Stephen Pokowitz

11/2/14
The Death of Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel was the most successful Nazi General during World War Two. He was
born on November 15, 1891 in the German Empire. He commanded the German forces during
the invasion of France and effectively and ingeniously disrupted and won the war in Africa with
low resources. He accomplished this through his high leadership skills, most importantly being
able to motivate his troops and increase morale among his men. The Afrika Korps were the only
German unit not to be accused of war crimes and all of his prisoners were treated humanely, the
orders to execute Jewish soldiers and civilians were ignored. After his Afrika Korps suffered their
ultimate defeat due to lack of resources against Patton in North Africa he was reassigned to
defend the French coast against the unavoidable invasion of Europe by the Allies. He was
considered a hero of the German people and was very well liked.
After his return from Africa Rommel became disillusioned with the German cause after
seeing the concentration camps, POW camps, and the destruction caused by the allied
bombing. The morale of the German people was at its lowest point and he thought that the war
was unwinnable something that he expressed to many people.
While driving back from the German headquarters at Sepp Dietrich his car was strafed
by an RAF fighter and Rommel was seriously injured as he was thrown from the car after it
crashed into a tree, he suffered multiple lacerations to the head and a fractured skull. This would
be later used as the reason for his death.
During late July 1944 a bomb was set off in Hitlers headquarters in an attempt to
assassinate him. It was later revealed after brutal interrogation of those who were involved that
Rommel was a willing participant in the conspiracy against Hitler and he had helped plan a coup
d'etat against the Nazi controlled government. He would be put in charge of the military and

would be responsible for securing Germany and negotiating peace with the Allied Forces. He
was put under house arrest immediately after the incident.
The proceedings for others involved in the conspiracy would be the immediate expulsion
of them from the Army and that the be put on trial in the Peoples Court, a kangaroo court that
always went in favor of the prosecution, basically a death sentence. Because of Rommels
popularity with the people Hitler knew that executing Rommel would be a severe blow to an
already poor morale among the German people. He gave Rommel and option, either commit
suicide or be put on trial. He was notified that if put on trial his entire staff and family would be
executed as well.
As reported by his, and his sons journal Rommel called his family together and told him
of his decision to commit suicide instead of the trial. His decision was based solely on his love
for his family and the respect he had for his staff, either way it was a death sentence but
Rommel chose to save the ones he loved instead of trying to stick it to the High Command of
Germany. He was not depressed and did not use drugs but did think the war was unwinnable
which led him to be involved with the July 20th plot and his eventual death.
On the morning of October 14, 1944 Erwin Rommel said his last goodbyes to his family
and was escorted out the door by two other German generals. He got in a waiting car and drove
a couple hundred yards up the road from his house. The other two generals left and when they
came back he was slumped over in his seat, he had killed himself using a cyanide pill, he was
52 years old.
After his suicide it was reported that he had succumbed to his wounds after the strafing
attack. He died a German hero and had a massive military funeral in his home town. Hitler had
prevented a humongous crisis with one fatal swoop but could not last against an unrelenting
allied attack especially after losing his most competent General and in April of 1945 Hitler
committed suicide after the Soviets began the invasion of Berlin.

Erwin Rommel was respected by both sides and every year after his death members of
his army and of opposing armies visited his grave to pay their respects. It was only revealed
about what really happened after the allies interviewed his widow after the war. His and his
sons journals were published in a book called The Rommel Papers describing the exact
circumstances of his death.

Citations
Eyewitness to History. "The Forced Suicide of Field Marshall Rommel, 1944." The Forced
Suicide of Field Marshall Rommel, 1944. Eyewitness to History, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2014
Hart, B. H. Liddell, The Rommel Papers (1953); Manvell, Roger, Heinrich Fraenkel, The Men
Who Tried to Kill Hitler (1964).
Martin Blumenson, "Field Marshal Erwin Rommel," In Hitler's Generals. Edited by Corell Barnett.
New York: Grove Weidenfeld, pp.293-316.