Walburga Stemmer

Deceased Person

1892 – 1928

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Who was Walburga Stemmer?

Walburga Stemmer was a fruit-seller living in Weingarten who allegedly had an affair with Erwin Rommel and gave birth to his daughter, Gertrud Stemmer, on December 8, 1913. Rommel turned away from her and in 1916 married another woman, Lucie Mollin.

Stemmer died in 1928, a few months before Rommel had a child, Manfred, with Lucie. Her cause of death is sometimes given as pneumonia though others claim that she committed suicide.

The existence of his second family has emerged in a collection of more than 150 letters and photographs, kept for decades by his illegitimate daughter Gertrud Pan at her home in Kempten, southern Germany.

The letters emerged after Gertrud's death last year. "There were hints from some fellow officers and an army nurse, and was eventually put into the museum curator in Rommel's home town, who confirmed the family's existence," said Sallyann Kleibel, producer of The Real Rommel, to be shown on Channel 4 on August 2.

Rommel met Lucie in 1911 in Danzig. During a temporary posting in Weingarten, hundreds of miles away, he met the teenage Walburga Stemmer, and they had an affair.

In 1913 Gertrud, their daughter, was born, to Rommel's delight. He wrote to Walburga, calling her his "little mouse". He said he would like to set up home with her and Gertrud: "It's got to be perfect, this little nest of ours." However, he returned to Lucie and married her in 1916. Walburga never recovered from her rejection.

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Born
Mar 1, 1892
Spouses
Lived in
  • Baden-Württemberg
Died
Oct 1, 1928

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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