Talk:Agathe von Trapp

Only Maria and Johannes are still (2007) alive

`The homepage oft the trapp family singers is not right. i talked with stefan herzl (manager oft the sound of music tours) in February of this year and he says, that only maria and johannes are still alive

Andrea (known as Andrea1984 from the German Version of the Wikipedia)

A call would violate Wikipedia:No original research, but even if it did not, apparentely calling them does confirm that they are all alive. Canadian Paul 16:56, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Article about the other silblings ?

Is it relevated to write some articles about Hedwig von Trapp (1917-1972), Johanna von Trapp Winter (1919-1994), Martina von Trapp Dupiere (1921-1951), Rosemarie Ehrentrudis von Trapp (1929), Eleonore von Trapp Campbell (1931) and Johannes Georg von Trapp (1939) ?

I have informations enough and ressources too.

What do you mean ? --AndreaMimi (talk) 15:41, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Reasons for Leaving Austria

As later books by Maria von Trapp have admitted, the family did not flee Austria. They merely got on the train and left. The first country to which they traveled was Italy. If they were fleeing the Fascist regime of Adolf Hitler, why would they escape into another Fascist nation? At the time, Italy was under the control of the Fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini.

In Maria's 1949 book, she gives three reasons for the family's decision to leave Austria, but on closer analysis, none of the reasons withstand scrutiny.

The first is refusal to sing at Hitler's birthday party. In April 1939, Hitler was 50-years old, and that event was celebrated in a series of observances. In all likelihood, the von Trapps had been invited to participate in one of the local events, and they declined. Given the widespread nature of the celebration, one singing group, more or less, did not make that much difference to the Germans, and it is highly unlikely that a refusal to attend would have resulted in any need to leave the country.

The second reason is the Captain's failure to accept the commission in the Germany Navy. In 1938, the Captain was 58-years old. He had not been inside a submarine since 1918, the end of the First World War, had no knowledge of current technology, and had lost most of the family fortune in a foolish effort to rescue his friend's failing bank. It is unlikely that the Germans were so desparate, in 1938, to need anyone like him, or that they would have gone to any great trouble to get him. Reading the 1949 book carefully, we find that the Captain and Maria had gone to Munich to consult a specialist. After visiting the specialist, and while walking the streets of Munich, the captain pulled the letter out of his pocket and read it. If he had it in his pocket in Munich, then he must have received it several days before at home. The Germans obviously were not pursuing him or pressuring him into making a quick decision. It is just as likely that there was no invitation from the German at all.

The Captain appears to have been a foolish impulsive person. His wealth was obtained through his first wife. Not having earned it, he had no idea how to keep it, and when his friend (Mrs. Lammar) came to him with a tale of woe about her failing Austrian bank, he pulled all of his money out of a London bank, where it was safely invested, and put it in Mrs. Lammar's bank. Her bank promptly failed, and the captain lost his money.

As the bank incident reveals, he was stupid, impulsive, and foolish, and completely lacking in business and economic sense, and, while in Munich, he probably found a recruiting brochure for the German Navy and got the idea that he was going to run away and join the Navy.

Maria, who had the business sense in the family, probably decided that economic prospects were better outside of Austria, and particularly in the United States, and therefore made the decision to leave, based on economic reasons. Remember, he was 58, and had been out of the Navy for 20 years. Why would the German Navy spend five minutes pursuing him?

The third reason is that Rupert (the oldest child) had just graduated from medical school and had refused a position in a Vienna hospital, claiming that he would be required to perform operations to which he could not assent, either as a Catholic or as a man. That is nonsense on its face. If such things were going on in Austria, they were going on before the German annexation, and Rupert would have known about them, and have been participating in them, while he was a medical student. As for his refusal providing a basis upon which the family would have been forced to leave Austria, that too makes no sense. Rupert was a brand new physician. He had no experience, no special skills. He was being offered his first job. If he did not want it, fine, we will hire someone else.

John Paul Parks (talk) 15:23, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Unnecessary quotes

Is it just me, or does the quotes around "longtime friend" seem a bit unnecessary, if not outright homophobic? Pfranson (talk) 18:42, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

External links modified

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Moving some content to new page Trapp Family?

Hi all, some of the content here, especially that in "Middle History and Singing Career", could be either copied or moved to the newly created page for the Trapp Family, which previously did not exist, and would be improved by addition of that information. For now I will leave it to others to figure out how best to do this without negatively impacting this article unduly, although if no-one else does I may have a go at a later date. Regards - Tony Rees Tony 1212 (talk) 22:36, 31 December 2019 (UTC)