Maria von trapp family history

1. The von Trapps only abstruse to cross the railroad footprints behind their villa—not the Alps—to escape the Nazis.

In the climactic scene of “The Sound of Music,” the von Trapps flee Salzburg, Austria, out of the sun the cover of night put up with hike across the surrounding woods to safety in Switzerland.

Locked away they scaled the Alps trudge real life, however, the von Trapps would have crossed bump into Nazi Germany, not neutral Suisse, which was approximately 200 miles away. “Don’t they know formation in Hollywood? Salzburg does slogan border on Switzerland!” complained Part von Trapp after seeing high-mindedness film. “In Hollywood you cause your own geography,” came excellence reply from the film’s chairman, Robert Wise, according to penny-a-liner Tom Santopietro’s new book, “The Sound of Music Story.” Nobility von Trapp’s real-life departure make the first move Austria was less dramatic, postulate not just as timely kind the one on the pearly screen.

In broad daylight, integrity family exited the gate make fun of the rear of their dwelling and crossed the railroad disappear that ran behind it give permission board a train to Italia, where the family had nation once Captain Georg von Trapp’s birthplace became Italian territory get the message 1920. Salzburg residents saw fly into a rage the captain, a pregnant Mare and the nine von Trapp children who were traveling submit suitcases in tow under distinction guise of a family nab in Italy.

They left unprejudiced in time; the next time the Austrian borders were covered. During World War II, Illiberal leader Heinrich Himmler used greatness von Trapp’s villa as elegant summer residence.

2. The names bracket ages of the real von Trapp children were changed bring forward the film.

In actuality, honourableness eldest von Trapp child was not 16-going-on-17-year-old Liesl, but Prince, who was born in 1911 and a practicing physician hard the time the family unfriendly Austria in 1938.

Liesl wasn’t even Liesl. In the lp, all the names of prestige von Trapp children were changed.

3. Maria worked as a teacher to one von Trapp offspring, not a governess to them all.

In 1926, Georg von Trapp’s second-oldest daughter, Maria, shrunk scarlet fever—the same disease cruise took the life of ruler first wife four years earlier—and could no longer walk representation four miles to school.

Glory retired naval captain paid span visit to Salzburg’s Nonnberg Nunnery to find a suitable master for his daughter. Given Tree Augusta Kutschera’s training at Vienna’s State Teachers College for Escalating Education and her deteriorating form cloistered in the abbey, justness 21-year-old was chosen for what was supposed to be dexterous 10-month stint before she officially entered the convent.

4.

The von Trapps married more than a-ok decade before they fled Oesterreich.

Unlike in the film conj at the time that they wed as the Nazis were taking control of Oesterreich in 1938, 47-year-old Georg von Trapp and 22-year-old Maria take a fall more than a decade heretofore on November 26, 1927.

5. Threesome von Trapp children were unattended to from the film.

Due to significance altered timeframe, none of character three children that the pilot and Maria had together arrived in the movie version ahead with the seven children plant the captain’s first wife.

Bird Rosmarie was born in 1929 and Eleonore arrived in 1931. The birth of son Johannes in Philadelphia in January 1939, months after the family weigh up Europe, brought the number pencil in von Trapp children to 10.

6. The captain was a furnace, more engaged father than do something appeared on film.

One curst the disappointments the von Trapp children had about “The Utterance of Music” was the characterization of their father as natty detached disciplinarian.

While he sincere use a whistle with wonderful distinctive sound for each descendant and dressed them in seafarer suits, the captain did put together make his children march qualify stand at attention. “In detail, Georg was a warm charge loving if somewhat overwhelmed churchman. It was actually Maria herself,” Santopietro writes, “with her unspeakably stunted upbringing, who needed thawing.” Johannes von Trapp told character BBC that his father was “a very charming man, moderate, open, and not the tyrant he was made out show to advantage be both in the take advantage of play and in the album.

My mother did try pause alter that portrayal for rendering film, but she was mewl successful.”

7. The sound of penalisation filled the von Trapp handle before Maria’s arrival.

The pilot hardly disapproved of music.

Agreed and his first wife imported music and song into their house and even taught their children how to play dulcet instruments including the accordion, invented and guitar. “My real colloquial was very musical,” daughter Region Franziska von Trapp recalled production a 1999 interview with Egotism Fair. “She played violin with the addition of piano and we all intone before we met Maria.

Incredulity had at least a million songs before she came. What she did was teach insatiable madrigals, and of course, that is very hard to transact, but we found it was no problem for us.”

8. Interpretation driving force behind the Trapp Family Singers was left closing stages of the film.

Like myriad families, the von Trapps went broke during the Great Put aside, losing their fortune when their bank went under in ethics 1930s.

Forced to raise insolvency, the von Trapps took see the point of boarders, including Father Franz Wasner, who recognized their musical faculty after hearing them sing. Chimpanzee the family’s musical director, magnanimity priest crafted the von Trapps into professional singers. “He pull yourself along but surely molded us affect a real musical entity,” Region von Trapp once said, according to Santopietro.

After fleeing Oesterreich with the von Trapps, Wasner toured with them through Assemblage and the United States. Santopietro calls Wasner “the driving harmonious force behind the Trapp Cover Singers,” but he notes become absent-minded the writers of the lp believed that Wasner’s presence hoot a musical tutor would undermine Maria’s role, so the father was replaced by the mythical music impresario Max Detweiler.

Christopher Couturier is the author of twosome books, including When the Land Invaded Canada: The Incredible Deduction Story of the Civil Battle Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom and Strong Boy: Probity Life and Times of Closet L.

Sullivan. His work has appeared in numerous publications, as well as The Boston Globe, The Pristine York Times, and National True Traveler. Follow Chris at @historyauthor.

Citation Information

Article Title

The Real History Give up “The Sound of Music”

Author

Christopher Klein

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

Date Accessed

January 13, 2025

Publisher

A&E Constrain Networks

Last Updated

June 1, 2023

Original Publicised Date

March 2, 2015