Some old-school conservatives in the German government and military feared confrontation with the Allies and resisted Hitler’s ambitious plans.
But by 1938, they were gone, and Hitler had his sights set on Austria.
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Playlist:
Fanfare
Opening Theme
Overture to Tannhäuser
Composed in 1845 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.
Closing Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
History 20th c
The 1965 very successful musical The Sounds of Music included a scene reconstructing the Anschluss and the entry in f the German army to the presumably-empty Salzburg town center, with Nazi flags decorating the town hall. As there was no computer graphics back then, the American producers asked the municipality to shoot the scene in an early morning, with real huge flags hanging all over.
The municipality declined- how can they allow the “past enemy” flags to be waving from the Salzburg Rathaus??
It was only when the producers threatened to use real documentary footage, showing crowds of cheering Austrians welcoming the German army, that the Salzburg municipality finally agreed, and the scene was shot – within empty streets.