Reading Worksheet · Grades 6–8
Erwin Rommel Worksheet
A printable reading comprehension worksheet for grades 6-8 on Erwin Rommel. Students read a one-page biography of the German field marshal known as the Desert Fox, covering his service in both World Wars and his death after being implicated in the July 1944 plot against Hitler, then answer four multiple-choice questions, six true-or-false statements, and six fill-ins. A complete answer key is included.
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Subject
Reading
Grades
Grades 6–8
Skill Focus
Erwin Rommel, informational text
Lesson Length
40 minutes
Learning Objective
Students will trace Erwin Rommel’s military career and describe his reputation as a commander in both World Wars.
Lesson Overview
About this worksheet
This worksheet follows Rommel from a father who insisted on a military career over Rommel’s own wish to become an engineer, through his World War I heroics in the Alpine Corps, to his World War II command of the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps.
His reputation is the part worth teaching carefully, because it is contested. Allied commanders at the time described Rommel as a chivalrous opponent — he was known to reduce his own troops’ water rations so captured soldiers would have enough to drink — and his Afrika Korps was not charged with war crimes at the postwar Nuremberg trials. Historians today argue about how much of that reputation he earned and how much of it was built up by wartime propaganda on both sides. The passage says so plainly, and it says the thing a hero story leaves out: Rommel fought for Nazi Germany, and his victories served a government that was carrying out the Holocaust. That tension is the discussion this worksheet is really for.
The ending is a hard one, and teachers should know it is here before they hand the sheet out. Implicated in the July 1944 plot against Hitler, Rommel was given a choice between suicide, which protected his family and earned him a state funeral, and a public trial that would have disgraced his name. He took his own life in October 1944.
Page 2 asks sixteen questions in three forms; page 3 is a complete answer key.
How to Use This Lesson
Read the passage on page 1.
Answer the four multiple-choice questions in Section A.
Mark each Section B statement TRUE or FALSE, and be ready to say why.
Write the missing word or phrase in each Section C sentence.
Use the answer key on page 3 for self-check or grading.
Discuss why Allied commanders described Rommel as chivalrous, and why historians question how much of that reputation was earned.
Ask the harder question the passage sets up: can a commander be admired for skill while the government he served was carrying out the Holocaust?
Printable Resource
A classroom-ready PDF with everything in one printable resource.
Free Member Resource · Printable PDF · 3 pages · Answer Key
Erwin Rommel Worksheet
A printable reading comprehension worksheet for grades 6-8 on Erwin Rommel. Students read a one-page biography of the German field marshal known as the Desert Fox, covering his service in both World Wars and his death after being implicated in the July 1944 plot against Hitler, then answer four multiple-choice questions, six true-or-false statements, and six fill-ins. A complete answer key is included.
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