Editing 20 July plot (section)

== Erwin Rommel's involvement ==
The extent of [[Generalfeldmarschall]] [[Erwin Rommel]]'s involvement in the military's [[German resistance to Nazism|resistance against Hitler]] or the 20 July plot is difficult to ascertain, as most of the leaders who were directly involved did not survive and limited documentation on the conspirators' plans and preparations exists. Historians' opinions on this matter vary greatly. According to [[Peter Hoffmann (historian)|Peter Hoffmann]], he had turned into Hitler's resolute opponent and in the end supported the coup (though not the assassination itself). He was even the natural leader of the opposition in France to some extent, considering the fact he had drawn many military and political personnel into his orbit in preparation of a "Western solution".{{sfn|Hoffmann|1996|pp=351–354}} [[Ralf Georg Reuth]] thinks that the conspirators perhaps mistook Rommel's ambiguous attitude for approval of the assassination, considering: the conspirators normally did not explicitly mention the assassination; Rommel was very naive and attached to Hitler (who was the personification of National Socialism, which had provided Rommel with a great career) and thus even if [[Caesar von Hofacker|Hofacker]]&mdash;personal advisor to Stülpnagel&mdash;had mentioned a violent upheaval in Berlin, he would not have interpreted it as an assassination.{{sfn|Reuth|2005|pp=177–178}} Thus, Rommel's participation remains ambiguous and the perception of it largely has its source in the subsequent events (especially Rommel's forced suicide) and the accounts by surviving participants.{{sfn|Beckett|2014|p=6}}
 
According to a post-war account by [[Karl Strölin]], the {{lang|de|Oberbürgermeister}} of Stuttgart at that time, he and two other conspirators, [[Alexander von Falkenhausen]] and [[Carl Heinrich von Stülpnagel]] began efforts to bring Rommel into the anti-Hitler conspiracy in early 1944.{{sfn|Shirer|2011|pp=1031, 1177}} On 15 April 1944 Rommel's new chief of staff, [[Hans Speidel]], arrived in Normandy and reintroduced Rommel to Stülpnagel.{{sfn|Hart|2014|pp=142–150}} Speidel had previously been connected to [[Carl Goerdeler]], the civilian leader of the resistance, but not to the plotters led by Stauffenberg, and only came to the attention of Stauffenberg due to his appointment to Rommel's headquarters. The conspirators felt they needed the support of a field marshal on active duty. Witzleben was a field marshal, but had not been on active duty since 1942. The conspirators gave instructions to Speidel to bring Rommel into their circle.{{sfn|Hart|2014|pp=139–142}}

Speidel met with former foreign minister [[Konstantin von Neurath]] and Strölin on 27 May in Germany, ostensibly at Rommel's request, although the latter was not present. Neurath and Strölin suggested opening immediate surrender negotiations in the West, and, according to Speidel, Rommel agreed to further discussions and preparations.{{sfn|Hart|2014|p=146}} Around the same timeframe, however, the plotters in Berlin were not aware that Rommel had reportedly decided to take part in the conspiracy. On 16 May, they informed [[Allen Dulles]], through whom they hoped to negotiate with the Western Allies, that Rommel could not be counted on for support.{{sfn|Hart|2014|pp=145–146}} Three days before the assassination attempt, on 17 July, Rommel's staff car was strafed by an Allied aircraft in France; he was hospitalised with major injuries and incapacitated on 20 July.

Rommel opposed assassinating Hitler. After the war, his widow maintained that he believed an assassination attempt would spark a civil war.{{sfn|Hart|2014|p=140}} According to journalist and author [[William L. Shirer]], Rommel knew about the conspiracy and advocated that Hitler be arrested and placed on trial. The historian Ian Becket argues that "there is no credible evidence that Rommel had more than limited and superficial knowledge of the plot" and concludes that he would not have acted to aid the plotters in the aftermath of the attempt on 20 July,{{sfn|Beckett|2014|p=6}} while the historian Ralf Georg Reuth contends that "there was no indication of any active participation of Rommel in the conspiracy."{{sfn|Reuth|2005|p=tbd}} Historian [[Richard J. Evans]] concluded that he knew of a plot, but was not involved.{{sfn|Evans|2009|p=642}}

What is not debated are the results of the failed bomb plot of 20 July. Many conspirators were arrested and the dragnet expanded to thousands.{{sfn|Hart|2014|p=152}} Consequently, it did not take long for Rommel to come under suspicion. He was primarily implicated through his connection to Kluge.{{sfn|Beckett|2014|p=6}} Rommel's name also came up in confessions made under torture by Stülpnagel and Hofacker, and was included in Goerdeler's papers on a list of potential supporters.{{sfn|Hart|2014|pp=141, 152}}{{sfn|Reuth|2005|p=183}} Hofacker confessed that Rommel had agreed to demand for Hitler to step down, and if he refused, Rommel would join the other conspirators in deposing Hitler. Rommel was also planned to become a member of the post-Hitler government in papers drawn up by Goerdeler.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Nigel H. |author-link=Nigel H. Jones |title=Countdown to Valkyrie: The July Plot to Assassinate Hitler |publisher=[[Casemate Publishers|Casemate]] |location=Philadelphia |date=2008 |isbn=978-1848325081 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wgj8EWapQYgC&pg=PA261 |page=261}}</ref>

Hitler knew it would cause a major scandal on the home front to have the popular Rommel publicly branded as a traitor. With this in mind, he opted to give Rommel the option of suicide via [[potassium cyanide|cyanide]] or a public trial by Freisler's People's Court. Rommel was well aware that being hauled before the People's Court was tantamount to a death sentence. He also knew that if he chose to stand trial, his family [[Sippenhaft|would have been severely punished]] even before the all-but-certain conviction and execution. With this in mind, he committed suicide on 14 October 1944. He was buried with full military honours and his family was spared from persecution; his cause of death did not come to light until after the war.{{sfn|Evans|2009|p=642}}