Walburga Stemmer was a German fruit seller from Weingarten whose relationship with the future field marshal Erwin Rommel resulted in the birth of their daughter, Gertrud, in 1913. Stemmer remained connected to Rommel and his family after he married Lucie Mollin, and she died in 1928 at the age of thirty-six.
Background
Walburga Stemmer was the daughter of a seamstress. She lived in Weingarten in Württemberg, where she worked as a fruit seller during the years before the First World War. Weingarten was part of the Kingdom of Württemberg, a constituent state of the German Empire, whose military institutions shaped the professional life of the young officer Erwin Rommel.
Stemmer met Rommel while he was stationed in the area for army training. Their relationship developed while Rommel was separated from his fiancée, Lucie Mollin, who was studying in Danzig. Stemmer and Rommel's daughter, Gertrud, was born on December 8, 1913.
Career
Stemmer worked as a fruit seller in Weingarten when she became associated with Rommel. Her occupation placed her outside the socially established officer milieu in which Rommel was developing his military career. Accounts of the relationship describe the class distinction between Stemmer's working background and the expectations surrounding the marriage of a Württemberg officer.
After Gertrud's birth, Rommel provided financial support and maintained contact with the child, although he returned to Lucie Mollin and married her in 1916. Stemmer continued to hope that Rommel would return to her. She died in October 1928, when Rommel's wife was pregnant with their son Manfred; contemporary public explanations attributed her death to pneumonia, while later accounts described it as suicide.
Connections
Stemmer's relationship with Erwin Rommel resulted in the birth of their daughter, Gertrud Stemmer, on December 8, 1913. Rommel later married Lucie Mollin in 1916, but he acknowledged Gertrud privately, provided financial support, and maintained contact with her. Gertrud remained known publicly within Rommel's household as a relative and was supported by Rommel and Lucie after her mother's death.
Gertrud later married Josef Pan and had children, including Josef Pan, who helped bring the family's account of Stemmer and Rommel's relationship to public attention. Letters exchanged among Rommel, Stemmer, and Gertrud were preserved within the family and became an important source for later accounts of the relationship.
Father:
Erwin Rommel
German army officer who later became a field marshal; he was the father of Stemmer's daughter, Gertrud.
Daughter:
Gertrud Stemmer
Born on December 8, 1913, and later known as Gertrud Pan; she remained connected with Rommel's family after Stemmer's death.
Collegue :
Lucie Mollin
Rommel's fiancée and later wife, who helped support and care for Gertrud after Stemmer's death.
References
Walburga Stemmer
Biographical account of Stemmer's life, her relationship with Erwin Rommel, the birth of their daughter Gertrud, and her death in 1928.
Geheimnisse des Dritten Reichs
ZDF historical material discussing Rommel's relationship with Walburga Stemmer and the birth of their daughter Gertrud.
