The paradoxical history of an exceptional soldier enlisted in the
service of a criminal regime
Few modern military commanders have caught the public’s imagination
as much as Erwin Rommel, the panzer leader who constantly led from the front,
achieving breathtaking success in France and North
Africa. More than sixty years after his death, Rommel still
personifies the exemplary ideal of the German soldier, a figure who not only
inspires respect for his mastery of warfare but for his reticent relationship
with the Nazi regime.
In this book, however, Benoît Lemay sheds new light on the man. Based
on new research and the discovery of Rommel’s private correspondence, Lemay places in question this legendary figure’s
relationship with the Nazi regime. Contrary to the accepted belief that Rommel
held serious reservations toward Hitler, Lemay
instead asserts that the "Desert Fox" was in reality a dedicated partisan of the
Führer, to whom he remained loyal until the very end. While Rommel’s fame and
image is in part due to Nazi propaganda, which made of him a "god of war" and a
"son of the people," the British also did their part by hailing him as a "great
general," in part to excuse their repeated defeats in North
Africa.
Relying upon international sources, Lemay provides a balanced portrait, discussing both
Rommel’s immediate post-war idolisation and the later interpretations
excoriating him. The final irony of Rommel’s life was that he committed suicide
after Hitler discovered that the German Resistance had hoped to elevate him as
the new leader of the Reich, not realising that Rommel himself remained loyal to
his Führer.
