Rommel aka “Desert Fox” The man best known as the Desert Fox was born 15 November 1891 to parents Erwin Rommel Senior and Helen von Lutz who named their son Erwin Johannes Eugene Rommel. Rommel’s family was not a military one, his father like his father before him were teachers while his mother was the daughter of a high ranking government official. (Kurowski 2010) It is not known why a man with no military family connections would be led to join the army but I believe that he was influenced by the growing Nationalism in Germany at the time. He became an officer cadet in 1910 with the124th Wurttemberg Infantry Regiment where he was commissioned a Leutnant in 1911. After his commission he would go on to marry Lucia Mollin on 27 November 1916, they would later have a son whom they named Manfred Rommel. It is rumored that he had a daughter born in 1913 named Gertrud Stemmler from a relationship with Walburga Stemmer which was before his marriage. (History.com n.d.) Who could have guessed that 33 years later he would hold the rank of Generalfeldmarschall and be one of the most famous battlefield leaders of the Second World War. One can only wonder about the path that led a son of a teacher from the world of academia to the battlefields of World War I. His first unit that he fought with in WWI was the 6th Wurttemberg Regiment but soon transferred into the Wurttemberg Mountain Battalion of the elite Alpenkorp which was known for its adaptability which enabled the unit to meet the
The First World War is sometimes described as the gentleman's war. All those giving orders and directing combat were high ranking officers who often did not set foot on the battlefield. Soldiers were encouraged to fight with honour and behave as gentlemen. These often resulted in more psychological torment. Men back home e.g. Yealland, the unsympathetic, practically abusive doctor clearly had no understanding at all of the soldiers' experiences, tormenting those who did not want to go back, who had mental breakdown and suffered with extreme guilt complexes because of the enormous pressure they were under.
In World War 1, Hitler volunteered for service in the Bavarian army, where he proved to be a dedicated courageous solider. After Germany’s defeat in 1918 he returned to Munich, where, in 1919 he joined the Nazi party. In 1921 he was elected party chairman with dictatorial powers. He soon became a key figure in Bavarian politics and by January 1933 he was appointed chancellor.
In 1913, at the outbreak of World War I, he volunteered to serve in the German army and been selected though he still an Austrian citizen. In World War I, he was twice decorated for bravery receiving the Iron Cross First Class the Black Wound Badge. At that time, he was the rank of corporal. When
Pascal Jean Daigle was one of countless soldiers that fought and died for Canada in the First World War, which spanned from July 28th, 1914 until November 11th, 1918. The First World War acted as a breaking point for the tremendous amount of tension building up in the European Union and was the first time that our global community came together and converged against one common enemy. This time of war brought many deaths and affected millions of people. While this war hurt so many, it showed the enemies of the Allied Forces that the Allies were not a force to be thought of lightly and that together countries are much stronger than when separated. World War one is commonly known for its bloody battlefields, the closest thing humans have seen to hell on earth. The fields were scattered with dead bodies, and behind every single body was a family praying that their father, husband, or brother would come home. In the year of 1915, when Pascal enlisted, conscription was not formally introduced by the government. But by the work of propaganda and pressure from society it was very common for a young man like Pascal to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Contrary to Pascal’s life at war and in training, his life previous to the World War was quite slow paced.
Heinrich Himmler was born October 7, 1900; He was a German politician, police administration, and military commander. He grew up in a comfortable and conservative Roman Catholic and middle class family. Himmler got his high school degree and got his degree in agriculture at the institute at the Institute of Technology in Munch. He was married to Margerete Boden and he had one daughter. Growing up he had suffered from health problems, including lung infections, typhoid fever and chronic gastrointestinal ailments.
In All Quiet on the Western Front author and World War I veteran Erich Maria Remarque tells the story of a young soldier named Paul Bäumer who enlists in the German army with a group of his classmates. In the novel the reader comes discover the many horrors that Paul has to endure during his service before his untimely death in October 1918, only weeks before the war ended. The events that happen in the novel to Paul and his friends in his company during the war are very similar, if not identical, to what the German soldiers had to endure while World War I raged on in the real world. The way that the novel portrays the soldiers’ rations and reliance on food, their life on the front and in camp, how the young soldiers’ lives were destroyed before they even began, how the older generations pushed the younger ones to enlist, the death of soldiers in battle, and the refusal to surrender matches almost perfectly to how things were during World War I, particularly for the German soldiers.
From the earliest times, war has existed as a painful reality. Stories are passed down from generation to generation about brave men fighting epic battles in ancient civilizations. Occasionally a different type of legend emerges: the homefront hero. Leaders in Ancient Greece and Rome are documented preventing panic and raising supplies for their distant armies. From then on through history, those left behind, from the leaders of countries tested in resolve and commitment by wars to the ordinary citizens who rise above their routines to serve their countries, are powerful forces behind victories. World War II was no exception. While the soldiers abroad were undoubtedly true heroes of the war, the parents, siblings, and children they left behind also assisted in the war effort. No one remained truly unaffected by the war. Without the labors of women, the efforts of schoolchildren, and the institution of rationing, World War II could not have been won.
Erwin Rommel was born on November 15, 1981 into a simple middle-class southern German family. Erwin Rommel would enter into military service during 1910 as an officer cadet. He saw his first action in World War I where he began to show his natural ability as a leader and start his illustrious career, which peaks during World War II. Erwin Rommel would find himself revered and respected by Hitler as one of his top generals. He would die before the defeat of Germany on October 15, 1944 and his death would be shrouded in controversy. During his military career he established that he was an excellent tactician and respected by his troops and even his enemies.
The Great War, also known as World War I, is a defining moment in Europe’s history. Its aftermath consists of the demolition of Germany’s economy, the rise of Adolf Hitler, and the loss of an entire generation of young men who were sent into combat. All Quiet on the Western Front chronicles the experiences of Paul Baumer, a 19-year old student who volunteers for the military during World War I along with his classmates Muller and Kropp. They are compelled to enlist by Kantorek, their fiercely patriotic but misguided schoolmaster. Paul’s life in the military is told in short entries that reveal the reality of war: horrifying battles, violence, alienation, emotional indifference. His accounts of war are personal and emotional, and the bleak tone
In the opening chapter, Paul Baumer, the narrator, recalls how schoolteachers, such as his own, persuaded their bright-eyed students to put on the German colors. Paul’s teacher, Kantorek, taught his students the importance of the war as he instilled in them the values of nationalism and patriotism. Everyday, he sprouted war propaganda at them in “long lectures” (Remarque 11). He glamorized the war telling his students that they were “the Iron Youth” (Remarque 18) and that “duty to one’s country is the greatest thing” (Remarque 13). Consequently, his students left class enlisted in the war one by one “until the whole of the class went” (Remarque 11). When the students left the comforts of home to volunteer for the war, they valued their country above all else and were prepared to face their own death as doing so lined up with what they believed in.
In the opening remarks of the first chapter, Ernst Junger describes the idealistic origins of many of the soldiers called to action. Most of the soldiers drafted into the war were students and factory workers, all of whom lived a fairly sheltered life beforehand. Being drafted was seen as the adventure of a lifetime. They “shared a yearning for danger, for the experience of the extraordinary.” Much like his comrades, Junger had the same sense of adventure, seeing the war as merely a new challenge to conquer. After his first real experience with war however, his enthusiasm is quickly dashed. The harsh reality set in that this war was not, in fact, an adventure. Junger and the former schoolboys and craftsmen quickly learned that life in the trenches was a challenge of endurance. As the war persists, reality slowly sets in and Junger learns the true violent nature of the war and the constant threat of imminent danger through which he must persevere. Ernst Junger’s accounts in the memoir Storm of Steel show the reality of a soldier in World War I and the taxation of enduring such great trauma.
Friederichshafen, but his father, an ex-artillery officer, advised him to go to the army instead. In July, 1910, Rommel became a cadet with the 124th Wurttemberg Infantry Regiment in the 26th Infantry Division of the German Imperial Infantry. He served as cadet in the Army until
The movie “All Quiet on the Western Front” can provide us with a lot of insight about the soldiers experience in World War I. The movie and what we learned in class can help us out with this. In the movie there were a lot of kids and just by looking at their face you could tell what they were thinking. Some of them were very scared of what might happen to them, some of them were determined to come home well and alive, and some of them looked excited to be serving the Fatherland and doing their duty. Back in Germany they told the students over and over that it was their duty to fight in the war and that is what men do in Germany. They were told they were serving the Fatherland and bringing glory back to
(United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) For a short period of time, he served for the Eleventh Bavarian Regiment as an officer cadet, although he did not experience any combat due to the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty, which ended World War I. (Jewish Virtual Library) After the signing of the treaty, Himmler’s hope of becoming a soldier was shattered, so he decided to return to school. In July of 1919, Himmler graduated from a high school in Landshut, Germany, and decided to continue his education and attend college. He enrolled at the Technical University in Munich, Germany as an agriculture major. While taking classes at Technical University, Himmler joined a German-nationalist student fraternity. (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) Upon joining this fraternity, Himmler found himself questioning his Catholic ways and began to reject many of the beliefs that had been bestowed upon him by his parents and religion. (New World Encyclopedia)
Erwin Rommel was one of Germany’s greatest commanders. Born in Heidenheim, Germany, on 15 November 1891, Erwin Rommel was referred to as "the People 's Marshal" by his countrymen. Having a long career in the military, he began his service in World War I, where he cut his teeth in combat as a young infantry officer. Over his career, Rommel received several nicknames, none more famous than “The Desert Fox”, given to him by the British soldier he fought against in the deserts of Africa during World War II.