There was a notion during WWII that Rommel was the "good" German (not really ideologically a Nazi, possibly unaware of the Holocaust, died after a failed coup against Hitler). Is this still consistent with what we know of the man?

There are many books out there about Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Many are about the man and his acts of heroism on the battlefield, and many in recent years have come out to assess his involvement and relationship with the Heer (Army) Officer lead Resistance, and with Operation Valkyrie (the July 20, 1944 failed plot to blow up Hitler, and for the Reserve Army to take control of Berlin). His death is ultimately attributed to him taking his own life, thus sparing his family and his name dishonor. But as you’ve stated, how much did Rommel know, and how involved was he in the July 20 plot? As you’ve pointed out in your question, he is regarded as the “Good German”. During his tenure as the Afrika Korps commander his units never partook in the Holocaust, or any random acts of POW or civilian massacres. Rommel was the epitome of the consummate professional officer. Prior to the Nazification of the Wehrmacht (Military) after the July 20, 1944 Assassination Attempts, the German Army was strictly to not partake in any politics. They were simply to do their duty for their country and people – regardless of who lead the country. However, after the July 20 Plot, the German Army had to swear personal oaths to Hitler, and had to give the Nazi “Sieg Heil” Salute, rather than the Military Salute, and Nazi Political Officers were assigned to units and gave lectures on Nazism to the troops. As an aside, ironically, this is largely how the Red Army was prior to 1943, when Commosal and Political Officers were attached to units, and were instructed to look out for anti – Communist activity, and to teach the average Soviet soldier the history and political righteousness of Bolshevik Communism. So towards the end of the war it seems the German Military got far more political, whereas the Red Army became less political. So one needs to take all of that in to account. The German Army was founded on the Prussian Army ideals of being apolitical. A good obedient German soldier fought for his country, and his people, and not for any political movement. Rommel from what I have read was the personification of this Professional General Officer.

From what I have read, and from my own conclusions, Rommel knew of the plotters and resistance, but tried turning a blind eye to it. He kept it under wraps. He did not overtly partake in it. Although he personally was not a fan of Hitler’s, he was also the consummate professional Army Officer who was Apolitical. However, his being moved to France to command the defense of the Atlantic and Channel Coast, in some regards can be seen as promotion, but in other ways can be seen as being shelved. I know Rommel personally wanted to be given command of Italy (He was eying Field Marshal Kesselring’s positon. But Kesselring got the overall command on Italy), and the fighting there. He was a very offense driven General, much like the U.S.A.’s General George Patton, but instead was given his Field Marshal rank, but at the cost of being an Offensive commander, but rather a Defensive one. This denotes that Rommel pissed someone off at the top, but was given this command as a way to placate his supporters, and as a kind of second chance.

However, even as commander of Army Group B, Rommel still had to follow OKW (Military High Command) procedures; one of which was holding armored units in reserve near Paris, instead of stationing them closer to the Channel defenses – which Rommel was thoroughly against (and would ultimately be proven correct in June 1944). He was told to strengthen the Atlantic Wall Defenses, so he did the best he could in a limited time. Anyway, I am going on a tangent (I mean who doesn’t like talking about Rommel?) the main theses to support the claim that Rommel was directly involved with the July 20 Plot is mostly circumstantial, but could be true. Rommel was closely associated with many of the high ranking officers involved in the conspiracy, including General Carl Heinrich von Stülpnagel (the German commander of Occupied France). Stülpnagel was an overt Francophile and was one of the forerunners of the Conspiracy, but in France and not directly connected to the Stauffenberg Conspirators (the ones who blew up Hitler in his Wolf’s Lair, and commanded the takeover of Berlin – all failing). He oversaw the Army’s takeover in Paris, and arrest of SS and Gestapo officials. However, when the plot to kill Hitler failed, Stülpnagel was ordered to release his prisoners. There are many other circumstantial ties that support the thesis that Rommel was overtly connected to the conspiracy against Hitler. Many officers after the war said that Rommel tried connecting them with other conspirators and wasn’t opposed to Hitler being removed, but feared that if he was killed it would intensify Nazi support and bring more suffering to the German people. Rommel wanted Hitler arrested and tried, but not killed.

Rommel was severely wounded a few days before the attempt on Hitler, when an allied plane strafed his car. Rommel returned to Germany to recover from his wounds and rest. Many of Rommel’s military opponents and detractors submitted various forms of evidence to the Gestapo and SS to prove that Rommel was involved with conspiracy. Over the course of a few months information, evidence and statements were gathered. Rommel was given two options, go to court (which he would have lost) or save his family and his honor and take his life. On October 14, 1944 SS forces surrounded Rommel’s home, and village. Rommel was taken by car to the outskirts of town, where he took his own life by biting in to a cyanide capsule.

Most of the evidence about Rommel’s support of the conspiracy against Hitler, which got him convicted, came from ardent Nazis sympathizers who for various reasons detested or we jealous of Rommel. Most of the post – War evidence to support Rommel’s involvement with the conspiracy came from his wife, his son, and other people that were close to him. In both cases, the sources were biased and had something to gain. So trying to look at the evidence impartial is difficult. There is no concrete evidence to suggest Rommel’s involvement, no sworn and signed statements by him, no planting of bombs, no arresting SS and Gestapo forces etc… but there is a ton of circumstantial evidence. So I agree with many Historians on the matter. I believe Rommel was aware of the Conspiracy, and gave it his blessing, but because of his careerist Army upbringing he tried to stay apolitical, even when he outright disagreed with Hitler and the Nazis. He did want to save German lives and wanted to bring a faster and more favorable end to the war (he even wrote a personal letter to Hitler requesting a partial surrender to the Western Allies, so that it could free up German units to fight thereal war, the one against the Soviet Union), but he also had to remain professional and to a degree, loyal. I don’t think Rommel was outright involved with the daily plannings of the plot to kill Hitler, but he knew of them and turned a blind eye. In a way he was playing both sides, and straddling the fence. On one hand he hoped the plotters would succeed, but in case they did not succeed he did not want to get involved and get his hands dirty. In the end, at least for Rommel, his fait was tied to the Conspirators, and his death was a direct result of that.