Talk:Maria von Trapp

Didn't Maria get accused of being abusive or something in recent TV interviews with her stepkids?

They said she had a fierce and sudden temper, though it would blow over quickly.  Sean Lotz  talk  00:14, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Missionary work

From reading Maria von Trapp's autobiographies, I know that missionary work was an extremely important part of her life. It's curious that no mention of her missionary work appears in this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.5.140.109 (talk) 00:46, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Mother

The first wife of Georg von Trapp was Frances Whitehead, granddaughter of Robert Whitehead. She met him when launching a submarine for the Austrian navy, he was the captain. Her grandfather was an engineer from Bolton in Lancashire and worked on various naval projects inclduing developing the self-powered torpedo. --jmb 22:28, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

Agathe was the name of the first wife. She was born in 1890 and died 1922. Her eldest daugther was named after her.

Do you know the exactly dates, when the Trapp "children" were born and had died ?

Andrea (known as Andrea1984 from the German Version of Wikipedia) - 20:31, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

The article said Georg's first wife died of rheumatic fever. But The Story Of the Trapp Family Singers p. 26: "Then an epidemic of scarlet fever took his young wife." I've changed the article. Cphoenix (talk) 00:20, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

As of November 1, 2010 : I have Maria Von Trapp's autobiographical book, "Maria", in which she tells of their life (her life previous to marrying the Captain, and of course, continuing through all their lives as a family) .......Agathe DID die of scarlet fever, per Maria. Also, I just now updated the birthdate of Rosemarie. Wikipedia's "Article" section, and the statistics box in it had Maria's first child being born only 2 months, a few days after their marriage. IMbd lists Rosemarie's birdate as 1929, instead - I'm more in agreement with that date because (per her book) Maria wasn't at all that intimately close to the Captain until AFTER they married. (Per her own words, she was marrying the children, then later learned to love the Captain [as the novice nun/children's teacher in the abbey, had considered herself married to God....and actually felt that God had betrayed her in His bringing about her marriage to the Captain. She talks about having to learn to understand God's will in her life regarding His bringing about her marriage to the Captain, instead of her supposing herself to be married only to God, and "married" to the Von Trapp children. Only after accepting God's "change of her plans" was she able to learn to love the Captain and start feeling like, and being, a wife to him.])

"Baronet"

The word "baronet" is almost certainly used incorrectly on the page; it's more likely to be a case of so-called "untitled nobility". AnonMoos 00:32, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

This article is awful

Sorry to be so blunt and detail-free, but it is. Several silly sections lurk in it, a few are badly named, the tone is not that of an encyclopedia, it has no references, just a "note", it has few details... Nousernamesleft 23:37, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Please, someone, take pity on this poor article, and edit it into something readable? Pgranzeau (talk) 04:20, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

I put some informations from the children in a table. Now it looks better. I hope so. --AndreaMimi (talk) 09:53, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

I just updated information up above, and on the main article page (along with the statistics box), per Maria Von Trapp's own autobiographical book, "Maria", which I have had for decades. Seeing Oprah's 45 Year Anniversary show of "The Sound of Music" made me want to check out what Wikipedia has. As soon as I saw some mistakes, I got the book out, reread some pages, and as clear as I can make out from what she wrote, corrected the errors. She doesn't mention Rosemarie or Lorli's births in the book, but knowing of her intimacy distance in relation to the Captain at the time of their marriage - in the book - went with IMbd's birthdate for Rosemarie as the closest thing to being correct for her oldest child. (talk) 21:46, 1 November 2010 (UTC)gailmaria/talk)

Himmler Headquarters? Ridiculous!

—72.81.84.211 (talk) 12:02, 16 May 2008 (UTC)What might be the source that Himmler used the von Trapp former home near Salzburg, Austria as his 'headquarters'? Or (per Google, his home, retreat, with slave labor, etc.). Himmler's headquarters were always on the Prinz Albrechtstr. in Berlin, where he also had living quarters for official use when he wasn't at the family home. He moved his family for their safety after the Allied bombings began to a modest property in south Germany, where he stayed when taking a break (along with a residence rented for his mistress and their children). Himmler is said to have been a stickler for avoiding even the appearance of financial improprieties or profiteering and punished those who did, made only modest purchases himself, which he paid for with receipts, and lived strictly within his income. Captain von Trapp was said to have mourned the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I and his Navy position, and didn't care for the emergence of the strong Austrian Nazi party. He sold or turned over the house to a Catholic order when the family left for America in 1938. It may be that Austrian Nazis had something to do with the property during the World War II period, but no German SS and/or Himmler 'headquarters' according to extensive Himmler biographies. Is this a tale for tourists?

As far as I know, the story about Himmler using the property for his headquarters is contained solely in Maria's 1949 book. I have been unable to find any independent corroboration either. Maria's books contradict each other, and, at various times, conflicting information has been given out to the public about family activities and matters. John Paul Parks (talk) 03:37, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

Himmler HQ not so ridiculous?

There is a reference to the fate of the von Trapp's former home in "The Trapp Family Singers" by Maria Augusta Trapp, published by Geoffrey Bles, 1953. On p. 284 she writes:

"After Armistice day when the boys [Maria's sons] were still in Europe, they had gone for a short visit to Salzburg and found that our old home there had been confiscated by Heinrich Himmler; that it had been made his headquarters for the last period of that cruel war; that the chapel had been turned into a beer parlour; and what had been Father Wasner's room had become Hitler's quarters when he came there."

This is either true, or someone is lying - the boys, those who gave them this information, or Maria herself. On the same page, she goes on to write:

"When it [the house] was given back to us after the war, we prayed that we might be able to sell it. Our prayer was answered. the house was sold to a religious order in America which wanted to establish a seminary in Europe. The place is now called Saint Joseph's Seminary."

Whatever the truth of this, the article certainly needs more work. --Aspiro (talk) 07:22, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

All we have, though, is Maria's uncorroborated statement. On various points, the statements in Maria's books conflict with known records, and occasionally, her books contradict each other. If Himmler actually used the house as his headquarters, it should be easy enough to verify.

For example of how the books contradict each other: in her 1949 book, she tells of her first meeting with the children and relates the story about the captain and the whistle. In her 1972 book, "Maria," however, she states that the captain was not at home when she arrived, and that the housekeeper introduced her to the children. Both statements cannot be true. As you say, someone must be lying. Based on Maria's contradictory statements, my vote would be for Maria. John Paul Parks (talk) 03:41, 7 January 2009 (UTC) Updated John Paul Parks (talk) 05:19, 10 October 2010 (UTC)

Per Maria's autobiographical book, "Maria" (published 1972), she includes talking about the Von Trapp estate all through the first part of the book up to their sudden decision to leave, but after that, she makes no more mention of their former home as she tells of their fleeing from Hitler's presence in Austria, or even once they established their new home in Vermont. (November 1, 2010; 69.224.47.134 (talk) 22:11, 1 November 2010 (UTC)gailmaria/talk)

State Teachers College for Progressive Education

In December, 2007, I wrote to a Vienna tourist information organization, asking for information about the "State Teachers College for Progressive Education." I received the following answer:

"we thank you for your email and your interest in Vienna.We asked at several institutions like the "Wiener Stadtschulrat" and the "Dachverband für Selbstbestimmtes Lernen" but none could tell us anything about such a school. Probably this college has or had a german name. But a 'State Teachers College for Progressive Education' is not known in Vienna.We are sorry not beeing of assistance to you in that case.With best regards,

So it looks like no one in Vienna has heard of the institution. Also, when I run a search for "State Teachers College for Progressive Education" on Yahoo!, I receive only 46 hits, and ALL of them mention Maria von Trapp. Was Maria the only person who ever attended it?

Maria, in her 1972 book, "Maria," claims that the State Teachers College for Progressive Education was internationally known, and that students from Columbia University would come to observe its methods. Did it just disappear? Or is it a figment of Maria's imagination? Her books are riddled with contradictions, and her statements contradict historical documents. Perhaps this is just another part of it.

John Paul Parks (talk) 01:19, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Cleanup

The article needs to be put in chronological order. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) (talk) 10:39, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Maria's title

The article for her husband states that his title was Ritter. If correct, this does NOT make her a baroness. http://www.wiki-en.genealogy.net/German_Nobility states: "In Bavaria and especially Austria, the hereditary title of Ritter (Knight) was given to families, but they were still considered part of the untitled nobility. Much the same applies to the title of Edler, which is mainly northern and central German. While the wife and daughters of an Edler were titled Edle, the wife of a Ritter was called a Frau (in this sense Lady) and not Ritterin." So I've removed the baroness from her name, even though she was often called that in the English language press. However, it would seem to be a typical bit of German titles creep. Engleham (talk) 17:06, 30 October 2010 (UTC)

Per Maria's book, "Maria" (published 1972) - included in the book's photos is a black & white picture of her in her bridal dress and veil, titled "Maria as the new baroness", so it's possible she WAS considered a baroness. (November 1, 2010; 69.224.47.134 (talk) 22:17, 1 November 2010 (UTC)gailmaria/talk)