Manfred Rommel, son of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, has died at age 84, in Stuttgart, where he served as mayor:
As mayor, Mr. Rommel angered his constituents in 1977 by allowing convicted terrorists to be eulogized and buried in the municipal cemetery. He said he wanted “to show how, with a little generosity of spirit, enmity ends with death.”
During his tenure, from 1974 to 1996, Mr. Rommel tightened control over city finances and reduced debts, while expanding public transport and building a new arena and convention center. In 1982, The New York Times called him “the rising political figure with the best chance of becoming national leader.”
But he turned down opportunities to run for state or federal office in favor of the municipal politics he said he liked best. “I’m not ambitious,” he said. “It’s an unbearable burden to be chancellor,” his country’s highest office.
He continued, “Federal officials in this country have an aversion to outsiders, and they’re only interested in them for help if they’re in mud up to their ears.”
Part of his political appeal was his last name. Many Germans felt pride in his father’s brilliant generalship, while also remembering his humanity in an inhuman situation. Field Marshal Rommel ignored orders to kill Jewish soldiers, civilians and captured commandos, and was not accused of war crimes. He angered Hitler by urging a negotiated surrender on the Western Front.
Manfred’s response to the Nazi horror was to emphasize the unity of Europe rather than German patriotism. “German history is too much for us,” he said in an interview with The Times.
“The shadow is too great,” he continued. “I belong to the generation of burned children, and I am not so sure about our capabilities. My father once said during the war, ‘The best thing would be to live as a British dominion now that we’ve shown we can’t manage our own affairs.’ He was being sarcastic, of course.”
Manfred Rommel was born in Stuttgart on Dec. 24, 1928. He was only 14 when he was drafted by the Luftwaffe as an antiaircraft gunner. When his father killed himself, he deserted and surrendered to French forces.
After his release from captivity, he studied law and political science at Tübingen University, then went to work for the state government of Baden-Württemberg, of which Stuttgart is the capital. He became deputy finance minister of the state.