I m deep in research mode for my next WWII story and want to share what I ve uncovered about an annual music festival in Salzburg, Austria. One of my three heroines is an Austrian opera singer who chooses to remain in her beloved homeland after Hitler annexes her country. She s based on a real woman who used her fame and notoriety to rescue dozens of Jews from persecution and death. (More on her in another post). Today, let s talk about how she was able to move around so freely during Nazi occupation.
Enter Adolf Hitler s love of opera and his annual trip to Salzburg for the Salzburg Music Festival. If you ve seen the Sound of Music, then you know all about this popular summer event. The Salzburg Music Festival is where the von Trapp family performed their disappearing act from the Felsenreitschule Theatre in 1938. The theatre still stands and is still the home of some amazing music year round, as well as during the annual festival.