Text/Pan Caixia
On October 14, 1944, a car came to the door of the home of German Army Marshal Rommel, and after hugging his wife and children, he calmly got into the car, and after the car pulled out, he drank the potassium hydride in his hand.
Ten minutes later, his wife, Lucy, received the bad news that her husband had died of a stroke. She didn't cry, and the greatest sorrow was never tears.
Rommel was persecuted. After being charged with treason by Hitler, he chose the latter between "going to court and involving his family" and "committing suicide by poisoning and his wife enjoying the widow treatment of the marshal".
"I'm going to love you with my life", his promise, he did.
World War II veteran Rommel and his wife Lucy
In the summer of 1911, at the age of 20, Rommel studied at the Royal Military Academy in Danzig, Germany, and like all young people, the ball was his best pastime.
One day, a graceful figure made his eyes light up, big eyes, pure temperament, Rommel could not help but be moved.
The girl, 17-year-old Lucy Maureen, had come to Danzig to learn the language.
Rommel began to pursue Lucy passionately, and in addition to training, his time was spent writing love letters. Under the fierce attack of love letters, the two quickly entered a hot love.
Although Rommel was thin and unassuming, he was courteous and gentlemanly. He would run several streets to buy cakes for Lucy; he remembered every anniversary and gave her gifts. Love makes them feel happier than ever.
The following year, Rommel was awarded the rank of lieutenant and was responsible for recruit training in infantry regiments. After separation, he and Lucy Hongyan passed on the book, and almost every day there were letters exchanged, and the letters were endless love words.
Two months later, Lucy sent him a beautiful picture of herself wearing a straw hat, but Rommel was not at all satisfied. He said:
"I received pictures from your hometown, but I'm still waiting for more." If you make me wait too long, I'll be annoyed with you soon, and I hope you take it seriously. ”
The picture was on his body, and he would take it out at any time to kiss that cute face. For Lucy's love and fascination, Rommel had reached the point of enchantment.
Lucy
While training new recruits, Rommel read military literature and was favored by his superiors for his excellent work. After the outbreak of World War I, he went to the battlefield, and although he was eager to make a career, he was more eager to be with his dear Lucy.
They poured out their thoughts through letters. Rommel's letters were written frequently, and Lucy replied to every letter. Letters and letters, feelings are getting hotter and hotter.
In the eyes of others, Rommel was an ascetic, and when his companions were messing around in the brothel, he never participated, and in his heart, there was only Lucy. "I neither give other women a chance nor give myself the opportunity to make mistakes," he said. ”
Lucy, too, knew from the letter that he had received two Iron Crosses, and she was thrilled and delighted by him. She admired his bravery and courage and wit, and in her heart, he was the only hero.
After the photo sent to Rommel, Lucy attached a small poem:
"Wait for you, in every morning and dusk; thinking of you, in every inadvertent moment; thinking of you, living in every minute of your urgent thoughts; loving you, looking forward to your return at every moment of my life!"
After reading it, Rommel couldn't help himself, and he was desperate to fly to Lucy's side. Despite the imminent outbreak of war, he made a request to his superiors for marriage.
In November 1916, Lucy welcomed her hero and they held a warm and romantic wedding ceremony. That day, Rommel wrote in his diary: "I cherish every minute and every second of my time with Lucy, and I feel very happy." She was like a celestial being, and I was so happy. ”
Wedding
Before he could spend his honeymoon, Rommel was recalled to the front. Soon after, he traveled to Romania and embarked on the Russo-German battlefield.
At the end of 1917, Rommel was awarded the Medal of Merit, the highest honor for German servicemen, for his outstanding command skills in the war.
At the first moment, he shared the good news with Lucy. In addition to the adventurous spirit in his bones, when he thinks of Lucy, he is passionate and scrappy.
After the war, the government allowed the officers to take their families with them, and Rommel and Lucy finally ended their separation. Soon after, Lucy bore him his only son, Manfred. At that time, they had been married for 12 years.
In order to make up for the shortcomings of the long separation, Rommel's pampering of Lucy reached its extreme. Lucy's female companions often said enviously:
"It was funny to watch Rommel go around her in such a fuss, and the words he hung on his lips were always 'dearest Lu, if you have any requests, you can say it', and later, it almost spoiled her like a shrew." 」
In 1933, Germany entered the Hitler era. Three years later, Rommel became the commander of Hitler's guards, and his career was smooth, and he was soon promoted to major general and became a red man in front of Hitler.
After the start of World War II, Rommel went to war again, and he and Lucy once again experienced life and death.
Family
On the front lines, Rommel often spoke affectionately to Lucy's photographs, as if she were right in front of her eyes. He wrote to her almost every day, sometimes even twice a day, always beginning with: "Dearest Lu..."
No matter how busy and tired he was, no matter how dangerous and fierce the battle, he was always warm and single-minded.
"Yesterday, General Begoro of Italy gave me a gift, an extremely beautiful dress, with red embroidery on a deep black base, and your evening dress must be very beautiful..."
"Today is our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. I don't think I need to say anything about how happy our married lives are. The years passed so quickly, and over the years, all you have done to your family has made me endlessly grateful. ”
"I miss you with sincere love and gratitude all the time, and maybe fate will be merciful and we can meet again."
Between the lines, affection and love jump on the paper.
Lucy, on the other hand, was also worried about him. Every day, she stood by the radio to listen to the news from the front, and wrote each reply carefully and meticulously. Those letters brought endless warmth and joy to Rommel on the battlefield.
The Rommel couple
After returning from the north African battlefield, Rommel became famous, the "Desert Fox" became famous, and also became the youngest field marshal.
The girls adored him and wrote to him, and Rommel acted very calmly. Once, a group of girls surrounded him in the house to give him photos and autographs, and he suddenly pushed them away and rushed out.
"These girls are so charming, I can hardly control myself." After laughing bitterly, he joked with Lucy: "If I had been a lieutenant back then, it would have been nice to have so many letters, so that you wouldn't have anything to do." ”
Lucy replied gently, "Without my help, you might have been a lieutenant for the rest of your life!" ”
Love is the mystery of youth, but also the morality of wisdom. His love for her was so passionate and enduring that he had never touched another woman. "Lucy is a part of my life, and to betray her is to betray my own life." Throughout the North African war, he wrote thousands of letters to her, not counting those who fell into the Mediterranean.
Rommel
Yes, Lucy was supreme in his heart, and he obeyed her, even if he knew it was a mistake.
During that time, the chief of staff, Gauss and his wife went to Rommel's house, because of some trivial matters, Lucy often quarreled with Mrs. Gauss, and she did not spare, not only expelled the Gauss couple, but also asked Rommel to remove Gauss from his position as chief of staff.
Despite having a great time with Gauss, Rommel did so. At Lucy's instigation, he appointed his fellow countryman Speidart, which set the stage for Rommel's subsequent tragedy.
For Lucy's sake, he even ignored the military situation. In 1944, at the height of the war, as commander of Army B on the Western Front, Rommel was still thinking about Lucy's 50th birthday.
Two days before his birthday, he drove back to his hometown in Germany from the Normandy front with shoes he had bought from Paris. On their birthdays, their villa is covered with fresh flower petals and various gifts are placed on the table. Rommel got up early to wish Lucy a happy birthday for the first time.
Yet history is so cruel and coincidental. At 10 o'clock, the phone rang, which was bad news: "The enemy counter-offensive has begun, and the Allies have begun to land in Normandy in the early hours of the morning!" ”
Rommel rushed back to the front headquarters overnight, but it was too late, the fighters had been missed, and Hitler's dream of forcing the Allies into the sea was shattered. From then on, Rommel lost the trust of the Supreme Fuehrer.
Throughout July, the situation deteriorated, and once on his return from the battlefield to his headquarters, Rommel was unfortunately attacked by a plane, he was thrown out of the car, and X-ray results showed that there were four broken bones in his head.
A week later, having just regained his sanity, the first thing he did was ask Miss Nurse to ghostwrite and write a letter to Lucy. At the moment, in his heart, there was only her.
While Rommel was lying in his hospital bed, the famous "720 Incident" in the history of the Third Reich took place.
On July 20, 1944, there was a loud noise in Hitler's conference room, killing 4 people and seriously injuring 3 people on the spot, and Hitler was lucky to be only slightly injured, which was the closest he was to death.
Hitler (right)
Rommel was involved in the incident, plotting to assassinate Hitler's central figure, none other than his chief of staff, Speidal. After his arrest, Speider confessed Rommel's name, though he knew nothing of it all.
Rommel was convicted of treason, and given his prestige, Hitler gave him two options: to go to court and involve his family; to commit suicide by poisoning, and his wife to enjoy the widow treatment of the marshal.
Rommel did not hesitate to choose the latter, and when he committed suicide, he was only 53 years old.
"I will love you with my life", and until the last moment, he was fulfilling this original vow. I just don't know, at the time of his death, whether he imagined that if he had not listened to Lucy and appointed Spedal, the ending might have been rewritten.
However, there are no ifs. With a marshal's pension, Lucy lived to 1971 and died at the age of 77.
Rommel and Lucy