Yeah, maybe in the 1950s if he got into party politics like Manteuffel, but I doubt Rommel would do that after the Bundeswehr was formed; his heart was with the military and so long as he were allowed he angle for a role there. I don't know if the world would be willing to see that happen, but assuming he was being a good boy and cooperating with the various post-war Wallied projects he could perhaps even be the inspector general at some point.
Since he wasn't really anti-semitic and refused to carry out orders to harm Jewish PoWs and civilians I'd guess they'd tolerate him as much as they could any officer who served in the Wehrmacht who had been cleared of war crimes. Probably a lot would depend on what sort of statements/actions he made toward reconciliation after the war with Israel; his son was involved in that effort IOTL, so it is possible the father would also be inclined in that direction. It would be interesting to see Rommel liaising with the IDF and former Jewish Bridge personnel.How would Rommel relationship with the jews and isreal be like?
How pissed would Monty be if Rommel were made NATO commander?Speidel his Chief of Staff managed to make NATO ground force commander in Europe in the 50s on the back of name recognizion of being Rommel’s Chief of Staff. There would be military slots if he wanted open for him certainly.
The mid to late 40s would probably be a lot of world trips to Australia, South Africa, Canada, America, Britain and on and on to promote national post war reconciliation given he was popular during the war in these places and to tell war stories.
I actually have the "Rommel papers", better to have a glass half full than nothing at all. I can only dream of the types of books he would write. Imagine Rommel, Guderian, List and some Panzer commanders/Panzer Grenadier commanders writing a book on warfare on the eastern front. It would be like these books below only multiplied by 1000.
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And there is A LOT more from where that came from...
That would be the ideal. Judging from what was actually written by Guderian, Manstein, Bradley, Wediermyer, Churchill & many others the common result is a self serving & haphazardly researched memoir, lacking in critical thinking or deep analysis. Even the few like Eisenhower, with a fairly well developed self awareness are not much superior in their historical writing to the academics.
Since he wasn't really anti-semitic and refused to carry out orders to harm Jewish PoWs and civilians I'd guess they'd tolerate him as much as they could any officer who served in the Wehrmacht who had been cleared of war crimes. Probably a lot would depend on what sort of statements/actions he made toward reconciliation after the war with Israel; his son was involved in that effort IOTL, so it is possible the father would also be inclined in that direction. It would be interesting to see Rommel liaising with the IDF and former Jewish Bridge personnel.
How pissed would Monty be if Rommel were made NATO commander?
Monty was in his late 60s when this would have happened and was effectively 'semi retired' and had been working as Ikes Deputy in forming NATO until his retirement.
I suspect that like other 'clean' senior WW2 German Generals like Manstien he would be allowed to look, talk about but not touch.
As for being pissed - well he did become freinds with Rommels family and their sons (and Pattons son for that matter) became freinds after the war - so it is possible that he might have become freinds with Rommel had he lived (at worst they would have swapped notes on when they went head to head)
So given his age I suspect that, apart from his normal lack of bedside manner, he would not be pissed as he was too old for the job anyway
IIRC that is addressed in the Rommel Papers.In relation to Africa, it will be intriguing to see Rommel's perspective on how he managed his military operations through that horrible supply line and the small width of land he had to defeat his opponents with the desert to his right.
Monty seemed to have a soft spot for kids, so his behavior toward Rommel's son would have been different than with a 'peer'. I've recently heard a pretty well support theory that Monty had Aspbergers and his abrasive nature might have simply been a function of impaired social skills and not realizing how he was coming off to others; even if he was too old for the job if he thought Rommel undeserving he might well have strenuously objected to an opponent he had defeated getting the position regardless of whether he, Monty, was eligible for the job.Monty was in his late 60s when this would have happened and was effectively 'semi retired' and had been working as Ikes Deputy in forming NATO until his retirement.
I suspect that like other 'clean' senior WW2 German Generals like Manstien he would be allowed to look, talk about but not touch.
As for being pissed - well he did become freinds with Rommels family and their sons (and Pattons son for that matter) became freinds after the war - so it is possible that he might have become freinds with Rommel had he lived (at worst they would have swapped notes on when they went head to head)
So given his age I suspect that, apart from his normal lack of bedside manner, he would not be pissed as he was too old for the job anyway
I did not know that, very surprising. Military commanders are not academia compatible. ... In relation to Africa, it will be intriguing to see Rommel's perspective on how he managed his military operations through that horrible supply line and the small width of land he had to defeat his opponents with the desert to his right.
IIRC that is addressed in the Rommel Papers.
I suspect that like other 'clean' senior WW2 German Generals like Manstien he would be allowed to look, talk about but not touch.
His order of 20 November 1941, based on the Severity Order of Reichenau, reads in part:
Jewish Bolshevik system must be wiped out once and for all and should never again be allowed to invade our European living space ... It is the same Jewish class of beings who have done so much damage to our own Fatherland by virtue of their activities against the nation and civilisation, and who promote anti-German tendencies throughout the world, and who will be the harbingers of revenge. Their extermination is a dictate of our own survival.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_von_Manstein
Manstein, along with most of his staff, should have been hanged for war crimes.
IIRC that is addressed in the Rommel Papers.
Monty seemed to have a soft spot for kids, so his behavior toward Rommel's son would have been different than with a 'peer'. I've recently heard a pretty well support theory that Monty had Aspbergers and his abrasive nature might have simply been a function of impaired social skills and not realizing how he was coming off to others; even if he was too old for the job if he thought Rommel undeserving he might well have strenuously objected to an opponent he had defeated getting the position regardless of whether he, Monty, was eligible for the job.
IIRC that is addressed in the Rommel Papers.
Monty seemed to have a soft spot for kids, so his behavior toward Rommel's son would have been different than with a 'peer'. I've recently heard a pretty well support theory that Monty had Aspbergers and his abrasive nature might have simply been a function of impaired social skills and not realizing how he was coming off to others; even if he was too old for the job if he thought Rommel undeserving he might well have strenuously objected to an opponent he had defeated getting the position regardless of whether he, Monty, was eligible for the job.
Beevor and a few others. Wasn't aware that Bungay wrote an Alamein book. Aspergers is on the autism spectrum, the separate classification originally was apparently from Asperger himself trying to save children diagnosed with it from being exterminated by Hitler's T-4 program, which included people with autism.I think Bungay suggested the Aspergers thing in his El Alemain book IIRC and I would not be suprised (Monty on the other hand was apparently suprised by some peoples 'negative' reactions when told they were rubbish at their jobs) - I have also wondered if he was borderline Autistic? (Disclaimer: I'm not an expert) - but again Rommel would not be getting the job much before the late 50s where he of course was also quite old at the time (4 years Montys junior and would be in his 60s at the time) - so he also might very well be too old but also but might have been retained in an advisory capacity again like Manstien.
He did react badly when Uncle Bill was made CIGS instead of Sir John Crocker (Personally I think Slim was the best Allied General of WW2 and therefore the best choice) after Montys time in the position had finished. So I can also see him reacting badly in some circumstances - but I do not see Rommel getting the position anyway!
My comment was aimed at the auto biographies and related broad analysis books. The autobiographies are extremely useful, but one has to take everything with a grain of salt, and do some fact checking before citing from them. Even where these guys hire professional ghost writers the cross checking of critical dates & numbers ins typically weak. One example is the claim by Guderian that Manstein consulted him on the use of armored divisions & corps, when writing what is labeled the 'Manstein Plan' for the November 1939 Zossen wargames. Guderians account indicates at least a hour of discussion on the subject and how such forces would be used best in a army group attacking through the Ardennes region. Mansteins writing is supposed to contain no reference to this, I cant recall such a refrence. If anyone has actually seen it in his actual accounts please let me know. Supposedly Manstein denied Guderians claim in a interview. This is a example of the sort of 'remembered' events autobiographies and eyewitness accounts are littered with.
The Rommel Papers like Pattons 'The War As I Knew it' are efforts by others to create something of the campaign or battle analysis. In those two cases the materials were very weak. Both are mostly diary entries bits from letter, and random notes the pair left with their families. At the opposite end of the spectrum would be Krugers account of the 6th Armys campaigns in the Pacific. Kruger included so little of his personal views & decisions that the book reads like a straight forward chronology of the 6th Armys operations, lifted straight from its logbooks. One has to read closely to see any analysis or critical thinking.