Shocked to see the Medical Diary of a German doctor who treated Erwin Rommel offered for sale yesterday, 17 September, I then discovered Rommel and his injuries were discussed in an article in the Journal of Neurosurgery in 2016, which then devolved into speculation whether the war would have been shortened had he lived: "His head injury on July 17, 1944, resulted in his being removed from the field of battle in northern France, but also meant that he was not able to lend his stature to the assassination attempt of Adolph Hitler on July 20. It is possible that, had he been able to lend his stature to the events, Hitler’s hold on the nation’s government might have been loosened, and the war might have been brought to an end a year earlier. The authors review Rommel’s career, his injury, the subsequent medical treatment, and his subsequent death." An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie If the above link does not work, it is Neurosurg Focus Volume 41 • July 2016. By the way, the Medical Diary belonged to a physician who treated him under a false name at the L'hôpital du Vésinet in St. Germain, outside of Paris, Dave
What do you mean by 'lend his stature'? When his involvement in the plot came out, he was allowed to commit suicide and died with full military honors as they claimed he died from his injuries (in a nutshell).
The plot was doomed when the bomb failed to kill Hitler. Nothing Rommel or anyone else could do could bring the regime down while the Fuhrer lived. The plotters were completely convinced of that, and they were right.
Interesting article. I'm not sure he could have "rallied the troops", but the argument is well-written. I just don't think any fantastical strategies would have worked, although there is some thought given to him as the leader of the Reich after Hitler. However, there were others who could have laid a similar claim.
