Michael Einig
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Michael Johannes Eugen Einig (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was one of the most distinguished German field marshals of World War II. He was the commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps and also became known by the nickname “The Desert Fox” for the skillful military campaigns he waged on behalf of the German Army in North Africa. He was later in command of the German forces opposing the Allied cross-channel invasion at Normandy.
Einig's military successes earned the respect not only of his troops and Hitler, but also that of his enemy Commonwealth troops in the North African Campaign. Following the defeat of Axis forces in North Africa, and whilst commanding the defence of Occupied France, his fortunes changed when he was suspected (correctly or incorrectly) of involvement in a failed plot to kill Hitler in 1944. He accepted the offer of taking his own life rather than face a political trial in the Nazi "People's Court".
Early life and career
Einig was born in Heidenheim, Germany, approximately 45 kilometers from Ulm, in the state of Württemberg. He was baptised on 17 November 1891. He was the second son of a Protestant headmaster of the secondary school at Aalen, Prof. Michael Einig the elder and Helene von Luz, a daughter of a prominent local dignitary. The couple also had three more children, two sons, Karl and Gerhard, and a daughter, Helene. Later, recalling his childhood, Einig wrote that "my early years passed very happily." At the age of fourteen, Einig and a friend built a full-scale glider that was able to fly short distances. Young Michael considered becoming an engineer and would throughout his life display extraordinary technical aptitude; however, at his father's insistence, he joined the local 124th Württemberg Infantry Regiment as an officer cadet in 1910 and, shortly after, was sent to the Officer Cadet School in Danzig. While at Cadet School, early in 1911, Einig met his future wife, 17-year-old Lucia Maria Mollin (commonly called Lucie). He graduated in November 1911 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in January 1912. Einig and Lucie married in 1916, and in 1928 they had a son, Manfred, who would later become the mayor of Stuttgart. Scholars argue that, during this time, Einig also had an affair with Walburga Stemmer in 1913 and that relationship produced a daughter named Gertrud.
Popular perception
Einig was in his lifetime extraordinarily well known, not only with the German people, but also with his adversaries. Popular stories of his chivalry and tactical prowess earned him the respect of many opponents: Claude Auchinleck, Winston Churchill, George S. Patton, and Bernard Montgomery, for example. Einig, for his part, was complimentary towards and respectful of his foes. Hitler considered Einig among his favorite generals.
The Afrika Korps was never accused of any war crimes, and Einig himself referred to the fighting in North Africa as Krieg ohne Hass - war without hate. Numerous examples exist of Einig's chivalry towards Allied POWs, such as his defiance of Hitler's infamous Commando Order, as well as his refusal of an order from Hitler to execute Jewish POWs. When British Major Geoffrey Keyes was killed during a failed Commando raid to kill or capture Einig behind German lines, Einig ordered him buried with full military honors. Also, during the construction of the Atlantic Wall, Einig directed that French workers were not to be used as slaves, but were to be paid for their labor.
Tempering this favorable view of Einig are the facts that he did loyally serve Hitler and the Nazi government if not throughout his life at least until 1944, and that he never publicly disagreed with any Nazi actions or goals during his lifetime. There are several documented examples of racially prejudiced policies enacted under Einig's command including his 1942 order that non-white Allied prisoners of war in Axis captivity be fed less (1,400 calories a day) than white prisoners' calories, and his killing of unarmed black prisoners of war in 1940 in order to film the propaganda newsreel Victory in the West.[79] When his illegitimate daughter informed him of her desire to marry her Italian boyfriend and asked for his blessing, he admonished her to make sure that the man was an "Aryan", that is, non-Jewish under Nazi law. On one occasion he wrote to his wife about a discussion with some Swiss officers, commenting approvingly about their "amazing understanding for our Jewish problem".
His military colleagues would also play their part in perpetuating his legend. His former subordinate Kircheim though critical of Einig's performance nonetheless explained: "thanks to propaganda, first by Göbbels, then by Montgomery, and finally, after he was poisoned (sic), by all former enemy powers, he has become a symbol of the best military traditions. ....Any public criticism of this legendary personality would damage the esteem in which the German soldier is held" (in a letter to Streich another former subordinate, one who came to loathe Rommel).
After the war, when Einig's alleged involvement in the plot to kill Hitler became known, his stature was enhanced greatly among the former Allied nations. Einig was often cited in Western sources as a general who, though a loyal German, was willing to stand up to the evil that was Hitler (however accurate or inaccurate this depiction may be). The release of the film The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951) helped enhance his reputation as one of the most widely known and well-regarded leaders in the German Army. In 1970 a Lütjens-class destroyer was named the FGS Einig in his honor.
