I just saw this movie for the first time and was really moved by the sacrifices made by Rommel. Sure, he fought for the enemy Axis Powers but he was also a gentleman and cared for his soldiers. He was the "Desert Fox" and was revered by Germans, English and others. Hitler, once again, proved that he was a true idiot by not following the advice of an astute war hero like Rommel.
shareYe, I quite agree. The film was great and James Mason proves once again what a brilliant actor he is.
shareI also agree,Rommel was a honorable man
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Squeeth, do you have any reliable sources to back up your statement that he was an "out and out nazi". Everything I have ever read (the latest being the 1948 Readers Digest article by countess Waldeck that states he never joined the party, and that he was never given the Nazi party symbol to wear on his uniform)
"We're going to need a bigger boat..."
David Irving wrote a book about Rommel and in the book, Rommel thought about joining the Waffen SS because they had better equipment and wore a nicer looking uniform. When Rommel asks his father, his father gave Rommel a verbal thrashing about how the Rommel family always wore the Army uniform, and it was going to stay that way. Rommenl back down from joining the Waffen SS after his talk with his father.
shareUm, you mean Manfred Rommel. The man Rommel was already a fully accomplished army general at that stage. He never though of joining the SS nor did he want his son to.
STOP THE VIOLENCE
David Irving is a fairly notorious British Holocaust denier, which basically makes him a shoddy historian. His writings should be taken with at least a grain of salt.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
-- Klingon proverb
so why didn't he act like a nazi when he was invading poland and france, and the nazis were basically on top of everything? ie., why did he refuse to deport the jewish population of france when hitler ordered him to? here's why: he was in no way an 'out and out' ideological nazi, as you say. you couldn't be any further from the truth.
baby can you dig your man?
he's a righteous man.
Rommel was never a member of the Nazi party. He apparently DID support the regime, not for ideological reasons, but as a good professional soldier does. He was patently not political.
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Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves?
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Yes indeed it was a moving film, especially the ending. What do you think of that? I've seen people moved to tears by it.
shareRommel was not without his flaws. The Italians revile him because he deliberately sacrificed them to the British in North Africa to save his own men. He felt they deserved it because they were such cowards. He had no respect for the Americans and called them "Britain's Italians" until Patton's forces defeated his Afrika Korps forces. He had left on sick leave, not thinking they were any threat to his vaunted forces.
Some Germans revile him as a traitor who stabbed his country in the back when it needed him most. Many German generals, although not Nazis, were perfectly willing to follow Hitler until Germany started losing. Then they looked to save their own necks. It goes without saying that many others had sincerely opposed him from the beginning. Rommel enjoyed his favor until 1942, when he finally realized he had been following a madman. To his credit, as an honorable officer he did not want to assassinate Hitler. He wanted to arrest him and his henchmen and negotiate with the Western Allies. Like most of the other plotters, he feared the vengeance of the Russians.
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