Exploring Captain Von Trapp's Complex Relationship With Austria

Captain von Trapp did not return to Austria after he and his family emigrated to the United States to escape the worsening situation in Austria in the lead-up to World War II. The family settled in Vermont, where they purchased a farm and converted it into the Trapp Family Lodge.

Captain von Trapp's refusal to fly the Nazi flag

Captain Georg von Trapp's refusal to fly the Nazi flag was not an isolated incident of resistance to the Nazi regime. Von Trapp, a former Austro-Hungarian Navy officer and patriarch of the Trapp Family Singers, was faced with a difficult decision after the German annexation of Austria in 1938. He was offered a commission in the German Navy, a tempting proposition given his distinguished military background. However, von Trapp's opposition to Nazi ideology led him to decline the offer. He also politely turned down a request for his family choir to perform at Hitler's birthday concert.

Von Trapp's refusal to fly the Nazi flag on his house was a bold statement of defiance. This act of resistance was not his only act of protest against the Nazi regime. He also declined a naval command, choosing instead to emigrate with his family to the United States. Von Trapp's eldest son shared his father's anti-Nazi sentiments and refused to benefit from anti-Semitism by declining a medical position at a prestigious Vienna hospital that had fired all its Jewish doctors.

Recognising the potential consequences of refusing Hitler's offers, von Trapp summoned his children and warned them that no family could safely refuse the dictator three times. The family ultimately decided to leave Austria, first travelling to Italy by train before making their way to the United States for their first concert tour.

Von Trapp's refusal to compromise his principles and his courageous stand against Nazism demonstrate his strong character and commitment to his values. His actions not only shaped his own life but also had a significant impact on his family's future, as they embarked on a new life abroad, leaving behind their friends, family, estate, and possessions.

The story of the von Trapp family and their escape from Nazi-occupied Austria has captured the imagination of audiences worldwide through various adaptations, including the well-known musical and film "The Sound of Music." However, it is important to separate fact from fiction when examining their experiences. While the von Trapps' story has been sanitised and simplified in some portrayals, their real-life journey was far more complex and intriguing.

The family's escape by train

The von Trapp family's escape from Austria began with a train journey to Italy. As the birthplace of Georg von Trapp, Italy was the family's legal citizenship, and so they were able to leave Austria by train in broad daylight, rather than by hiking over the mountains to Switzerland under the cover of night, as depicted in The Sound of Music.

The family had been performing as a singing group for a few years and had upcoming performances abroad, which enabled them to leave Austria. Once in Italy, they contacted their American booking agent and requested fare to America. They then travelled to London before sailing to the United States for their first concert tour.

In 1939, the family returned to Europe to tour Scandinavia, hoping to continue their concerts in cities beyond the reach of the Third Reich. During this time, they went back to Salzburg for a few months before returning to Sweden to finish the tour. From there, they travelled to Norway to begin the trip back to the United States in September 1939, just after World War II broke out.

The Trapp Family Singers' success

The Trapp Family Singers, also known as the Trapp Family Choir, were a world-renowned musical chorale group. They were a family of singers, consisting of Captain Georg von Trapp, his two wives, and their combined ten children. The family's musical style included liturgical music, madrigals, folk music, and instrumentals.

The family's musical journey began in their home country of Austria, where they performed in local churches. They were heard singing at their Salzburg home by German concert singer Lotte Lehmann, who encouraged them to take part in a song competition in Salzburg in 1936, which they won. Accompanied by Dr. Franz Wasner, a priest who became their musical director, the family toured and performed in Vienna and Salzburg and undertook a European tour that included France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and England.

However, when Adolf Hitler annexed Austria in 1938, the family decided to leave. They first travelled to Italy, and then to London, before sailing to the United States for their first concert tour. They arrived in the U.S. with very little money, having lost most of their fortune in a banking collapse in Austria in 1935. They earned money by performing and touring nationally and internationally, first as the Trapp Family Choir and then, the Trapp Family Singers, a change suggested by their booking agent, Frederick Christian Schang.

The Trapp Family Singers' unique style and talent earned them success and fame. They performed their mix of liturgical music, madrigals, folk music, and instrumentals to audiences in over 30 countries for 20 years. They made a series of 78-rpm records for RCA Victor in the 1950s and also released some recordings on LPs. The family's singing group disbanded in 1957, with some members pursuing other careers or starting families.

The Trapp Family Singers' story inspired Maria von Trapp's 1949 memoir, "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers", which was adapted into the West German film, "The Trapp Family" in 1956. This, in turn, served as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical, "The Sound of Music" in 1959, and its famous film adaptation in 1965.

Captain von Trapp's death in 1947

Captain Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp, the patriarch of the Trapp Family Singers, died on 30 May 1947 in Stowe, Vermont, at the age of 67. He was an Austro-Hungarian Navy officer and the most successful Austro-Hungarian submarine commander of World War I.

Von Trapp's naval career began when he joined the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Navy at the age of fourteen. He graduated four years later and went on to serve in World War I, where he achieved numerous decorations, including the Military Order of Maria Theresa. He was known for his valour in commanding submarines SM U-5 and SM U-14, sinking 11 Allied merchant ships and two Allied warships.

After World War I, von Trapp returned to his family but lost his first wife, Agathe Whitehead, to scarlet fever in 1922. She left behind seven children. In 1927, he married Maria Augusta Kutschera, a tutor to one of his daughters, with whom he had three more children.

The family turned to singing as a source of livelihood after losing most of their wealth in the Great Depression. They gained fame in their native Austria and went on to perform in various countries in Europe. However, with the annexation of Austria by Adolf Hitler in 1938, the family decided to leave for Italy, where they stayed as Italian citizens. They eventually emigrated to the United States, where they became known as the Trapp Family Singers.

In January 1947, von Trapp and his family founded the Trapp Family Austrian Relief fund, which provided aid to impoverished Austrians. Sadly, von Trapp passed away later that year due to lung cancer. His death was attributed to his exposure to diesel and gasoline fumes during his naval service, as well as his heavy smoking. He was laid to rest in the family cemetery on their property in Stowe, Vermont.

The family's return to Austria

The von Trapp family's escape from Austria and their subsequent life in the United States have been immortalised in the musical and film 'The Sound of Music'. However, the real-life story of the family differs in several ways from its cinematic portrayal.

In reality, the family did not escape over the Alps to Switzerland but instead fled by train to Italy, as they were all Italian citizens due to Georg von Trapp's birthplace. They then travelled to London and sailed to the United States for their first concert tour. The family had a contract with an American booking agent, and their priest, Reverend Franz Wasner, acted as their musical director.

After their initial arrival in the United States, the von Trapps returned to Europe in 1939 for a short Scandinavian tour, during which they also went back to Salzburg for a few months. They then travelled to Norway to begin their trip back to the United States in September 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.

The family settled in Stowe, Vermont, in 1941, where they purchased a 660-acre farm and converted it into the Trapp Family Lodge. They ran a music camp on the property when they were not on tour and became known as "the most booked attraction in US history".

In addition to their musical career, the von Trapps were also known for their charitable work. After World War II, they founded the Trapp Family Austrian Relief fund, sending food and clothing to impoverished people in Austria.

Despite the fame and success of 'The Sound of Music', the von Trapp family did not profit significantly from it. Maria von Trapp inadvertently signed away her rights when she sold the film rights to German producers.

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