Description:

Rommel Erwin

Erwin Rommel “Desert Fox” Forwards a Letter to Junior Officer

 

In this office correspondence, General Rommel transmits a letter to a subordinate officer. After initialing the note, he adds the routine, but chilling, “Heil Hitler” to the close. It is an ironic postscript, since its author was involved in the July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, participation which led to his suicide three months later to avoid the persecution of his family and staff.

 

ERWIN ROMMEL, Autograph Letter Initialed, to Efons [Verlung?], n.d. In German. 1 p., 5.75" x 7.25".  Expected folds, paper clip indentation, rust residue on verso, very good.

 

Complete Translation:

 

To

 

Efons [Verlung?]

 

Please forward enclosed letter to 1st Lt. [Iffrungke?] to his attention and ask him to forward it to 1st Lt. J. whose address is presently not known.

 

E. R.

 

Heil Hitler

 

Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) was born in southern Germany and joined a local infantry regiment in 1910. During World War I, Rommel fought in France, Romania, and Italy, and gained promotion to captain. He remained in the army between the wars and became an instructor and author of military manuals. In 1937, Hitler placed Rommel in charge of military training for Hitler Youth. The following year, he became second in command of Hitler’s escort battalion that traveled with him outside of Germany. In 1939, Rommel advanced to commander of the battalion and guarded Hitler during the invasion of Poland. In 1940, Hitler placed Rommel in command of a panzer (tank) division, with which he boldly invaded France, gaining victories by bold and rapid movements. In February 1941, Rommel took command of the Deutsches Afrika Korps in Libya. His actions in the Western Desert Campaign earned him the nickname the “Desert Fox” from British journalists. Although the German high command urged a defensive strategy, Hitler encouraged Rommel to advance. He pressed Allied forces back to El Alamein in Egypt before dwindling forces and lack of supplies caused him to withdraw. He left Africa in March 1943, and Hitler placed him in command of Army Group B in July after the overthrow of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. In November Hitler moved Rommel and Army Group B to Normandy in France to defend the coast against an expected Allied invasion. After the Normandy invasion on D-Day 1944, Rommel hoped to counterattack when Allied forces were far enough from the coast to lose the support of Allied naval fire. In mid-July, an allied fighter strafed Rommel’s car, causing a crash that fractured Rommel’s skull. Three days later, German officers, likely with Rommel’s support, attempted to assassinate Hitler. When the plot failed, Hitler’s reprisal was swift, and he offered Rommel the opportunity to commit suicide rather than executing the popular war hero. Rommel committed suicide by cyanide capsule in exchange for a promise that his family and staff would not be persecuted. The public story of his death was that he had died of a heart attack or an embolism caused by the strafing attack, and he received a state funeral.

 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

 

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