Actually, he was not a member of the plot. He was approached by a leader of the plot, but declined and ordered the man out of his house. He was a soldier, not a politician. Knowing the war had been lost, he was interested in finding a way to surrender to the Allies that would stop the destruction of Germany and its people. He was denounced as a member of the plot by the very person he had sent packing. He agreed to suicide on the condition that his family would be untouched. I have often thought that if Rommel had been allowed to live and Patton had survived the accident, the two would have worked together to avoid many of the problems of post war Europe. Unfortunately, the IFS don’t count in reality.
You are absolutely correct in his refusal to follow the edict of Hitler to execute spies or POW’s. He also refused to sacrifice his men in Hitler’s order to stand to the last man at El Alamein. He was a great man and loved by his men, as was Patton. One of my good friends was a “Patton boy.”He says when Patton walked on water, all his men could walk on water too.
Your friend may have been 3rd Army, that’s the crew that loved Patton best. My dad served in the 7th Army under Patton in Sicily and Corsica until Patch replaced him. He much preferred Patch, Patton could be a little prickly. Dad later served in Vietnam with Patton’s son, and found him an excellent officer who didn’t trade on his name.
“I have often thought that if Rommel had been allowed to live and Patton had survived the accident, the two would have worked together to avoid many of the problems of post war Europe. “
As far as where the borders were established? Or German acceptance of the occupation? I’m not clear on your meaning.
McAuliffe of Bastogne fame was commander of the 7th Army in Heidelberg in the mid 50s. He became fluent in German and was a very popular speaker at German civic events. This helped heal the wounds of the war.