World Radio

On the anniversary of Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by the Nazis in 1938, the 'Sound of Music' has finally been staged in the Volksoper. Since it won 5 Oscars back in 1965, the story of the Von Trapps has rarely been seen in the country of its setting. Austrians were understandably embarrassed by the Nazi period and clung on to the idea that they were the first victims rather than willing collaborators. The director, Rudolph Berger points out on the ABC's The Europeans that in the stage version it's Mrs. Von Trapp's inimacy with the Nazis that prompts the Captain to leave for Switzerland - not his attraction to the children's tutor, Maria (Julie Andrews) as suggested in the sanitised movie.