popularly known as theDesert Fox, the career serviceman served asfield marshalin theWehrmacht(Defense Force) ofthe Third Reich duringWorld War II, as well as earlier serving in theReichswehrof theWeimar Republic, and the army ofImperial Germany(1871 ~ 1918). 'Can't we defend ourselves' He cut me off short. from the car and entered the house. We slowly walked along the alley. Good Man .A man of honour and distinction .His Son carried on where his Father left. My father spoke faster now. And anyway, we virtually have no ammunition. The car was ready. 'Come outside with me,' he said in a tight voice. Her cause of death was given as pneumonia, though it is generally accepted that she probably committed suicide. Discussions on the personalities of the Wehrmacht and of the organizations not covered in the other sections. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Rommel's son, Manfred, was 15 years old and served as part of an antiaircraft crew near his home. the Field Marshall. However, after he was . A group of villagers was standing beside the road. I thought Manfred joined the West-German Army and is still a captain or something there. This is an apolitical forum for discussions on the Axis nations and related topics hosted by the Axis History Factbook in cooperation with Christian Ankerstjernes Panzerworld and Christoph Awender's WW2 day by day. It's fatal in three seconds. But how can you eliminate the most popular and appreciated soldier in the German army without letting the people know that you ordered his death? by Michal78 06 May 2014, 21:44, Post We went into my room. , a badly wounded war-veteran corporal and myself. The Nazi press told the German public that Rommel had died . Rommel in North Africa (June 1942). Erwin Rommel, called "the People's Marshal" by his countrymen, was one of Adolf Hitler's most successful generals and one of Germany's most popular military leaders. A few minutes later I heard my father come upstairs and go into my mother's room. The problem for Hitler was how to eliminate The car stood ready. Seventh Army troops in 1945. Hitler did not want the peoples marshal to appear before the court as his enemy and thence be taken to the gallows. and announce that his death was due to his battle wounds. Here another one I found with the family: The topic has been discussed in the forum, i.a. He receive respect even from allies. I interrupted. 'There's still 150 marks in there,' he said. Then, the Nazi dictator shot himself to ensure his death. Thanks for your help! Although Rommel and his command had shown a satisfying level of aggression, something the entire officer corps understood, most of them saw his drive to the Egyptian border as a misfire. . It was not then entirely clear, what had happened to him after he left us. [12] He died on 7 November 2013, survived by his wife Lieselotte and his daughter Catherine.[14]. I asked that it will take place in Ulm. My father pushed his Marshal's baton under his left arm, and with his face calm, gave Aldinger and me his hand once more before getting in the car. Rommel's family lacked much of a military tradition. He has earned a impressive array of decorations: Grand Officer of the German Order of Merit; Commander of the Most Excellent . He took my arm and replied: My dear boy, our enemy in the East is so horrifying that any other matter goes to second place. 'Shut the dog in the study, Manfred,' he said, and waited in the hall with Aldinger while I removed the excited dog and pushed it through the study door. In the spring of 1944, some of Rommels friends who had joined the clandestine opposition to Hitler approached Rommel and suggested to him that it was his duty to take over as head of state after Hitler had been overthrown. The family was aware that Rommel was under suspicion and that his chief of staff and his commanding officer had both been executed. Gerry's wife died in 2017. As long as Rommel and Lucie never had children she held on to the conviction that he would return to her. Lavishly illustrated, this expose reveals secrets removed from Western history books. General Rommel passed away on the 14th October 1944 from a heart attack brought on by three skull fractures suffered when a Canadian Spitfire strafed his car off the road three months earlier. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. They were respectful and courteous and they asked for the permission to speak with my father in private. At that point it was not clear what happened to him after he left us. He considered joining the Waffen SS, but his father opposed it. Wounded in France three months before his death, Rommels death mask shows evidence of the injuries, particularly the indentation of the left temple. from the car and entered the house. Search above to list available cemeteries. So they will not arrest him., I told myself with relief while I was going up stairs to look for a book. not have been aware of the attempt on Hitler's life, his "defeatist" attitude Failed to delete flower. 'Shall I take the money with me?'. ET, July 14, 2023. The field marshal came into contact with members of a group who planned to overthrow Hitler and negotiate a separate peace with the Allies. A knot of villagers stood outside the drive The two generals were standing at the gate. a strategy meeting at his headquarters in East Prussia. Related books: THE ALL LIES INVASION I and THE All LIES INVASION II, WITNESS TO HISTORY,Reich and Wrong, Heroes Hang When Traitors Triumph, The Holy Book of Adolf Hitler, Heroes of the Reich, MY LAST TESTAMENT LET GOD JUDGE ME, ODYSSEY ADOLF HITLER, FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT SPEAK,MEGACAUST, Trotskys White Negroes, THE RED BRIGANDS,RANSACKING THE REICH,and DEATH OF A CITY. Aldinger lifted the receiver and my father's death was duly reported. , I asked him. These best-selling books are essential for the libraries of informed readers. He looked at his watch. by Dieter Zinke 01 Nov 2006, 14:22, Post Approaching the generals, they lifted their right arm as a greeting Herr Field Marshal said Burgdorf as he was making way for my father to come through the gate. Stationed in Riedlingen at the end of April, he deserted just before the French First Army entered the town. The master of the war of movement then developed an unusual inventiveness in the erection of coastal defense works. This is a carousel with slides. ", We helped my father into his leather coat. My respect to the memory of the field marshall. by Andor 30 Oct 2010, 12:06, Post With that in mind, Rommel opted to commit suicide, and explained his decision to his wife and son. Widow Frau Lucie-Marie Rommel (C) and son (CL), standing under her husband's portrait during the Rally in his honor. 'Yes,' he replied. Verify and try again. 'Do you believe it?' Try again later. He was taken to a hospital and then to his home in Germany The propaganda of the victors falsely claims that in 1944, Rommel wasimplicated in the20 July plotto assassinate Germanys twice-elected President-Chancellor Adolf Hitler. MICHAEL WALSHis an Irish British-born journalist. In February 1945, Rommel was dismissed from air force service and in March was conscripted into the paramilitary Reichsarbeitsdienst service. Change). [4] After a stint working as a lawyer, in 1956, Rommel entered the civil service and later became state secretary in the state government of Baden-Wrttemberg. He accompanies Hitler into the Sudetenland in October 1938 and then into Prague in March 1939. In 1943, Hitler charged Rommel to coordinatethe fortification of the Atlantic Wall along the French coast, the defensive line that the Germans wanted to use to repel the inevitable Allied invasion in Europe (which would take place in June 1944). In Nierstein, Germany, on Saturday, March 24, 2017, Catherine Rommel, left, the granddaughter of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and Helen Patton, the granddaughter of U.S. Army Gen. George Patton, welcome reenactors beside the Rhine River. Take a cyanide tablet, have your death reported as a heart attack, and get a state funeral. 5) Receive free newsletters by writing and subscribing [email protected]. Sure i know with whom Rommel was married: her name was Lucia Maria Mollin, she was born in Dirschau (East Prussia) in 1894 (6.6.1894) and she met Rommel during his on the "Danziger Kriegsschule". There are no volunteers for this cemetery. 'That doesn't matter now, Herr Field Marshal,' said Aldinger. They were respectful and courteous and asked They will also leave my staff alone.' 'I believe it. Infanterie greift an was Rommel's 1937 book, primarily concerned with his experiences in World War 1 in France, Romania and Italy. Walburga Stemmer (March 1892 October 1928) was a woman who had an affair with German field marshal Erwin Rommel and gave birth to his daughter, Gertrud Stemmer (later Mrs. Gertrud Pan), on 8 December 1913. CLICK TO VIEW, www.mikewalshwritingservices.wordpress.com, Tagged as: Allies, Army, battle, Nazi Germany, war crimes, World War One, World War Two. Post He was immediately carried to the hospital and then sent to Germany for medical treatment and recovery. If I accept, none of the usual steps will be taken against my family, that is against you. Her cause of death was given as pneumonia, though it is generally accepted that she probably committed suicide. Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? What happened to her and Manfred? Later we learned that the car had halted a few hundred yards up the hill from our house in an open space at the edge of the wood. 1944 German General Erwin Rommelaka "The Desert Fox"dies by suicide On October 14, 1944, German Gen. Erwin Rommel, nicknamed "the Desert Fox," is given the option of facing a public trial for. He wrote various political and humorous books. It is claimed by the Allies propagandists that Rommel was given a choice between committingsuicide, in return for assurances that his reputation would remain intact and that his family would not be persecuted following his death, or facing a trial that would result in his disgrace and execution; he chose the former and committed suicide using acyanide pill. Much of this article was first published as The Forced Suicide of Field Marshall Rommel, 1944, EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2002). Rommel, Erwin Johannes Eugen, born 15-11-1891, Bahnhofstrasse 5 in Heidenheim, Germany, the third of five children of Erwin Rommel Senior (1860-1913), a teacher and school administrator, and his wife Helene von Lutz , whose father headed the local government council. He wrote to Walburga, calling her his "little mouse". Gen Patton was visually upset to hear of his death. He was calm as he continued: 'To die by the hand of one's own people is hard. They will give me a state funeral. There is a problem with your email/password. Rommel collaborated with Basil Liddell-Hart in the publication of The Rommel Papers, a collection of diaries, letters and notes that his father wrote during and after his military campaigns. Aldinger lifted the receiver and my father's death was duly reported. [2] When World War I began only a few months after Gertrud's birth, Rommel arranged that in the event he was killed his life insurance would support Gertrud. When the driver was permitted to return ten minutes or so later, he saw my father sunk forward with his cap off and the marshal's baton fallen from his hand. Five minutes later Burgdorf gestured to the two men to return to the car, and Doose noticed that Rommel was slumped over, having taken the cyanide pill. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. For 36 years news of Bolshevik atrocities and 70 million martyred Christians were censored by Western media. by AlifRafikKhan 11 May 2014, 10:57, Return to The Dieter Zinke Axis Biographical Research Section. Suddenly he pulled out his wallet. When the invasion began, Rommel tried on several occasions to point out to Hitler that the war was lost and that he should come to terms with the western powers. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Death of a German Hero Rommel's son, Manfred, was 15 years old and served as part of an antiaircraft crew near his home. Rommel was such a masterful general that even his enemies couldn't help but respect him. From: http://www.channel4.com/history/microsi . Hart, B. H. Liddell, The Rommel Papers (1953); Manvell, Roger, Heinrich Fraenkel, The Men Who Tried to Kill Hitler (1964). she was 17 years old, when she and Rommel met each other. James Neville Mason ( / mesn /; 15 May 1909 - 27 July 1984) was an English actor. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, 52, was forced to commit suicide near the scenic village of Herrlingen on Oct. 14, 1944. His son Manfred regarded the expression as one of contempt. Oops, we were unable to send the email. By the way, I have been charged to put you under a promise of the strictest silence. Erwin Rommel was, for a time, Hitler's favorite general. which translates as: "The number of honours seems to be endless. Just little late he understood own mistake History will show he was respected by the allies and the German people.