Dr. Karl Strolin Quotes in The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)

Dr. Karl Strolin: How do you know this room isn't wired?

Field Marshal Erwin Johannes Rommel: Wired? Why should it be wired?

Dr. Karl Strolin: Does Himmler have to have a reason for wiring a room?

Field Marshal Erwin Johannes Rommel: No, I don't suppose he does. But I don't think you have to worry about this one. Why?

Dr. Karl Strolin: [Places a chair in front of Rommel, and sits down facing him squarely] Because I want to talk to you without being overheard.

Field Marshal Erwin Johannes Rommel: [describing a meeting with Hitler] Not that it could really be described as an argument. It's impossible to have an argument with him in the sense that you and I could have an argument. He raves, he screams, he goes into such hysterics that it's like trying to make sense with a panic stricken woman.

Frau Lucie Marie Rommel: [to Strolin] He called him a coward!

Dr. Karl Strolin: [to Rommel] Did he really use that word to you?

Field Marshal Erwin Johannes Rommel: Not once, but several times. In Russia, he said, officers like me have been put against the wall and shot, and almost I think it couldn't happen to me.

Frau Lucie Marie Rommel: And that was his thanks! That was his gratitude for all that Erwin has done for him.

Field Marshal Erwin Johannes Rommel: On the other hand, you mustn't hold people too accountable for everything they say when they're emotionally upset. The war is not going well, and he's naturally worried. But I'm afraid it'll be a long time before I forget what he did to the Afrika Korps.

Dr. Karl Strolin: What was that?

Field Marshal Erwin Johannes Rommel: When the end was near, and I asked him to get them out, he said he had no further interest or concern in the Afrika Korps.

Frau Lucie Marie Rommel: And that was THEIR thanks!