How do today's Germans* view Rommel?

[dead0man]

*and everybody else for that matter.

He's the rare bird.  A military leader that is and was well respected by his enemies.  Even to this day Rommel is well liked (or at least well respected) in the US.  How is he viewed in Germany?  What about the UK or France?

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I've never known Americans to have any opinion of him. I should go ask my friends at school tomorrow.

[minionofmidas]

He has name rec. More name rec than any other German WWII General except Paulus.
His son was for ages the mayor of Stuttgart, that more than anything (well, and the feedback from being known to Anglo-Saxons, thanks to Cultural Imperialism ) kept the family in the public eye. The name also crops up in discussions (mostly ones in a positive light) of the 44 coupists. Despite the fact that, really, everybody knows that Rommel wasn't one of them and was a victim of Hitler's paranoia.
His military victories didn't really mean sh!t - least relevant theater of the war in the West. The British were infinitely worried about the Suez Canal of course (and India beyond it), but I think everybody now knows how inane that age-old obsession was.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

He has name rec. More name rec than any other German WWII General except Paulus.
His son was for ages the mayor of Stuttgart, that more than anything (well, and the feedback from being known to Anglo-Saxons, thanks to Cultural Imperialism ) kept the family in the public eye. The name also crops up in discussions (mostly ones in a positive light) of the 44 coupists. Despite the fact that, really, everybody knows that Rommel wasn't one of them and was a victim of Hitler's paranoia.
His military victories didn't really mean sh!t - least relevant theater of the war in the West. The British were infinitely worried about the Suez Canal of course (and India beyond it), but I think everybody now knows how inane that age-old obsession was.

You're not a fan of the "Hitler's biggest mistake was not trying to take the Middle East-North Africa and securing raw materials before invading Russia" theory then?

[minionofmidas]

He has name rec. More name rec than any other German WWII General except Paulus.
His son was for ages the mayor of Stuttgart, that more than anything (well, and the feedback from being known to Anglo-Saxons, thanks to Cultural Imperialism ) kept the family in the public eye. The name also crops up in discussions (mostly ones in a positive light) of the 44 coupists. Despite the fact that, really, everybody knows that Rommel wasn't one of them and was a victim of Hitler's paranoia.
His military victories didn't really mean sh!t - least relevant theater of the war in the West. The British were infinitely worried about the Suez Canal of course (and India beyond it), but I think everybody now knows how inane that age-old obsession was.

You're not a fan of the "Hitler's biggest mistake was not trying to take the Middle East-North Africa and securing raw materials before invading Russia" theory then?

Hitler's biggest mistake was not getting himself killed on the Western Front in 1914. At least his surviving family would have only found memories of him that way.

[dead0man]

He has name rec. More name rec than any other German WWII General except Paulus.

Slight hijack, how is Paulus viewed in Germany today?  He is virtually unkown in the US.

[minionofmidas]

He has name rec. More name rec than any other German WWII General except Paulus.

Slight hijack, how is Paulus viewed in Germany today?  He is virtually unkown in the US.

Not "viewed" as such... he's just the guy who lost the war's decisive battle (as in, if you force yourself to pick one, however unfair it is to pick just one, this is the default pick. Although the siege of Leningrad might give it a run for its money). And lost it epically. Hence the name rec.

[dead0man]

Ahhh, so he is your Custer?



(yes I know the analogy doesn't fit perfectly.  Custer just lost a small skirmish, whereas Paulus lost the bloodiest battle ever fought and quite possibly the war.  But they are both well known (in their home country) as losers.)

[minionofmidas]

Ahhh, so he is your Custer?



(yes I know the analogy doesn't fit perfectly.  Custer just lost a small skirmish, whereas Paulus lost the bloodiest battle ever fought and quite possibly the war.  But they are both well known (in their home country) as losers.)

And Custer was a popstar. But yeah, there's some truth to your analogy.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

He has name rec. More name rec than any other German WWII General except Paulus.
His son was for ages the mayor of Stuttgart, that more than anything (well, and the feedback from being known to Anglo-Saxons, thanks to Cultural Imperialism ) kept the family in the public eye. The name also crops up in discussions (mostly ones in a positive light) of the 44 coupists. Despite the fact that, really, everybody knows that Rommel wasn't one of them and was a victim of Hitler's paranoia.
His military victories didn't really mean sh!t - least relevant theater of the war in the West. The British were infinitely worried about the Suez Canal of course (and India beyond it), but I think everybody now knows how inane that age-old obsession was.

You're not a fan of the "Hitler's biggest mistake was not trying to take the Middle East-North Africa and securing raw materials before invading Russia" theory then?

Hitler's biggest mistake was not getting himself killed on the Western Front in 1914. At least his surviving family would have only found memories of him that way.

Aaaah.. I knew I should have worded that better. Damn you Germans and your inane taking-words-out-of-context-isms. (Yes, Yes, I too reserve the right to get annoyed about meaningless things).

[afleitch]

My Papa was a 'Desert Rat' in the Eighth Army in North Africa. He retained a grudging respect for Rommel even when gunning his men down. North Africa, strategy wise was one of the great theatres of war.

[GMantis]

North Africa, strategy wise was one of the great theatres of war.

Sorry, but it was a pointless distraction.

[Silent Hunter]

North Africa, strategy wise was one of the great theatres of war.

Sorry, but it was a pointless distraction.

Going to have to disagree there. It led directly to the Italy campaign, which removed Mussolini from the war and stretched Germany even further.

It was also the first major US intervention on the European theatre.

[ilikeverin]

My Papa was a 'Desert Rat' in the Eighth Army in North Africa. He retained a grudging respect for Rommel even when gunning his men down. North Africa, strategy wise was one of the great theatres of war.

My grandpa served in North Africa too, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.  I think he got a Purple Heart.

[minionofmidas]

The Italian invasion itself was - not exactly a pointless distraction, but rather a well-planned distraction. It was, in essence, the First Act of the Cold War. The whole point of it was to postpone D-Day to 1944 and bled Russia to pieces.
Mussolini was irrelevant by 1943.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Rommel was like Custer, in that both were common thugs.

[GMantis]

North Africa, strategy wise was one of the great theatres of war.

Sorry, but it was a pointless distraction.

Going to have to disagree there. It led directly to the Italy campaign, which removed Mussolini from the war and stretched Germany even further.

It was also the first major US intervention on the European theatre.

An earlier Overlord would have stretched Germany even more. All the Italian campaign accomplished was to defeat the German armies in Italy a week before the German surrender. This forces would have been far more effective if they were landed in France in 1943. Remember that the building of the major fortification on the Atlantic coast didn't start until November 1943.