Nazi general Erwin Rommel (Picture: Getty)

Exeter University sent students and staff an email with a motivational piece of advice from Erwin Rommel.

The World War Two general known as the Desert Fox was given a state funeral and national day of mourning by Hitler when he died.

He was one of the most senior members of the Nazi war machine.

But someone thought he would be a good role model to rally the spirits of the faculty.


The university’s advice team sent out an email which included a picture of Rommel alongside the quote: ‘One cannot permit unique opportunities to slip by for the sake of trifles.’

University staff sent it by mistake (Picture: Rex)

Rommel commanded Hitler’s forces in North Africa, the Afrika Korps. After the Allied victory in North Africa he went to Normandy to command defences there.



He had also fought on the Western Front in World War One and in 1939 was commander of Hitler’s bodyguard battalion.

The quote was taken from the website Quotefancy and the staff member who selected it apparently did not recognise his name.

Exeter University said: ‘This was a genuine error and in no way intentional, however we apologise unreservedly for any offence it may have caused, and have put additional processes in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.’

The spokesman said the University of Exeter staff member who selected the quote did not know who Rommel is, and the information was taken from a free to use website.

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