Those who seek excuses for Germany's history from 1933-45 and from even earlier in terms of Jew hatred and imperialist ambitions in Europe are quite happy with a portrayal of Rommel as anti-Nazi and a participant in the attempt to murder Hitler in 1944. But the evidence of his anti-Nazi intentions and actions is sparse and the movie is at least honest and realistic in refusing to give this theme more weight than the little it deserves. Of course by 1944, after the Normandy invasion and with the Soviets advancing every more closely to Germany proper, many German in the elite, military and civilian, started entertaining possible ways of putting Hitler out of power and influence. Ordinary Germans did not have enough information to engage in this kind of enterprise and they fought, out of conviction and out of fear, until the end. Personally I must state that anti-Hitler feeling and activity by elites were always very weak, were motivated by fear of defeat by the Allies and fear of being held responsible for what they had done and condoned for so long. These so-called anti-Nazi Nazis were still anti-semitic, still opposed to democracy, still nostalgic for the old Germany of the Empire of Wilhelm II, and still unreconciled to Germany not controlling at least most of eastern Europe; they were still violently anti-communist and not particularly happy with America coming into the picture.
So regardless of what positive role Rommel might have played, and I doubt there was much here, the heroic Rommel is part of an attempt to blame Hitler or Himmler and his SS for everything bad. In truth the Wehrmacht participated as much as the SS in murdering Jews and Poles and other perceived enemies; they starved millions of Russian soldiers to death in camps, and did not much to be proud of. Historian Omer Bartov has totally destroyed all interpretations of a neutral Wehrmacht. Participation in the plot against Hitler was not a very serious undertaking and you cannot trust any evidence that creates heroes and resisters where there were none.
So regardless of what positive role Rommel might have played, and I doubt there was much here, the heroic Rommel is part of an attempt to blame Hitler or Himmler and his SS for everything bad. In truth the Wehrmacht participated as much as the SS in murdering Jews and Poles and other perceived enemies; they starved millions of Russian soldiers to death in camps, and did not much to be proud of. Historian Omer Bartov has totally destroyed all interpretations of a neutral Wehrmacht. Participation in the plot against Hitler was not a very serious undertaking and you cannot trust any evidence that creates heroes and resisters where there were none.