Rommel monument

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The Rommel memorial for Field Marshal Erwin Rommel has been in Heidenheim an der Brenz since 1961 .

The Rommel Monument

history

At the request of the "German Africa Corps" association to the birthplace of the former Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Heidenheim, a memorial was erected in his honor on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Because of the park-like environment, the association suggested the area around a single beech tree in the Zanger Berg district .

The big beech at the Rommel monument

There were no objections on the part of the city administration, Lord Mayor Elmar but intended to create “something architecturally beautiful”. The local council was of the opinion that Rommel "had a good reputation in the world and that his hometown had no reason to move away from him". The monument was unanimously approved with the request to adapt the landscape. The design was awarded to the sculptor Franklin Pühn and garden designer Hermann Aldinger , a friend of Rommel. The total cost of DM 25,000, along with DM 2,000 from the city of Heidenheim and DM 3,000 from the Baden-Württemberg state government , was borne by the Afrikakorps association.

features

The monument consists of a large, arch-shaped memorial stone, a monolith made of shell limestone , extended by a low wall arch.

The low arch of the wall

On the front facing the street, Rommel's name and military rank are written in large letters that can be read from a distance. In addition to Rommel's life data (date of birth / death date / place), the back also contains the outline of the North African Mediterranean coast. At the geographically correct position is the Libyan town of Tobruk together with the date of June 21, 1942, the day of its conquest by the German army under Rommel's command, the reason for Rommel's appointment as field marshal. The words

The back of the Rommel monument with the plaque in front of it
Upright
Chivalrous
And brave
Until his death
As a victim of tyranny

reflect the reason for the erection of the monument.

On the right side, seen from the front, is the inscription

The Rommel monument from the side
Monte
Matajur
10/26/1917 .

This refers to the storming of the Slovenian mountain of the same name by German units led by Rommel in the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo during the First World War . On the left side a bronze plaque is worked into the natural stone, on which the client and the day of the handover to the city of Heidenheim are immortalized.

The bronze plaque on the side of the Rommel monument

The 2.00 meter high and 0.7 meter thick memorial stone has a width of 4.28 meters in the outer arch and the inner arch is 4.05 meters wide. A stone plaque commemorating the German war victims in North Africa is attached to the back a few centimeters in front of the large memorial stone. The square top measures 0.80 meters in width and depth. With a rear height of 0.19 meters and a front height of 0.06 meters, this runs diagonally.

inauguration

On November 12, 1961, the monument was handed over to the city of Heidenheim and officially inaugurated. Lord Mayor But the takeover was prevented, which is why city councilor Friedrich Degeler represented the city of Heidenheim. In addition to thousands of guests from all over the world, Erwin Rommel's wife Lucie and his son Manfred were also present at the opening, along with State Minister of the Interior Hans Filbinger . Representing the Association of the German Africa Corps, General of the Cavalry Siegfried Westphal attended the event.

City councilor Degeler described Rommel as the “great son” of the city of Heidenheim. His memorial has been given the most beautiful space and, thanks to its simple design, it corresponds exactly to the spirit and attitude of the Field Marshal.

Reactions

The reactions from abroad to the monument were positive. The constellation was welcomed from all sides. A few years later complaints were received by the mayors of the city that the sight of the memorial was neglected because of unmowed grass, growing weeds and a lack of flowers.

Controversial discussion

In 2011 a discussion about the memorial flared up in Heidenheim. Historians were of the opinion that the monument would make Rommel heroic by stylizing him as a “victim of tyranny”. In addition, he should not be associated with the resistance against Adolf Hitler . They therefore demanded that the monument either be dismantled or rededicated. The municipal council then decided to put up another plaque with the following inscription:

The information board attached to the Rommel monument in 2011
50 years after its inauguration, a generation is ahead
this monument, in a united and peaceful Europe
has found her home.
Bravery and heroism, guilt and crime lie in the
War close together.
May the fate of Erwin Rommel and his soldiers be one
be a lasting reminder to turn our youth into a peaceful one
Future to lead.

The board is mounted on a truncated pyramid-like base. This is 0.45 meters wide and 0.35 meters deep on the top, the depth tapers down until it measures 0.19 meters at the bottom. The height of the base at the front is 0.52 meters and at the rear 0.60 meters. The Heidenheim group “ History Workshop ” dealt with the subject of the Rommel memorial and suggested that the city remove the memorial. During a protest, the memorial was covered with a tarpaulin with the inscription “No more memorial for the Nazi general”. Tendencies to redesign the monument into a memorial failed because of the builder, the sculptor Franklin Pühn , who owns the copyright. After a controversial debate in 2013, the local council and the history workshop, including the representative of the Africa Corps, agreed to completely dismantle the monument. There are also fears that the memorial could become a place of pilgrimage for right-wing people.

This decision met with opposition. Lord Mayor Bernhard Ilg saw such a step as "historically wrong" despite all the problems.

Opposition also came from the population. In the course of the increasingly frequent graffiti on the memorial, a public vote was suggested, others tended to create a “history path” that presents other historical places in Heidenheim beyond the Rommel memorial site.

Web links

Individual evidence

  • Silja Kummer: Rommel commemoration: It continues to rumble , Heidenheimer Zeitung , September 21, 2013
  • "Sprayer is identifiable" , Heidenheimer Zeitung, October 1, 2013
  • Silja Kummer: Working group shakes the memorial , Heidenheimer Zeitung, December 20, 2013
  • Rudolf Krauser: Let's vote on Rommel , letter to the editor, Heidenheimer Zeitung, January 7, 2014
  • Silja Kummer: Recommendation: Get rid of the memorial , Heidenheimer Zeitung, March 15, 2014
  • Werner Eitle: History path as a solution? , Letter to the editor, Heidenheimer Zeitung, March 18, 2014
  • Werner Singer: Elser is also controversial , letter to the editor, Heidenheimer Zeitung, March 18, 2014
  • Veit Gruner: A reason for the memorial , letter to the editor, Heidenheimer Zeitung, March 20, 2014
  • Hendrik Rupp: "Distance would be historically unfair" , Heidenheimer Zeitung, March 22, 2014
  • Wolfgang Proske: Monument to Hope? , Letter to the editor, Heidenheimer Zeitung, March 25, 2014
  • Gerhard Schlumpberger: Do not remove , letter to the editor, Heidenheimer Zeitung, March 25, 2014
  • Eckart Krägeloh: A history path would have charm , letter to the editor, Heidenheimer Zeitung, March 25, 2014
  • Rommel memorial smeared , Heidenheimer Zeitung, May 3, 2014
  • Ursula Metzler: Dismantle quietly , letter to the editor, Heidenheimer Zeitung, June 10, 2014
  • Excerpt: Record of the deliberations of the municipal council , Heidenheim City Archives, June 16, 1959
  • Excerpt: Record of the deliberations of the municipal council , Heidenheim City Archives, July 13, 1959
  • Excerpt: Record of the deliberations of the municipal council , Heidenheim City Archives, October 26, 1960
  • Excerpt: Record of the deliberations of the municipal council , Heidenheim City Archives, September 18, 1961
  • Letter to the Association of German Africa Corps, Heidenheim City Archives, November 8, 1961
  • Ulmer Nachrichten, Heidenheim City Archives, November 13, 1961
  • Adolf Peil: Letter to Mayor Martin Hornung, Heidenheim City Archives, February 13, 1974
  • “Real demonstration of loyalty beyond the grave” , Heidenheimer Zeitung, Heidenheim City Archives, November 13, 1961
  • "A memorial for the 'desert fox'" , Heidenheimer Volksblatt, Heidenheim City Archives, November 11, 1961

Coordinates: 48 ° 41 ′ 23.9 "  N , 10 ° 8 ′ 29.8"  E